Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable...but
Review: The idea of the book being William Monk awakens in hospitial without a memory. The book is as much a search for his identity as it is solving the crime. I enjoyed the overall idea for the book, even if it is a tad unrealistic. But I am willing to cut the author a little slack. William Monk is a likable hero even though he often seems a little weak. His sidekick was also interesting but not fully defined. This may have changed in later books. The only problems i really had with the book is her use of Victorian slang, she does not always let us know what the slang means. The book ends very abruptly without finding out what happened to the arrested party. The book is a much better read in Victorian England. I am not sure that it would have held my interest had it been modern. Although not on a level with Sherlock Holmes novels, this book was still interesting and enjoyable. If you like Victorian mystery then give this book a read.
Rating: 
Summary: I'll take Monk over Pitt any day.
Review: The mistake Perry made in her Pitt series was developing her characters too quickly--she has had to compensate by introducing a rather large cast of supporting characters. This, the first in her William Monk series, avoids that gaffe by inducing amnesia in her hero--he hardly knows who he is or what he's about. It may be preposterous, but it's also an enjoyable read and an outstanding mystery.The story has Monk attempting to learn the set of circumstances that resulted in his hospitalization and amnesia--he must face the horrifying possibility that he was involved in a vicious crime, and he knows too little of himself to trust that he was incapable of such a deed. He learns through the reactions of others that he was (is?) not a nice man, and the more he learns, the more he doubts himself. The fact that his past does not come flooding back to him after another bump on the head speaks well to Perry's prowess as a writer. Hester Latterly and Oliver Rathbone are the edgy counterparts to Monk's dark personality. Though never friends, these three circle each other with wary respect. Monk himself is an appealing character, the mystery is top-notch, and the Victorian setting is quintessential Perry--she has made it uniquely her own.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Junk Food for the brain
Review: This is a very enjoyable book. It is a highly character driven plot and that is what makes it enjoyable. I believe Ms. Perry did considerable research for these novels. Some of the plot points that were in contention such as the head injury and police work should be taken as they would have been at that time. There have been documented cases of people losing their memory and gradually getting it back. Also, police work at that time was very different and sometimes haphazard. See the Jack the Ripper murders. All and all these books should not be taken so seriously and should be read for fun. They are definite brain candy and they may encourage more research into Victoriana.
Rating:
Summary: interesting story, tediously written
Review: This is the second Anne Perry novel I've read, and unfortunately it's likely to be the last. Her plotting is strong, but she clearly wants to focus on character development. That would be fine if her writing skills were stronger. I found the first sixty pages of this book so repetitive that I nearly didn't bother to finish it. The premise -- that Monk has lost his memory and must relearn who he is -- is quite interesting, but Perry tries to develop Monk's character through the constant and highly repetitive (read: increasingly tedious) exposition of his thoughts in the form of questions. How many times does the reader need to know explicitly that Monk is asking himself what sort of man has few friends and no loves, or inspires trepidation in his coworkers? If Perry were a more skilled writer she could convey "character" less directly and more effectively. Was her editor asleep on the job?
Rating: 
Summary: Not my cup of tea
Review: This was the first Anne Perry book I have read, but it will be the last. I found the basic premise of the main character's amnesia to be a gimmick. It irritated me that he would never "come clean" about his lack of memory, especially when we find out that the people he worked with could see through it. I have enjoyed other murder-mysteries where the villain was a lot less obvious to the reader. It seems from her sales figures that I am in the minority - what am I missing?
Rating:
Summary: Perry is now two times as classy!
Review: William Monk awakens in a Victorian-era London hospital with amnesia. Over the course of this book, he returns to his job as a policeman, hoping that work will help him regain his memory as well as his detecting skills. What's fascinating is that not all he discovers about his life before the accident is flattering--including the fact that he may very well have been responsible for a serious crime. Over the course of Perry's new series--this book being the debut--Monk's past will at various times haunt, delight, and maybe even endanger him, and the people who come to be his allies don't always like him, but their loyalties to one another shine through. As with the Pitt mysteries, Anne Perry's trademark detail and eye-opening descriptions of what Victorian life was really like make this an entertaining way to read away a winter afternoon
Rating:
Summary: DON'T READ ANY "MONK" NOVEL BEFORE THIS ONE!
Review: Yes, it's that vital. I picture the Timothy Dalton circa BBC's "Jane Eyre" to be very similar to the wolfish, well-dressed, passionate William Monk. Once you get to know him (despite his memory loss) you'll care very much about his character in subsequent novels. He's definitely a unique character in mystery fiction. This novel features a decent mystery, but serves mostly to introduce us to a completely different set of characters, and indeed a different time period than the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels. You'll like Hester Latterly, who reminds me of Emma Thompson. She nursed the wounded in the horrific battlegrounds of the Crimea, and is full of righteous indignation about hospital reform. Oliver Rathbone is a surprisingly moral barrister who takes a shine to Hester immediately, unlike Monk who keeps trying to convince himself that she is NOT his type. (Methinks he doth protest too much...) Dive on in and get ready for a steady series of interesting mysteries and even better courtroom scenes. Enjoy!
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