Rating: 
Summary: Hester Latterly Charged with Murder
Review: When Hester Latterly, a former Crimean War nurse, takes on a brief assignment between jobs to assist an elderly Scottish woman from Edinburgh to London she has no idea that when they reach their destination she will be charged with murder. Despite the best efforts of her friends private detective William Monk and lawyer Oliver Rathbone, she is put on trial in Scotland. You will enjoy following the twists and turns in this 19th-century "Law and Order"-type mystery as the skilled Anne Perry takes you from investigations to trial procedures without ever missing a beat or hitting a false note. Perry's Monk mysteries are a bit darker and more psychologically thrilling than her more well-known Pitt series of mysteries, but devoted fans of the Pitts will recognize the skilled plot and character developments, the labrynthine twists and turns of the investigations, and the focus on scandals and secrets.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many flaws
Review: While I agree with those reviewers who cite the courtroom scenes in Sins of the Wolf as terrifically compelling and am delighted with the developing attraction between Hester Latterly and William Monk, I cannot agree that this is one of Perry's finest mys teries in the Monk series. In fact almost every turn of events brought a new jolt of incredulity. As an example, why oh why does Monk make the long and arduous trip (in pages as well as distance) to Northern Scotland to learn a bit of information about on e of the members of the Farraline family which he could so easily have learned from the family member himself and which in fact had no bearing whatsoever on the resolution of the mystery? To be really petty, must Hester turn up at the Farralines one day a fter the conclusion of her trial (and surprisingly cordial and unembarrassed the Farralines are too, considering the mess they'd thrown her into) still wearing her prison garb? And the confrontation and chase scene at the end seemed to me to smack more of a spaghetti western than a quality denouement. In my opinion Perry did much better with the earlier Monks, and I hope to discover she does just as well in the subsequent ones.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the William Monk series
Review: William and his barrister friend Oliver come to the aid of Hester, whose latest charge died in her care, and the family is accusing her of their matriarch's murder. William and Oliver must go to Scotland, where Oliver isn't authorized to practice law, because that's where the trial is. The courtroom drama is as good as those in Scott Turow's and John Grisham's novels. Who framed Hester, and why? That's what William's about to find out. . . The three friends face life and death together here, and you can truly feel the bond that's been established among them. Though they don't always like each other, their loyalty and valor in helping one another makes this series a real delight. A great read all the way around
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