This book was more annoying than enjoyable, but funnily enough, I will read another of her books, out of curiosity, to see if the earlier ones were any better written."Funeral in Blue" is a William Monk mystery set in Victorian England. William Monk is a former policeman who is now a private investigator, and Hester Latterly, his wife, is a nurse who is married to Monk. In "Funeral in Blue," two women are murdered in the studio of an artist, Argo Allardyce. One of the women, Elissa Beck, is the wife of Kristian Beck, a respected physician with whom Hester has worked. The other woman is an artist's model. Both women were strangled, although the police have no idea why they were killed or who did it. Hester has a personal interest in this case, since her good friend, Callandra Daviot, secretly loves Dr. Beck and Callandra is anxious that he not be blamed for the homicides.In an implausible scenario, Monk joins forces with his old enemy, Runcorn, a policeman who is in charge of the homicide investigation. Monk and Runcorn interview everyone who has a connection to the case, and ultimately Dr. Beck is arrested, since his alibi for the night of the murders doesn't hold up. In addition, it turns out that Dr. Beck had a strong motive for wishing his wife dead.During the course of the investigation, Monk visits Vienna, Austria, to explore the roots of Elissa's relationship with Kristian. Elissa and Kristian had fought in the revolution that took place in that city thirteen years earlier. Complicating matters further, Hester's sister-in-law, Imogen Latterly, had a connection with Elissa Beck that may have a bearing on Elissa's death.Most of the book consists of a series of repetitious interviews in which the investigators try to ferret out who is telling the truth and who is lying. Nothing much happens until the end, when the murderer is finally unmasked. The solution is quite implausible and it comes completely out of left field.Unfortunately, Perry does little to explore the relationship of Monk and Hester. The couple spends very little time together and Hester and Monk seem more like good friends than husband and wife. The characters in "Funeral in Blue" are rather bland and the pacing is slow. What Perry does well is describe the atmosphere of Victorian London. The city itself is the best and most lively character in the book. If Perry had imbued her characters with as much life as she does the city of London, "Funeral in Blue" would have been a much more compelling mystery.
Allez, un petit Monk et ça repart ! Ce qu’il y a de bien avec Anne Perry et William Monk c’est que lorsqu’on commence un nouveau volume, c’est un peu gagné d’avance, la déception est plus qu’improbable. Et après une fulgurance comme L’appât je ne voulais pas prendre de risques.Nous retrouvons donc Monk et ses acolytes pour un douzième volume digne des précédents. Si tous les personnages récurrents sont présents, notons toutefois l’absence de Rathbone. Comme toujours, les relations entre les principaux protagonistes et la grande Histoire servent de toiles de fond à l’intrigue principale. Monk et Runcorn, que tout oppose mais qui partagent un passé commun encore obscur aux yeux (et à la mémoire !), de Monk, vont devoir avancer ensemble dans une enquête sur un double meurtre on ne peut plus troublant. On sait à ce stade que Monk et Runcorn furent amis dans leur jeunesse, peut-on espérer un rapprochement amical, une trêve, voire une cuite et une tape sur la fesse en guise de bonsoir ? Bref, on peut dire que ça avance et que les multiples fils rouges qui parsèment les différences intrigues se déroulent lentement mais sûrement. En l’occurrence le destin de nos héros sera lié de près au meurtre de l’épouse de Kristian Beck. L’occasion d’en apprendre plus sur ce personne désormais connu du lecteur, et sur son passé en Autriche. Un très bon Monk, peut-être pas aussi retors que d’habitude mais néanmoins très réussi.
What do You think about Funeral In Blue (2001)?
3.5 starsIt's a good thing Monk's tentative truce with Runcorn remains in effect, because their best chance of finding the truth lies in working together. This time, Kristian is the one with everything at stake - and even if he wins, he may still lose. As an immigrant, and a murdered woman's husband, he's first on the list of suspects. Can anything be found to save him? And what is Imogen's secret, that Charles can't bear to leave yet requires Hester's help?Note for Kindle readers: the last 12% contained all previews of other books, so set your expectations accordingly.
—Hilary
This is the twelfth book in Perry's Victorian mystery series about Monk, the amnesiac detective and Hester, the Crimean War nurse. It's entertaining enough if you enjoy these characters, which I do, but the mystery is pretty weak.Monk and Hester have a wealthy patron, Lady Callandra, who occasionally finances their detecting adventures. Callandra has long been in love with the married surgeon, Dr. Beck. But now Beck’s wife has been murdered, so there may be a happy ending in store for Callandra - unless, of course, Beck is the one who killed her.Monk may be a grumpy bugger, but he’s a paragon of tolerance for the Victorian era. He’s already proven to be receptive to women’s rights and unaffected by homophobia; in this book he shows that he’s not anti-semitic. If he ever encountered any non-caucasian people I’m sure he’d decline to be racist, as well.Missed Rathbone! It was hard to watch the accused defended by somebody else.
—Jamie
I feel like this series doesn't live up to what could be its potential. Perry writes well, and many of her characters are great (with the ongoing exception of Monk; I have always found him terminally uninteresting, and the narrative too often just tells us he's brilliant without proving it). But the plots! The plots are buried beneath lugubrious layers and layers, and too often rely on coincidences introduced at the last minute to provide the necessary "twist". Twists are great when they're earned and properly foreshadowed, but Perry doesn't do that.For instance, this book needed way more Pendreigh. He couldn't have been a POV character, unlike Rathbone, but there could have been more scenes with him and Our Heroes. I understand that Perry didn't want to make it obvious, but there's a world of difference between "obvious" and "it's the last chapter so - her dad killed her!"Good points about this book: I liked Hester and Charles' relationship, and Hester and Kristian. I felt for Callandra and Kristian (and I hope they do get together now, which I'm sure they will).Disappointments, besides the aforementioned: 1) Rathbone isn't in this book (out of necessity, so that Pendreigh can defend Kristian), and the book suffers for it. 2) Monk is gallivanting around Europe again, at length. Sigh. 3) I wish there was more foreshadowing and connection between books. Imogen's gambling problem, for example, could have been foreshadowed in earlier books. Instead, it comes out of nowhere, just to be of service to the plot.
—Katie Bee
