Anne Perry uses the cultural mores of the 18th century as the backdrop for her books, and in The Twisted Root the reader is delivered into a time when cultural taboos leave a woman ready to die rather than tell what she knows about three murders that she has been charged with committing. Even though the plot twists in this Perry book keep readers involved, the characters are missing the intensity of the earlier Monk books. It seems once William Monk recovered his memory and decided to settle into the domestic bliss of married life with Hester, some of the fire went out of each of them. Perry tries to rekindle that fire by depicting the inevitable conflicts, mainly unspoken, that must have been present in any 18th century marriage between an independent woman and a man who is unsure of how to define himself as the husband to this independent woman. The major secret of the book is apparent almost from the first. The only details left hanging are how and why the villain committed the crimes and who one of the victims is. One thing that is obvious is that the arrests and trial that play major roles in the plot bring home the inadequacies of the justice system of this time period. Evidence? What evidence? These people had motive and opportunity, so forget that there's no evidence against either of them that would stand up in a modern American court of law. I don't know how accurate that is to the reality of the time, but Perry usually does a good job of research.One problem with all of Perry's books is her insistence on repeating things the reader already knows. How many times do we have to be reminded that Hester served as a nurse with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War? These repetitions do not further the plot and in this book they slow things down. Still, it's interesting to get a glimpse of the reality of domestic life during this time, and to know that Hester wants to hire someone to do the cooking and the housework because she doesn't like to do it. William goes along with her because her cooking does leave something to be desired.
Monk and Hester are now married, and beginning to build their life together, each having to make adjustments in preferences and considerations. As expected, there are some tense moments: Monk mustn't try to lay down the law, or force Hester into the role of a subservient wife, if he wants them to be happy, and she must also allow him to retain some pride and decision-making.There continues to be medical and nursing history. Anaesthetic is now more commonplace, changing surgery for the surgeons as well as the patients. Hester, along with Florence Nightingale, is still trying to improve conditions at the hospitals and to train nurses to a higher standard, to make them skilled professionals rather than untrained, drunken cleaners. Nightingale is regarded, sentimentally, as a lady sweeping genteely through a ward at night, soothing fevered brows - rather as she is now - but is in the process of setting up her own training school (something which actually occurred in 1860, at St. Thomas' Hospital). Unfortunately Hester's hospital is not as forward-thinking.The social issue Anne Perry focuses upon here is that of veterans: those who fought in earlier wars, and the many who are now old and poor, unable to afford the medicines they need or to go to hospital. Used and discarded, these valiant soldiers who fought at Waterloo and Trafalgar are now the vulnerable in society, and yet hospital administrators and doctors seem to discount them, leaving only a handful of people and some dedicated nurses to try to help them.The mystery, of course, is murder, with the answer in long-buried history. Monk, Hester and Rathbone require all their skill and co-operation if they are to save their clients - if their clients are as innocent as they believe - and when the answer is finally revealed, it is the unthinkable.
What do You think about The Twisted Root (2000)?
A very intense plot involving two story arcs that do merge. The first is about a missing widow, Miriam Gardiner, who has vanished on the day that she is celebrating her engagement to young Lucius Stourbridge. Missing along with her is the family coachman along with the carriage and horses. When the man is found with his head bashed in, suspicions fall on Miriam, being the last person to see him alive, but when Lucius' mother is found in her bedroom with her head crushed, Miriam is arrested. And she appears doomed to hang -- for she will say nothing in her defense. In a parallel tale, Hester is continuing to volunteer at the hospital but her attempts to modernize the care for patients and nurses' training is halted by a bureaucratic director. Then she finds out that one of the nurses is stealing morphine. Does Hester turn her in, or will she try to find the real truth? It's a fairly good novel, and has a nicely complex plot, but the reason why this didn't get five stars was that I was able to figure out who did the killing early on. I hate it when that happens. Overall four stars and a recommendation. Oh yes -- Hester and Monk have finally married. For the longer review, please go here:http://www.epinions.com/review/Anne_P...
—Rebecca Huston
As I have mentioned, Anne Perry's books improve with each new novel. Hester and Monk are newlyweds and attempting to adjust to this new lifestyle. Hester has never been a "housewife" and dislikes the confines of cooking and cleaning, and Monk will not allow Hester to work for wages. The story centers on a young widow, Miriam Gardiner, about to remarry. At a casual party, the prospective bride runs away without telling her reason. The coachman who drives her is found murdered five days later, and Miriam Gardiner has disappeared. Monk becomes involved when the future groom, Lucius Stourbridge, needs help locating Miriam. As usual, Perry discusses the problems of the time such as the sorry state of nursing. The majority of nurses could barely read and their wages were poor and consisted of a meal and alcohol. A surgeon might save a patient, but the nursing care after surgery was deadly. Sir Oliver Rathbone appears to defend Miriam and her friend Cleo from murder and from stealing medicine. Perry inserts the dilemma of war veterans that are sick and poor and cannot afford medicine or medical attention. Cleo has been stealing medicine from the hospital to give to these veterans. And of course, the ending is a surprise. I had figured the correct murderer, but not all the issues involved.
—Debbie Maskus
What a wonderful mystery read! Imagine a woman finding the love of her life, enjoying getting to him and uncovering a secret such that she runs away two weeks before the wedding. In addition, the coachman who takes her is murdered. Arrested for murder, she is released when police discover that the woman who raised her from a very young age has been stealing drugs from the hospital to care for poor, ill patients who can't afford them. The man who was killed died close to her home and was blackmailing her. Now it appears that this woman murdered the coachman so the first woman is released into the custody of her fiance and his family. When her fiance's mother is murdered the woman is again arrested. Monk and his new wife, Hester, are deeply involved in the situation. First, Monk is hired to find the woman by the fiance. He does but, of course, so do the police. Arrested the second time, both women are accused on conspiring to commit both murders so the young woman can marry the young man who is wealthy. Both vigorously deny committing the murders. If they didn't, who did? The trial begins with the evidence overwhelming against the two women. It's easy enough to figure out who the murderer must be but not the surprising reason why until the final pages. Excellent read!
—Rusty
