The Face of a Stranger (William Monk Mystery, Book 1): A gripping and evocative Victorian murder mystery

Anne Perry

Sep 2013 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

After surviving an attack that wiped his memory clean, can Investigator Monk solve a deadly crime while also picking up the pieces of his former life?

In The Face of a Stranger, New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry introduces us to her enigmatic detective, Investigator William Monk, as he faces a new case with no memory of his past life. Perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Arthur Conan Doyle.

'Anne Perry can write a Victorian mystery that would make Dickens' eyes pop' - New York Times Book Review

He is not going to die, after all, in this Victorian pesthouse called a hospital. But the accident that felled him on a London street has left him with only half a life, because his memory and his entire past have vanished. His name, they tell him, is William Monk, and he is a London police detective; the mirror reflects a face that women would like, but he senses he has been more feared than loved.

Monk is given a particularly sensational case: the brutal murder of Major the Honourable Joscelin Grey, Crimean war hero and a popular man about town, in his rooms in fashionable Mecklenburgh Square. It's an assignment to make or break an investigator, for the exalted status of the victim puts any representative of the police in the precarious position of having to pry into a noble family's secrets.

Suggesting that his superior, the wily Runcorn, hopes he will fail, Monk returns to a world where he cannot distinguish friend from foe. Grasping desperately for any clue to his own past and to the identity of the killer, each new revelation leads Monk step by terrifying step to the answers he seeks but dreads to find.

What readers are saying about The Face of a Stranger:

'A Victorian mystery with plot twists, tension, great characterisation and an excellent standard of historical research'

'It is very well written and deeper than most mystery novels with very interesting historical details'

'I picked this book due to the wonderful reviews Anne Perry has received on Amazon. It was very good indeed'

Ratings and reviews

There's a reason Anne Perry is known for her period settings, and the first book in the series substantiates this claim... such masterfully written tropes of Victorian society. Finally, the story itself is beautifully written, with the plot lines of the protagonist's inner anguish at discovering himself and a classic Sherlock Holmes style murder-mystery running parallel. The plot does get a little slow paced in the middle, but not to the point of redundancy, and fleshes out the characters.

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Face of a stranger

About the author

Anne Perry is a New York Times bestselling author noted for her memorable characters, historical accuracy and exploration of social and ethical issues. Her two series, one featuring Thomas Pitt and one featuring William Monk, have been published in multiple languages. Anne Perry has also published a successful series based around World War One and the Reavley family, and the recent standalone novel The Sheen on the Silk. Anne Perry was selected by The Times as one of the twentieth century's '100 Masters of Crime'.