I am a huge fan of William and Hester Monk. It was interesting that this book followed the story line in the previous book, “Execution Dock” and helped bring a closing to a sad, dreadful episode.

I really feel sad that Margaret Rathbone has turned into a snob and cannot do anything but bad mouth Monk and Hester. I can only imagine her feelings about her father, but wow, she’s gone too far, especially what she says to Oliver. He is a favorite character too.

I’m interested to see how the relationship changes in the next book. ( )

Ambientado en los muelles de Londres, esta decimoséptima entrega de la serie dedicada a Monk teje una inolvidable historia de inocencia y maldad. Para el carismático inspector, la aparición de un misterioso cadáver, estrangulado con una lujosa corbata, es la excusa perfecta para investigar los entresijos de la corrupción y la explotación infantil que se esconden tras la fachada de los más respetables círculos londinenses. Nada ni nadie quedará a salvo.

It was difficult for me to decide between four and five stars for this book. I went with five as it is one of the "grittier" stories in The Monk series that I have read. In addition, the emotionally charged nature of the story doesn't really allow the reader to be blasé regarding the outcome of the case. ( )

My first Anne Perry novel. Complex crime plot in Victorian England. The main characters are honest and ethical. ( )

In the 17th book of the William Monk series, Monk is still following up on the child pornography rings along the Thames (a continuation of the previous book). He finds another boat but the purveyor of the ring is floating nearby, strangled with a silk cravat. Monk is sure this is a lead to the man behind these crimes who is blackmailing the men who partake of such deviancies.
Let me just get this out of the way: while I love this series, in some of the books (and this is one), there are arrests that seem to happen too quickly without all the evidence being gathered. Maybe it's a plot device or maybe this was the behavior in Victorian England, but especially if you are arresting a prominent person, I'd think you need to have your ducks in a row, so to speak. Maybe I'm stuck in modern police culture but just because someone owns the murder weapon doesn't mean they did the murder. More evidence should be needed to back it up, in my opinion anyway.
Anyway, the writing is excellent, as always, and the growing relationship between Hester, Monk, and Scruff is heartwarming. I feel bad for Oliver, but Margaret has all the earmarks of the 'bored, rich society lady' that she assigns to Claudine unjustly.
Another fine entry in this series. ( )