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‘
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‘
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
Praise for Anne Perry: Anne Perry can write a Victorian mystery that would make Dickens' eyes pop
Her Victorian England pulsates with life and is peopled with wonderfully memorable characters
When it comes to the Victorian mystery, Anne Perry has proved that nobody does it better
Perry has a wonderful feel for period and remains utterly convincing
The period detail remains fascinating, and [Perry's] grasp of Victorian character and conscience still astonishes
With a steady hand at dissecting character and motivation, a keen grasp of social history and a flair for description of Victorian London, Perry guarantees a good read to those who like their murder in a believable historical and psychological context
[Anne] Perry's strengths: memorable characters and an ability to evoke the Victorian era with the finely wrought detail of a miniaturist
Perry is a forceful plotter and a consistently polished writer
Absorbing... Perry continues her excellent renderings of Victorian manners and mayhem
Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries are marvels of plot construction... truly remarkable
