A Dangerous Mourning

A William Monk Novel #2

By: Anne Perry

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

When the beautiful daughter of Sir Basil Moidore is stabbed to death in her bed, Inspector Monk and Nurse Latterly uncover a tale of shame and scandal that threatens to destroy a powerful London dynasty.

Crack another case with William Monk.

©1991 Anne Perry (P)1995 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"As tension mounts in the household and a handsome and disliked footman becomes a scapegoat, Monk covertly arranges to introduce Hester Latterly, who served with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea and has helped Monk before, as a nurse in the Moidore home. Although a grave miscarriage of justice occurs and Monk is dismissed from the police force for a matter of conscience, the strong-willed pair persists in pressing the case to its chilling conclusion." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Anne Perry can write a Victorian mystery that would make Dickens's eyes pop." ( New York Times Book Review)
"A richly textured, masterfully plotted, thoroughly enjoyable read." ( Kirkus Reviews)

I am confused by Runcorn’s character

I am enjoying the Monk series very much. Having fallen in love with Runcorn in Perry’s the Christmas Beginning, I am finding it impossible to reconcile my beloved Runcorn with the over bearing oaf depicted in this series. The other characters seem true to form in the Christmas series and I do not understand why Runcorn is characterized so differently
Alas, I just pretend he is someone else!

Kept me hooked

Excellent narrator. She is one of my favorites. The story is enthralling and gave Hester a stronger role to play. Still a lot of unanswered questions about Monk's lost memories. All around excellent.

Great story and narration

The narrator does a wonderful job! The story itself is well written, not so obvious that you guess the ending and keeps your interest. Very well paced with well rounded characters and environment.

An Interesting Story

This story held my interest all the way through. The publisher's summary provides a very good synopsis of the story so I won't try to add anything. You have to have an interest in victorian ways of living or your jaw will be on the ground all the way through this story. However, the central character Hester makes some redemptive comments and gestures on behalf of women (as much as she can!) when she can't hold her tongue against condescending remarks made usually by a man. I think the moral of this story is "parents should not impose their wishes and ambitions upon their children" it could prove to be deadly as it did in this story.

The persistence of the police as William Monk and Hester Laterley.

These books are very thought provoking. The gentry were very privileged and everyone else were held in contempt by them especially the police and servants.

Superb Story!

The second William Monk book deals primarily with the power of the wealthy and the aristocracy (the male members thereof) to hide all manner of scandalous situations, in order to avoid any hint of scandal to touch their families. Which often was accomplished through manipulation of information and the blaming of scapegoats among the servants or other members of the lower classes. In such men's eyes, the wellbeing, and even the lives of servants and similar creatures are easily sacrificed in order to keep their own and their families' reputations unsullied.

In "A Dangerous Mourning," a widowed daughter of Sir Basil Moidore is found stabbed in her own bed in her father's house. Monk is assigned to the case along with his assistant, Sergeant Evan. As the investigation proceeds, certain evidence is turned up pointing to a disliked footman in the household, but Monk feels that there is something wrong going on. In order to find out what that something is, he enlists Hester Latterly to help by becoming private nurse to Sir Basil's wife (mother of the murdered woman).

Because Monk is not convinced that the footman did it, and believes that there is insufficient evidence, he refuses a direct order from Runcorn, his boss in the police, and is fired/resigns from the force. Sergeant Evan is then forced to arrest the footman and the case is closed. Being forced to become a private investigator in order to make a living, Monk continues the investigation through Hester. No, this does not mean Monk and Hester have made up all their differences: they still argue as often as not and are continually offending each other. However, they do recognize a certain intelligence and integrity in each other, and a similar dedication to equity and justice.

As I read this second book, I became more aware of Perry's skill at describing people, both physically and in character. Really quite good!

In addition, it occurred to me that it is important to read these William Monk books in order. Not only do characters reappear from previous books, but references are made in one book to cases which occur in previous books. For instance, this book contains references to the Gray case, which was the case in the first Monk book. And book 3, which I am now reading, refers to matters arising both in the Gray case, and in the Moidore case (book 2). So, while the books can be enjoyed in any order, the greatest enjoyment comes in chronological order.

However you decide to read these booksk, you are sure to have a wonderful time!

A bit long but very good

Could have been a little shorter. Too much inner thoughts etc made it flow loving.

Loved it

Since I’ve discovered Anne Perry I am “reading” (if I’m permitted to say that on Audible) each of her different series as fast as possible! The stories are so well crafted and the characters interesting! My only regret is not knowing about her earlier, the also means I have hours upon hours to enjoy before having to wait for a new book!

Surprising finish!

Good story, but Monk seemed to lack investigation skills, so not surprising someone else had to figure it out. Hoping he improves!

Enjoyable, but frustrating

I enjoyed this book but will not visit another in the series.

Let me explain...

The narration is excellent. Davina Porter is a gem.

The setting is quite good. From eel pies and onion soup, to the daily routines of servants, to the ineptitudes of doctors and their expectations of nurses, to the rituals which were involved in every kind of social interaction, Victorian London, and the lives of its inhabitants, are fleshed out in remarkable detail.

Many of the characters are good, too. Hester Latterly is a stand out: brash, intelligent, opinionated, sensitive, compassionate, proactive.

And the basic plot is engrossing: a women dead, carved up by an intruder in the night, only it wasn't an intruder but someone in the house who did it -- a very respectable house filled with both respectable people, and servants. The conflict this creates, and the ways the conflict plays out, is fascinating to observe...mostly.

The problem is that the novel plods. Not in a satisfying, slow, luxurious way. In a tedious way. Most of the action consists of repetitive conversations, leading to interrogations that are uninformative, leading back to conversations that are usually seething underneath with barely suppressed contempt or indignation, leading to more interrogations with the same people as before, with almost nothing new coming to light, and so on, and so on. This is actually fine for a while as it builds tension. But I found myself skipping a bit at the end, trying to get to some good parts.

Part of what's frustrating is that the main character (who is not Hester, sadly) is so impotent throughout. His hands are tied by the situation, and they never become untied, so that by the end of the story he has barely done anything to accomplish its resolution. This might be accurate for the time and situation, but it's usually not what you want in the protagonist of a detective novel.

What's more, there was a line of inquiry I was almost screaming for them to pursue, which was completely ignored until the last few pages. In my mind, in a murder mystery, obscuring the obvious by simply ignoring it is a cardinal sin.

In conclusion: I did enjoy the novel, but I find it difficult to recommend. It's an odd thing to admit at the end of a 4 star review, but there you have it.