Defend and Betray

A William Monk Novel #3

By: Anne Perry

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Ten people gather together for an elegant London dinner party. By the end of the party, only nine are alive. Sometime after dinner, General Thaddeus Carlyon is brutally murdered in the hallway. Who had the strength - and motive - to murder the distinguished military hero? Nurse Latterly and Inspector Monk find the answers in a nightmarish legacy of evil.Crack another case with William Monk.©1992 Anne Perry (P)1996 Recorded Books, LLC

Not for the sensitive..

Once again, Ms. Perry tackles modern societal issues in a Victorian setting. She vividly illustrates some of the deleterious effects inflicted on the victims. The first half of the book, I did suspect what was going on, but not the murderer.. by the middle, I’d figured it out.. but wanted to continue .. if nothing else than to see how Ms. Perry handled the issues.

There is a great triangle brewing between Monk, Hester and Oliver. I keep vacillating over which man I want to get the girl!

Ms. Porter again, is wonderful!

This book is not for those with blissfully innocent sensitivities.. but, is an excellent expose of some of societies most degrading practices.

Riveting

A bit of a slow start, but hang in -- the hook is delayed but once you bite, you will not want to get away. Masterful, as always for Perry.

Third in series and best so far!

Not all series get better as you go. So far, this third installment in the William Monk Mystery Series was the best, not because the others weren’t great, but because this was a fantastic read. The ending twist was not immediately guessed, the characters were well-written and given humane treatment—you could feel for all parties. It was evocative and well done.

Love Anne’s writing but uncomfortable subject matter

I love Annes style of writing but this is a book I will skip in the series due to the subject matter. On to the next book.

For Readers Who Love Good Writing

Another well wriitten book with great characterizations, accurate historical background, and brilliant plot and as usual surprise conclusion in the whodontit tradition of Perry.

Great Story

I loved this book. great twist in the plot. Davina Porter brings the characters to life!

Transcends the genre

An nuanced and sensitive portrayal of class and crime in mid-19th century England and the strictures on women. Oh--and an absorbing novel, extremely well written.

Should be labeled with appropriate warnings

I enjoyed listening to this book both for the story and narration.

**However, there should be a written warning label given the extremely sensitive nature of some of the content. I won’t mention what label because I don’t want to spoil the plot for others.

My favorite Monk novel so far.

I found the first two novels slow and redundant, although it's only fair to say that I still couldn't put them down. This novel flows better, is significantly less repetitive and develops the characters of Hester and Oliver even more than that of Monk.

I have really enjoyed Perry's descriptions of the classes and time period, more than any other author who writes about that period - she vividly portrays the constraints placed on women, children and the servant class.

As a woman I feel badly for generally not liking women narrators. I find it easier to hear a man narrating a woman's part than the reverse. That being said, Davina Porter's narrations are so good that suspension of disbelief is nearly total for me.

This is the darkest yet of the three but also the easiest to believe and the most touching. Enjoy!

Good storyline, but not as counterintuitive as the two previous.

Overall a good book, but not an excellent book. I'm not sure I would recommend this to anyone, unless they are bored and have nothing else to read. The storyline was very obvious from the get-go, the characters were not terribly developed, and the outcome was obvious. There was way too much emphasis on the emotional history of the lead detective. His history is interesting, but should not be the focus of the book and in this case, it is. The actual drama seem to take a backstage to his revealing of where he wanted to go in his life. Again, interesting but should not be the focal point. In any case, interesting read, to a degree, but not something I would have read if I had been aware of the focus of the book. I would've simply skip to the next one in the series. In summation, just a little too predictable and A little bit lame.