About this title: 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 woud 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 ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780804108584ISBN:0804108587
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. J-Clean and tight with general edge and spine wear; good reader's copy. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 352 p. William Monk Novels (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780804108584ISBN:0804108587
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Very light edge and corner wear. No marks. Tight binding. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 352 p. William Monk Novels (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780804108584ISBN:0804108587
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, light shelf wear to cover, loght creases on spine, stk #1198c7. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 352 p. William Monk Novels (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780804108584ISBN:0804108587
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 352 p. William Monk Novels (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Publishing Group, New York, New York, U.S. A
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780804108584ISBN:0804108587
Description: Very Good. 0804108587 This mass market paperback book is in REAL GOOD SHAPE! ! FIRST EDITION! Some creasing of the spine and minor signs of wear from reading--nothing major! SMOKE FREE HOME! Do not settle for worn, torn, throwaways. Pay a few pennies more for a book that looks a crease or two away from near new! ! ! read more
Binding: Paper back
Publisher: Ivy
Date Published: 1991
Description: Good. Marked discard on the inside cover description page, sold in a library private donation sale; an Inspector Monk Victorian Mystery with the written sights and sounds of London's streets. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780804108584ISBN:0804108587
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 352 p. William Monk Novels (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
"One of those unforgettable books - not so much for the plot as for the extraordinary character development and the idea 'what if it were to happen to me?'. It's a wonderful book about a man who looses his memory in an accident. In the process of healing he must discover who he is/was & what exactly he was doing when the accident happened. It all takes place in Victorian London after the Crimean War - and that's one of the most enjoyable aspects - getting a look into a time & place very different from my own.
This book is the first in a series of 'Monk' books by Anne Perry. I've read many of them & enjoyed them all, but this is the best."
"The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry is the first book in her William Monk series. It is not my first Anne Perry book though--I read the 9th book in the series (A Breach of Promise) last year for a book club (which goes against all of my basic instincts when it comes to reading books from a series--I generally like to read them in order!). It intrigued me, so when I found the first book in the series at my favorite used book store, I snatched it up.
William Monk is a man who does not know himself. Literally. The book opens with him waking up in a London hospital in 1856, unaware of what happened to him or even what his name is. As the book progresses he learns he is a police detective, and as he steps back into his everyday life he tries to puzzle out what sort of man he is, who his friends and enemies are, and what he was doing before the carriage accident stole his memory. It is interesting to see him struggle with the less admirable aspects of his character when he learns of them. Monk is a fascinating character, and as he tries to regain his memory he also tries to solve the brutal murder of Major Jocelin Grey, a Crimean war hero and gentleman. He also meets beautiful Imogen Latterly, a woman from his last investigation whose father-in-law's suicide is somehow connected to the mystery he is currently grappling with.
My favorite character in the book is Hester Latterly. She is Imogen's less-than-genteel sister-in-law, who spent time in the Crimea working with Florence Nightingale. She is a strong woman character, who is determined to live her life on her own terms, without a man if necessary. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, and although Monk seems to loathe her, she ends up being of great assistance to him in the end.
I really liked the book. The characters were fascinating and unusual (even though Monk seemed a bit angst-ridden at times), and I thought the idea of the main character starting with an almost blank-slate and having to relearn everything about himself was very creative. I am looking forward to see where the next book, A Dangerous Mourning will take me."
"I've been searching for a good read for the past month and I finally found it in The Face of a Stranger. I liked the story and the period details and the characters insight. I can't wait to read the other books by Anne Perry. It surprised me to discover that Anne Perry is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and to read of her past history... she and a friend at the age of 16 killed the friend's mother. I think that her writing is reflective of her experience. I like that Monk finds that he didn't really like who he was before he had an accident, and he wants to be someone better."
"This was the first book in the William Monk series. Although I have read two recent books, it was good to start back at the beginning and see how the character develops. I do like Monk, so I'll want to read more of the series -- in order. I'm so acquainted with Parker books where there is not one wasted word, this book tended to plod too much for me, and some of the info was repeated too many times. There was good character development, and lots of words of wisdom (one of my favorite things about a book). Examples: "Before you pity yourself, take a great deal closer look at others, and then decide with whom you would or could change places, and what sacrifices of your nature you would be prepared to make in order to do so." AND "I admit he was very witty at times, and we can forgive a great deal of one who makes us laugh." My favorite dialogue exchange was between Monk and Hester. "You make far too many assumptions, madame. You are arrogant, domineering, ill-tempered and condescending. And you leap to conclusions for which you have no foundation... I hate clever women!" Hester's response: "I love clever men!" Her eyes raked him up and down. "It seems we are both to be disappointed.""
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