The Shifting Tide: A William Monk Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

William Monk has been hired by shipping magnate Clement Louvain to recover a shipment of ivory tusks stolen from his schooner, the Maude Idris. Normally, Monk would stay away from a case in which he is at such a disadvantage (Monk may know the streets of London very well, but he knows next to nothing about the river, the docks or the wharfs), but money is low and the need dire, so that in spite of his reservations, Monk agrees to take on the case. Louvain wants the stolen shipment found quickly and without the involvement of the River Police -- an especially tricky combination when murder is thrown into the mix, for the thieves had bashed in the head of one of the sailors keeping watch aboard the Maude Idris. Even stranger, Louvain is not at all interested in seeing that the murderer is apprehended and goes so far as to forbid Monk from wasting his time going down that road. Now why would he do this? Surely the murderer was one of the thieves? Monk senses that Louvain is keeping a great many things from him. A suspicion that grows when he learns that Louvain has taken a desperately ill woman (whom he claims is a friend's ex-mistress) to Hester's free clinic. But what neither Monk nor Hester anticipated was the nightmare that would soon unfold, and that would threaten their lives and happiness...

Mystery-wise, "The Shifting Tide" while intorguing was a little touch and go -- not too many cunning plot twists or sinister red herring culprits for Monk to track down. Even the usually tense courtroom scenes where Sir Oliver Rathbone is centerstage is absent; this time a healthy chunk of the novel is devoted to what Hester and her helpers go through as they battle illness, fatigue and their own inner demons. And yet what a suspenseful read "The Shifting Tide" was! The sense of time ticking away and of lives hanging in the balance was always there; and that together with the colourful and vivid characters that the authour created made this a very compelling read indeed. But most of all it was her portrayals of the unexpected inner strengths and nobility that the unlikeliest of characters exhibited, and her portrayal of human frailities, that made "The Shifing Tide" a memorable and worthwhile read.

Anne Perry writes both the Thomas Pitt series and the William Monk series. When I am reading one or the other series, it is always my favorite at the time. Anne Perry has an uncanny knack of painting the scenes of her stories so vividly that you are transported back in time. She captures the essence and the flavor of the time period.

This book had at first two seemingly different storylines: the stolen ivory and the plague. I found the scenes with the clinic: the difficulty in raising funds for a clinic for fallen women, the struggle in running it, the characters associated with it, and the dealing with the plague the more intriguing storyline. It was not until the storylines merged into one that I started to enjoy the story involving the shipyards. I think it was all a little too gritty for my taste. The relationship between Monk and Hester has evolved since the early books, and even later ones that involved their courtship. You always knew they were close and had a special bond, but this time you really felt it even though they had very few scenes together. Anyone who has never read the Monk series should go back and read them in order. It would be worth it because Anne Perry is an excellent writer who always has good, suspenseful plots.