Twisted Root - Hardcover

Perry, Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0345433254 ISBN 13: 9780345433251

Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc., 1999

Synopsis

Victorian-era private detective William Monk returns as he and his new wife, Hester, investigate the mysterious disappearance of Miriam Gardiner, who vanishes from a croquet party at the sumptuous estate of her future in-laws, leaving behind the body of a murdered coachman. 50,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

William Monk, the unquestionably handsome, somewhat vain, but genuinely tender-hearted "agent of enquiry" is back on the streets of Victorian London, investigating his 10th case, a missing woman. Miriam Gardiner was due to be betrothed to a much younger man, a well-to-do gentleman named Lucius Stourbridge. But during a family croquet party, the bride-to-be vanished, apparently fleeing in a coach driven by a family servant named Treadwell. Perhaps just a simple case of pre- wedding jitters, Monk would normally be reluctant to take on such a seemingly dull case but his own recent marriage to the headstrong nurse Hester Latterly gives Monk a new- found empathy for the heartbroken Lucius. Of course as is tradition in Perry's historical mysteries, all is not quite as it seems. Treadwell is found murdered and the missing Miriam becomes the number one suspect. Monk is convinced that she "could and would do no intentional evil", even as Hester connects her to another illicit crime. Eventually unearthed by London's finest, Miriam is arrested and charged with murder. It's up to barrister Oliver Rathbone to absolve her in court (with a little help from his good friends William and Hester Monk).

With a plot twist around every corner, Anne Perry knows just how to keep us in suspense, right up to the exceedingly dramatic finale. The Twisted Root is a luminous whodunit from the queen of the Victorian mystery. --Naomi Gesigner

Review:

A complex plot supported by superb storytelling...and William Monk, a contender for the post of Most Original Investigator in recent fiction (Scotland on Sunday)

[For THE TWISTED ROOT]

Beautifully crafted (Cosmopolitan)

'Victorian society leaps to courteous life under the author's wit, but beneath the age of politeness seethes the seaminess of the era' Middlesbrough Evening Gazette

Her Victorian England pulsates with life and is peopled with wonderfully memorable characters (Faye Kellerman)

'A real page-turner... There is much to admire in this tale and not least the teasing plot... Perrys's writing has a grip and immediacy that never fails to hold me and this book is a particularly good example of this spell' Historical Novel Review

The novel has a totally contemporary feel and is admirably well-written (Guardian)

[General]

'A splendidly plotted yarn' Publishers Weekly

A complex plot supported by superb storytelling (Scotland on Sunday)

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0345433254
• ISBN 13: 9780345433251
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352