Anne Perry does a wonderful job giving the reader a sense of what it might have been like in Victorian England. Her characters are real and flawed and she gives great detail of the societal pressures of the time; as well as the distances between the haves and the have-nots in this time period. The mystery is interesting and keeps you turning the pages, but I believe it is in the characters and setting that this novel has it's greatest strengths.

I was hooked around pg. 3-- I wanted to know what was going to happen to this man!

I felt the second half of the book moved much better once we were allowed to see the story develop from outside of Monk. Maybe a little less hand holding on the conclusion, but an enjoyable read.

Our group hasn't discussed many mysteries over the years; however we enjoyed this book very much. Plenty to discuss comparing social and lifestyle between the Victorian era and now, as well as character development and plot.