“I have just ‘discovered’ Anne Perry, a very prolific writer. My first taste of Ms Perry’s works was The Face of a Stranger, the first book featuring William Monk. The setting is London after the Crimean War (late 1850s). As the story opens, Monk is in a hospital and has no idea who he is or why he is in the hospital. As it turns out, he’s a London police detective but he knows nothing of his life prior to waking up in the hospital. After his boss pays a visit, he at least knows his name and where he lives.
Monk is presented with a murder case involving the youngest son of a minor baron. As Monk tries to reconstruct his life, he gets drawn deeper into the life of the victim. At one point, he even believes that he may have been the killer. Perry’s picture of mid-19th century life in London and the ‘upstairs & downstairs’ people is wonderful.”—Jim Harris, retired publisher’s rep