"Exciting historical police procedural"
It is 1863 in Victorian London and times are lean for
private enquiry agent William Monk and his wife Hester who
receives no money for working at the clinic in Portpool
Lane that provides medical care to sick and injured
prostitutes. Louvain, a powerful business man who makes a
profit in shipping, hires Monk to recovery a shipment of
ivory that was stolen off his shop while it was waiting to
dock. One of the crew still on board was murdered and
Monk intends to find out who the killer is and bring him
to justice even though he won't get any additional fees
for it. The ivory must be found within a certain period of time or
Louvain won't be unable to pay off a creditor who is also
his rival. If that happens he won't be able to bid on a
fast clipper ship that he wants to add to his fleet.
While Monk makes contacts along the river to find out who
received the ivory, Hester is battling a different kind of
killer, one that hasn't been seen in Europe since the
middle ages. Anne Perry can always be counted on to write an exciting
historical police procedural and THE SHIFTING TIDE is
obvious proof of this assertion. Hester and Monk battle
with more than a serial killer and that brings the focus
of the tale as much on the nurse fighting a deadly disease
as the hero trying to get an innocent man off death row.
There is plenty of action in Ms Perry's latest thriller
but it is the two special people who risk their lives for
humanity that readers will care about. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted April 24, 2004
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