Funeral in Blue, Anne Perry

 

The Book

Lady Callandra Daviot hires William Monk when her crush, Dr. Kristian Beck's wife and another woman are found murdered in an artist's studio. Monk takes the case both for his love of Callandra and his respect for Kristian. 

Meanwhile, Monk's wife, Hester Latterly Monk, has a case of her own. Her brother Charles is concerned about what his wife Imogen is doing. Her behavior lately has been quite strange. It forces Hester to acknowledge she and Charles have not been the best of siblings, especially in the past few months since Hester's marriage to Monk. 

Monk is forced to ask Superintendent Runcorn for access to the case, and he must swallow his old enmity of the man in order to get anything at all. Runcorn is in a similar position, having to work the case himself because with Evans on leave, he's short handed. 

The case is politically sensitive because Beck's wife, Elissa, is the daughter of a powerful politician. At first it's assumed the artist's model is the one the killer wanted to kill. But when the investigation reveals Elissa had a ruinous gambling problem, all attention is drawn back to Beck. Monk is deeply afraid Beck killed his wife to be rid of her disease. Hester is worried when she finds out Imogen is also gambling. Hester is convinced Imogen might be the killer's next target. What will Charles do? 

As the case rushes to it's conclusion, Monk and Hester realize the Allardyce may have painted a masterpiece, Funeral in Blue depiciting Elissa and Beck's time during the European wide revolutions of 1848, but it may be the only thing of beauty to come out of this whole sordid business. And whatever will they do to help Callandra if Beck really did kill his wife? 

My Thoughts

You all already know I love this series. And I sink into these books with the same warmth and comfort as I get from a good soak in a hot tub after a satisfying workout. 

William and Hester are two deeply human characters. Each with their own personality quirks. And love the way this series both explores how they interact with each other, and themselves. They are each honest to a fault. It's not surprising, even perhaps what I love most about both Perry's work and the novel form itself. The way the story can be so deeply inside a character's head. Tell us a truth we didn't want to hear, clearly, and yet softly. To coax each reader into becoming a better person. 

For example, consider the following exchange between William and Hester.  William is holding her arm to her towards him. 

'He loosened his grip without removing his hand. "Hester you are deliberately being evasive. What have you discovered that is so ugly that you are prepared to compromise yourself for it?" 

"I'm..." she began, then the truth of what he was saying bit more deeply. She was compromising herslef, and also the trust between them. He would find out soon anyway.'

Hester wants to protect her friend. She knows telling William means telling the police, even though he's not on the force anymore. And William will have his own moment of doubt soon, when he too has to reveal this ugly truth to Runcorn of all people. And yet, step by step, William and Hester each make the morally correct, if emotionally difficult decision. Within interpersonal relationships, Perry rewards her characters again and again. At least with the series long characters we follow. But in the wider "real world" the truth of human nature is also explored. 

This series definitely plums the mines of depravity, and will in even more deeply in future books.

This book is about gambling and addiction. What in the old world, we would call vices. This world, the one of the last 20 years, has been, at least in the USA become more and more accepting of what we would have regarded as vices in the past. This book feels like a vanguard of that older argument against things like gambling, which has received widespread acceptance as my adult years have progressed. And yet, this book doesn't take a policy position on gambling, only a look at the human need behind it, and the depravity of those who would exploit weak people for their own profit while evading the law.

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

This book came to me from the Wilmette Public Library. This 344 page book has definitely seen better days. Which is perhaps why it was marked "Storage" on the spine. I feel as if I'm in a race against time with several of these books. I feel I need to get past the year 2008 or 2009 to ensure that I will be able to check out the entire series. There is no entry as to that date Wilmette put it in their collection, but I know from the card holder in the book that they were not yet on a scanner system. The date of publication for this book was 2001 and it's a first edition. I am forced to believe this book came into their possession a weeks after it's release. The inside cover of the book says $25. That is the number we will use. 

This Book                                                                 $25.00

Items Reviewed this Year                                       $134.92

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