The Shifting Tide, Anne Perry

 The Book 

William Monk is employed by Clement Louvain, a self made shipping magnate, to track down a load of ivory that was stolen from his ship, the Maude Idris. Short on funds, and with a significant up front payment, Monk agrees. 

Meanwhile, Hester knows the financial situation at home is getting precarious. She doesn't want to go back into private nursing, not after forming a clinic to treat prostitutes. It is unlikely, since she is well known to do this, should could attract a private client now, anyway. Just when they think they will need to turn to their good friend, Lady Calandra Daviot for funds, they find out she is getting married to Dr. Kristian Beck and returning to Austria with him. They wish her well. 

Monk, despite growing up in a North Umbrian shipping town, is finding out the Thames is a whole different cut throat universe from the slums of London. On land he knows the ins and outs of the criminal class. But, on the water, he is out of his league. A small mudlark named Scuff, who claims to be 11, but is more likely 9 takes pity of Monk. With Scuff's help, Monk is able to dodge the River Police and trace the ivory. He needs the help because Hester is dealing with an outbreak of what looks like pneumonia at the clinic and she can't come home. The horrible disease, which turns out to be the bubonic plague, has been brought to the clinic by none other than Clement Louvain. 

Now Monk enlists the head of the River Police to help him track down the crew before London has an uncontrollable outbreak. And they need to find out if Louvain did it on purpose. 

My Thoughts

Once this book gets going, it is really, really hard to put down. It's a little sad to see Lady Callandra go, for all of her falling in love with Dr. Kristian Beck and all, but those story lines had gotten extremely strained. 

Here Perry is making a pivot from the character that she had concieved in William Monk and the Monk she will make him. Of all of the characters in this series, the changes in Monk are most profound, hard won, and we see bit by bit how and why the man changes his outlook on the world. 

Hester, too is changing, from reform campaigner, into a practical healer. Although we can trace the changes in Hester pretty well, here we see Perry's deep empathy for the women she met when she was imprisoned. We see, through Hester, women who were afoul of society's rules, desperate, hungry, and in need of compassion. We see they are as human as any of the rest of us. And less we forget how far the world had come, Perry reminds us that the sheltered women of Victorian England frequently felt miserable. Perry shows us, through heart-breakingly real characters, just how far women have come. 

This book and all of the pivots in it, is perhaps Perry's best work in this series. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

This book came to me from the McHenry Public Library District. It is in really, really good condition.(Don't mind that bit of sticker at the bottom, that's part of the labeling system for pick ups. The sticker didn't come all the way off, but when peeled off, it doesn't leave a residue.) I know it's been read at least once before because is had a small pen scribble on the very first page of the book. That damage was recorded on 8/20/24 according the system used by McHenry. I believe this is a first for us on the blog. I certainly do not remember the exact date of small damage being documented before. There were some dog ears in the book but otherwise, the binding was quite tight and it felt and smelled like a book that had never been read before. Interesting. Overall I would say the 328 page book was in really good condition. It took me just 3 das to read it. The back cover says the book costs $16.00 and is my practice that is the number we will use. 

You may notice that I am getting a bit more specific in how I account for my books. That is because my term as a library trustee ended earlier this year. As such, I am reading more books outside of those that I can get from my library. Therefore, I felt in order to be honest with you, I needed to account more accurately for the books. 

This Book                                                        $16.00

Items Reviewed This Year                             $335.96

Private Books

This Book                                                        $0.00

Total of Private Books                                    $44.89

Total of All Items Reviewed This Year         $381.73

Still Here? 

 I am now a published author. You can pick up a *FREE COPY* of my novella The Big Intersection here.