Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Dark Tide Rising by Anne Perry (A William Monk Novel)


Dark Tide Rising by Anne Perry (A William Monk Novel)
Book 24 in the William Monk Series
  • ISBN-10: 0399179917 - Hardcover $28.00
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books (September 18, 2018), 304 pages.
  • Review copy courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

The blurb:
When a ransom exchange turns deadly in this thrilling mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry, Commander William Monk faces an unthinkable possibility: betrayal by his own men.

Jacob’s Island is a broken-down waterside slum, a place of perpetual gloom where Monk is just as likely to lose a man to the mud and tides as to the criminals who hide in the shadows. Kidnappers have chosen this warren of tunnels and alleys as the site of a ransom exchange for Kate Exeter, the wife of wealthy real estate developer Harry Exeter. Harry asks the Thames River Police to secretly accompany him to the spot and ensure that no harm comes to him or his captive wife. But on arrival, Monk and five of his best men are attacked from all sides, and Monk is left wondering who could have given away their plans.

As Monk follows leads from Kate’s worried cousin and a crafty clerk at the bank where Exeter gathered the ransom money, it seems undeniable that one of his own men has betrayed him. Delving into their pasts, he realizes how little he knows about the people he works with every day, including his right-hand man John Hooper, the one colleague Monk has always been certain he can count on—but who is also hiding a dreadful secret. As the case runs into a series of deadly obstructions, Monk must choose between his own safety and the chance to solve the mystery—and to figure out where his men’s loyalty really lies.

Review:
I confess that I'm an avid Anne Perry fan.  I try to read her books as they come out.  I devoured this latest William Monk novel.  It shows Monk and Hester with their deep idealism and the loyalty that they command and give to the people they work with, respect, and love. 

Hester and Will go behind William's back to investigate who may have betrayed Monk and his men.  The uncertainty and the loss of trust hits Monk and his colleagues hard.  I found myself worried about Monk and protective of his right hand man, Hooper.  

Anne Perry delivers another engrossing novel as we root for Monk, Hester, Hooper and the men -- hoping that they find the merciless killer and restore the balance and trust that had been so important to the River Police.  There is much risk and personal loss in Dark Tide Rising, but once again Anne Perry delivers a keeper in Dark Tide Rising!


About the Author:Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Sophie Jordan's The Duke Buys a Bride (The Rogue Files)


The Duke Buys a Bride by Sophie Jordan
ISBN-10: 0062463640 - Mass Market Paperback $7.99
  • Publisher: Avon; Reissue edition (July 24, 2018), 368 pages.

The blurb:
The last thing Marcus, the Duke of Autenberry, expects to see after sleeping off a night's drunken shenanigans is a woman being auctioned in the village square.  Before he can think about the ramifications, he buys her, thinking he's winning the girl her freedom. Instead, he discovers he's bought a wife.

Alyse Bell is almost rid of the shackles that bound her in a name-only marriage, but the day her friend promised to purchase her in a wife auction, he vanishes, leaving her to face a mob of unsavory bachelors intent on owning her body and soul.  But the appearance of a wicked, wealthy, stranger changes her path forever.

Marcus doesn't know what to do with the impertinent chit who clearly isn't duchess material! Insisting their marriage isn't legitimate, they leave for his estate in Scotland, hoping to devise a plan to get rid of each other.  However, on a journey fraught with misadventure, their attraction grows, and Marcus realizes he'll do anything to keep this fiery woman for his own.

Review:
I'll admit I was a bit worried that The Duke Buys a Bride would be too much of a rescue love story.  Fortunately, Sophie Jordan makes Alyse Bell and Marcus, Duke of Autenberry, more of a contemporary love story with the banter, the uncertainty, and the plot twists.  As we move from Marcus's point of view to that of Alyse, the situation moves from a bad twist of fate to the start of an interesting romance.  
Sophie Jordan gives us two sympathetic characters stuck in a comic situation. As they encounter stresses and draw the attention of rivals/possible enemies, Alyse and Marcus realize that they have something worth keeping.  The Duke Buys a Bride is a fun escape!

About the Author:
Sophie Jordan grew up on a pecan farm in the Texas hill country, where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she's also the New York Times bestselling author of Avon historical romances and the Firelight series. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she's not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes and Diet cherry Coke preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-TV shows.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher.