I liked this book more than the first one in the series which doesn't happen that often. Perry easily draws the reader especially into the life of the servants which was extremely enlightening. She does a great job of commenting on people's vanity and desire for self-preservation. Very enjoyable read. ( )

no.2

Publishers Weekly Review: Murder in an aristocratic London household pits Inspector William Monk, first encountered in The Face of a Stranger , against the Victorian sense of propriety, a bootlicking superior officer and a family's fierce determination to protect its reputation. Octavia Haslett, widowed daughter of Sir Basil Moidore, is found stabbed to death in her bedroom dressed only in nightclothes; when Monk proves no outsider could have entered the house that night, the family and servants remain sole suspects. As tension mounts in the household and a handsome and disliked footman becomes a scapegoat, Monk covertly arranges to introduce Hester Latterly, who served with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea and has helped Monk before, as a nurse in the Moidore home. Although a grave miscarriage of justice occurs and Monk is dismissed from the police force for a matter of conscience, the strong-willed pair persists in pressing the case to its chilling conclusion. Perry also writes the acclaimed Victorian mysteries featuring Inspector Pitt and his wife. (Sept.) ( )