Breach of Promise by Anne Perry *****

Breach of Promise by Anne Perry is #9/24 of her long-running William Monk series. I hope it is one of her best because I can’t imagine how it could be any better. The story includes two mysteries: Mr. Killian Melville (a brilliant architect) is being sued for breach of promise for failing to marry Zillah Lambert (his rich and beautiful fiancée). The second mystery is locating Leda and Phemie Jackson, deaf and deformed, who were abandoned as small children almost two decades ago. A mark is an excellent mystery is when the reveal is not just surprising but changes the meaning of everything that came before.

The novel asks many questions about the roles of men and women and the assumptions society makes. It also explores appearances with the two Jackson girls and with Lt. Gabriel Sheldon who lost his arm and had his face scarred during the India Mutiny.

 Pure mystery gold. Unexpected and retroactively obvious.

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The Minnesota Book of Skills by Chris Niskanen *****

The Minnesota Book of Skills by ChrisNiskanen is a terrific book about skills that are quickly becoming extinct: homemade sausage, pickling, cutting firewood, canning green beans, and building a birdhouse, to list a few of the six dozen short articles. Some of the articles are specific to Minnesota (Minnesota trails and Five Minnesota trees) and others require a cold winter (dog mushing and ice fishing), but I live in California and found it fascinating. The book has something for everyone (Five adventures for five-year-olds).

Since this is a collection of short articles, it is ideal for situations where you might want to just read a couple of pages at a time (aka a bathroom reader).

 A random selection of interesting topics:

The essential elements of a rope swing

Corn husk dolls and fairy houses

Crop art 101

Showing champion dairy cows

Sauna etiquette

 If you’re interested in outdoor activities and self-reliance, this is the book for you.

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Blind Justice by Anne Perry ***

Even though the previous book (A Sunless Sea) dealt with Opium and this book (Blind Justice) is centered around religious fraud, the two books are duplicates. The ethical dilemma in both is Sir Oliver Rathbone’s struggles with the pornographic photographs of powerful men bequeathed to him by his deceased father-in-law. Should he use them for good or will the implied power corrupt him? The author extensively refers back to previous volumes in this long series. These two books overlap in their backstories. Aside from these major duplications, small details are also duplicated, such as lawyers needed to stall the trial waiting for new evidence.

The other disappointment was that the final revelation seemed to be obvious from the beginning.

Don’t read these two books one after the other.

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A Sunless Sea by Anne Perry *****

A SunlessSea by Anne Perry is 18/24 in her William Monk series about a Victorian detective. This novel is set in 1864 with Monk in command of the Thames River Police. The tale begins with the brutal murder of Zenia Gadney. This unfortunate woman is connected to Dr. Joel Lambourn who was campaigning against opium before he was found dead by suicide. Eventually, his wife, Dinah Lambourn, is arrested for Zenia’s murder. Together with his wife Hester and lawyer friend, Sir Oliver Rathbone, he tries to save Dinah from the gallows. A historical mystery with many surprising twists and turns.

The author, who is still writing, was born in 1938. Most interesting for a murder mystery author: at the age of fifteen, she was convicted of the murder of her friend's mother. She changed her name after serving a five-year sentence.

 The history of this story concerns The Pharmacy Act of 1868, the Opium Wars (1839-42 and 1856-60), and the invention of the hypodermic needle for IV administration of opium.

 Trigger warnings: drug use, addiction, prostitution, evisceration, suicide, and, obviously, murder.

 A historical Victorian mystery where little is as it appears.

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