by Anne Perry
First published 2012
Commander Monk of the River Police discovers a horrifically mutilated woman's body on Limehouse Pier during a cold December morning. The victim, Zenia Gadney, lived quietly near the waterfront and received monthly visits from an unknown gentleman for years. Her only connection leads to Dr. Lambourn, a respectable man who recently killed himself after the government rejected his opium report. Monk's former superior Runcorn suspects the government suppressed Lambourn's findings. When evidence points to Lambourn's beautiful wife Dinah, Monk arrests her despite believing she's innocent. Dinah lies about her activities and denies the accusations against her. The public and press demand a swift execution before Christmas while a biased judge pushes the case forward. Monk works with his determined wife Hester and their skilled barrister friend Oliver Rathbone to uncover the real killer. Their investigation takes them from grimy waterfront streets to London's wealthy West End neighborhoods. They pursue a cold-blooded murderer while racing against time to prove an almost impossible truth in a dramatic courtroom battle.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, race-against-time, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Limehouse Pier, London, West End
Period: Cold December, Christmas
373 pages · Hardcover · Random House
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, murder