Slaves of Obsession is a frustrating book. Clearly a murder mystery (as are all in this series), the murderer proves to be the most likely suspect for me but not the villain I wanted it to be. To be sure, there is a certain poetic justice which occurs with regard to the one I consider a villain, but the actual mystery seems rather bourgeois when it is finally unveiled. Fortunately, there are extremely well-delineated action scenes and moments of suspense between the murder(s) and the final revelation, as well as some tense courtroom drama. In fact, if I was charged to write a television series based on one of these characters, I’d choose Sir Oliver Rathbone to become the lead character as opposed to the supporting character he plays in this series of novels.One unique aspect of this novel is that it shows how British arms dealers were pulled into the American Civil War (War Between the States, War of Northern Aggression) in the context of Britain having followed William Wilberforce’s ideal of liberating the slaves. And, Ms. Perry uses a unique plot device to give the reader a musket’s eye view (as well as field hospital’s eye view) of the Battle of Bull Run. Those pages were positively mesmerizing—touching all of the senses mentally so that one could practically smell the blood and feel a necessity of swatting away the flies and wiping the black powder from one’s face. It is as vivid for those pages as many historical novels built around military protagonists.I loved the way both the resolution of the case and the evolution of Hester’s and Monk’s marital relationship both depended upon aspects of Monk’s past. I can’t be specific without ruining some of the beautiful counterpoint in this story, but I can remind those of you who haven’t read a novel in this series for a while that Monk doesn’t know much about his past. However, he knows enough to get occasional glimpses and he doesn’t always like what he sees. I really enjoyed the way his past was used in this novel. I also enjoyed the delicate dance between Sir Oliver Rathbone who loved Hester but didn’t overtly pursue her and the protagonist couple. This is the type of interpersonal interplay that raises the bar in Perry’s work. People do have pasts and people do have regrets. It’s interesting to see them working on them.
This is an installment of the Monk mysteries by Anne Perry. In this installment Monk and his wife, Hester find themselves in the United States during the opening stages of the Civil War. They have been sent there to retrieve the 16 year old daughter of Monk's new client. The daughter has seemingly eloped with an officer in the Union Army who was on assignment to buy a large shipment of guns from the girl's father. Hester is able to lend her considerable skills as a war time nurse to aid the wounded at the Battle of Bull Run. Monk arrests the Union officer and Monk and Hester return him and the daughter to England where they both are accused of the violent murder of her father and two other men. It becomes Monk's duty to prove the daughter's innocence and by extension, if not desire, the innocence of the Union officer. I found the setting for this tale interesting because of the view of the Civil War one sees through the eyes of the Brits of that era. It was also interesting to see the relationship between Monk and Hester take on greater depth. This was good reading. (see the notes on GoodReads about this book for more details)
¿Somos esclavos? claro que si, esté libro nos muestra las formas y los límites a los que somos capaces de llegar por un fin, defender nuestro honor, las garantías de los demás e incluso el amor. En lo personal el personaje que más me gusto fué Hester, ella enmarca la fuerza y delicadeza que cada mujer tiene en si, quizás no todas llegamos a encontrarnos en la posición de ella pero podemos ser de plomo si las condiciones se presentan. Esclavos de una obsesión es un libro que deja un buen sabor aunque con un final un tanto apresurado vale la pena tomarse un tiempo para él.http://clamflog.blogspot.mx/2015/01/a...
—Clamflog
It seems that William and Hester Monk (or perhaps their author) were getting a little tired of London, for both this novel and the next, Funeral in Blue, involve departures into other parts of the world. Fine with me! In this case, we (and William) get to see Hester's battle-nursing skills in action in the American Civil War, where they venture right on to the battlefield seeking out an anti-slavery fanatic on the Union side and the young woman with whom he has run away. (Perry plays an interesting game here by giving the fanatic - and obvious suspect in the London murders - ideals the modern reader cannot easily reject. However, it makes the resolution of the plot slightly easier to predict).There's the usual court scene with last minute information brought forward (I'm getting slightly tired of this trope in Perry's books, to tell the truth). However, I enjoyed the change of scenery, and this was a decent page-turner.
—Surreysmum
Number 11 in the William Monk series of historical mysteries, Slaves and Obsession plunges William and Hester into the American Civil War -- literally. Pursuing a suspect and the (very) young woman whom he abducted (or seduced??), our heroes find themselves in the midst of the Battle of Bull Run. Hester's experience in the Crimea with Florence Nightingale comes to the fore. Perry's description of the carnage is riveting. As usual in the Monk books, the puzzle is completely secondary. The essence of the book is its personages, of whom we always want to learn more.
—Bob
