Search - Defend and Betray (William Monk, Bk 3)

In the two series that Anne Perry authored, William Monk and Thomas Pitt, she builds the characters and their lives as she delves into their latest mystery which enhances her stories with an added dimension. If you wish to get the most out of her series, here are the Monk books in the order in which they were written: 1990-Face of a Stranger, 1992-A Dangerous Morning, 1994-A Sudden Fearful Death, 1995-The Sins of the Wolf, 1996-Cain His Brother, 1997-Weighed in the Balance, 1998 The Silent Cry, 1998-A Breach of Promise, 2000-The Twisted Root, 2000-Slaves of Obsession, 2001-Funeral in Blue, 2002-Defend & Betray, 2003-Shifting Tide. For historical (Victorian Age) fiction mystery lovers, she is the greatest for a delightful pageturner.

Classic Anne Perry. Thaddeus Carlyon, a brilliant military general is killed by falling over a stair railing, at a dinner party. His wife readily admits to it, but who did it, and why????? A page-turner to the end, as Rathbone, Monk and Ms. Latterly unveil the secrets in this well bred family.

From back of book:

After a brilliant military career, esteemed General Thaddeus Carlyon finally meet death, not in the frenzy of battle, but at an elegant London dinner party. His demise appears to be the result of a freak accident. But the General's beautiful wife, Alexandra, readily confesses that she killed him -- a story she clings to even under the shadow of the gallows.

Investigator William Monk, nurse Hester Latterly, and brilliant Oliver Rathbone, counsel for the defense, work feverishly to break down the wall of silence raised by the accused and her husband's proud family. With the trial only days away, they inch toward the dark and appalling heart of the mystery. The final act is a courtroom masterpiece, through which we dare not breathe too deeply, lest the precarious balance of a woman's life be lost.