Acceptable Loss (William Monk #17) by Anne Perry

Anne Perry wrote five series of novels, with the most well known and regarded being the Pitt and Monk series. The novel Acceptable Loss, is in the Monk series and is number seventeen of twenty-four.

The character of William Monk was introduced in the novel, The Face of a Stranger in which Monk, then a police officer, suffers amnesia from an accident. After leaving the police force, Monk becomes a private detective in mid-century Victorian London. The subsequent novels deal with him as a private detective, until in time Monk becomes the Commander of the Thames River Police and Acceptable Loss is set during this latter period. The series is interesting, as Monk due to his amnesia, not only tries to find the criminal, but also in a sense, himself.

The Monk series has two other recurring characters; his wife Hester Latterly, a former nurse in the Crimean War (1853-56) and the barrister Oliver Rathbone, which results in the novels having a set piece court case involving Rathbone and Acceptable Loss, is no exception to that rule.

Acceptable Loss is the sequel to the novel Execution Dock and like most Anne Perry novels, both deal with unpleasant crimes, in this case child prostitution and pornography on the river Thames. Mickey Parfitt, a manager of a boat on the Thames which caters to influential clients of child sex, has been found murdered. As the murder is on the Thames, it comes within the jurisdiction of Commander Monk. Monk’s aim is two-fold, to firstly find the murderer of Parfitt and secondly, the person behind the financing of the boat and the blackmailing arising from the crimes committed aboard.

The book which the library holds is a hardcover Ballantine edition, with a beautiful painting by John Macvicar Anderson of the Houses of Parliament on the cover. The novel is recommended for those who have read Execution Dock.

Reviewed by Stuart McMartin
SMSA Member