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The Face of a Stranger

A William Monk Novel #1

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The Face of a Stranger

By: Anne Perry
Narrated by: Davina Porter
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About this listen

In this exhilarating series debut, police detective William Monk must solve the mystery of his own past.

His name, they tell him, is William Monk, and he is a London police detective. But the accident that felled him has left him with only half a life; his memory and his entire past have vanished. As he tries to hide the truth, Monk returns to work and is assigned to investigate the brutal murder of a Crimean War hero and man about town. Which makes Monk’s efforts doubly difficult, since he’s forgotten his professional skills along with everything else.

“Richly textured with the sights and sounds of London and its countryside … Solidly absorbing and Perry’s best to date.”—Kirkus Reviews

©1990 Anne Perry (P)1995 Recorded Books
Historical Mystery Police Procedural Fiction
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What listeners say about The Face of a Stranger

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The sad and unfair differences between the classes in Victorian Britain highlighted so well.

My first book by this author and it wont be my last.

The descriptions of living in Victorian times, the entitlement of the upper classes and the way they treated people of all classes that they saw as inferior to them, the unfairness of society, all very clear in this wonderful story which had a twist that became clear right at the end.

Interesting to hear how hanging was accepted and police were not respected.

Great book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

A thoroughly good listen. Good Victorian mystery with engaging characters. Several strands of story that flow through the series, yet the writer never gets bogged down in detail and keeps the reader keen to hear more. The narration is clear and the various characters are voiced well without being distracting. A gem of a book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting plot

Narrator was excellent. A long story, maybe too long , but well written and demonstrated the difference between the 'gentry' and normal folk in 19th century London.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

You can't go wrong with Anne Perry

I have read all her books apart from the latest which I will do in the near future. Her characters are brought to life in a way which is easy to listen to/read. I love the way she writes as you get into the story straightaway and get to know all the characters, whether it's Thomas Pitt or William Monk. I've also read her short stories which are equally enjoyable. The hardest thing for me is to actually put the book down/stop the audible.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Too Long

I have many audiobooks by this author. Been listening to her books for years. Even have some on tape! So I was very pleased to find one of hers in the Included section. So a free book. But now I know why. It is twelve hours long but should be six. She wonders off the story. Then as you are about to give up comes back. Not sure if an early one. But not one of her best. But very well read. This lady reads all her books very well

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thank you for putting in plus catalogue

A great find. Well read. Good detective story with the backdrop of an era I knew little about. Listened all the way through and not bored.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Diamond find in the plus catalog

Well this was a lovely surprise. Well written, tight, taut dialog, cracking story extremely well delivered by Davina Porter - really hooked me and got me deeply into the characters and the plot. Just bought book 2 - Well worth a listen ...

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Turgid .

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Possibly , you need a great deal of patience if you are not to give up before the end .

What did you like best about this story?

The idea was very good and the characterisation well drawn in the main .

What does Davina Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Davina Porter has a very professional microphone technic , she avoids sounding like a gurgling drain whenever she has to swallow , unlike a lot of narrators .

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Yes

Any additional comments?

This is not five star for me because it's too long , it's dragged out and soooo slow , the number of times the phrase " if only I could remember " is used is beyond counting , it's like toiling through treacle a lot of the time , needed better editing .

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

And an other great Anne Perry listen

I love Anne Perry books. All of her books are a joy to listen to. But I think it would have been better to have just one Narrater for the books ( the monk mysteries).

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Would you try another book written by Anne Perry or narrated by Davina Porter?

I would not read another Anne Perry book. I'm a tolerant reader but this was tedious and with a very unsatisfactory ending. I found it hard to care about any of the characters and the protagonist was irritating and whining. There were also lots of bad plot leaps and assumptions.

Davina Porter is a great reader I only kept going because of her voice.

What will your next listen be?

Back to reliable Scandinavian noir!

Which scene did you most enjoy?

None

Did The Face of a Stranger inspire you to do anything?

Yes - not read anything by this author again!

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