Maisie Dobbs
historical mystery
Series · historical mystery
William Monk
The William Monk series by Anne Perry has 24 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Face of a Stranger (1990).
- Books
- 24 books
- First published
- 1990
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: The Face of a Stranger (1990) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Face of a Stranger
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Face of a Stranger - Book 2:
A Dangerous Mourning
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Dangerous Mourning - Book 3:
Defend and Betray
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Defend and Betray - Book 4:
A Sudden, Fearful Death
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Sudden, Fearful Death - Book 5:
The Sins of the Wolf
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sins of the Wolf - Book 6:
Cain His Brother
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cain His Brother - Book 7:
Weighed in the Balance
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Weighed in the Balance - Book 8:
The Silent Cry
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Silent Cry - Book 9:
A Breach of Promise
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Breach of Promise - Book 10:
The Twisted Root
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Twisted Root - Book 11:
Slaves of Obsession
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Slaves of Obsession - Book 12:
A Funeral in Blue
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Funeral in Blue - Book 13:
Death of a Stranger
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Death of a Stranger - Book 14:
The Shifting Tide
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Shifting Tide - Book 15:
Dark Assassin
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark Assassin - Book 16:
Execution Dock
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Execution Dock - Book 17:
Acceptable Loss
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Acceptable Loss - Book 18:
A Sunless Sea
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Sunless Sea - Book 19:
Blind Justice
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blind Justice - Book 20:
Blood on the Water
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blood on the Water - Book 21:
Corridors of the Night
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Corridors of the Night - Book 22:
Revenge in a Cold River
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Revenge in a Cold River - Book 23:
An Echo of Murder
Alternative text for cover: Cover of An Echo of Murder - Book 24:
Dark Tide Rising
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark Tide Rising
About the William Monk series
William Monk opens on total disorientation: Inspector Monk wakes in a London hospital in 1856 with no memory of who he is, only the outward evidence of who he was -- a reputation among Metropolitan Police colleagues for ruthless brilliance and very few friends. He hides the amnesia and returns to work, forced to reconstruct his own past case by case, one buried resentment at a time, while the mystery of an unsolved investigation that may implicate Monk himself hangs over the opening books. Anne Perry uses the amnesia as a genuinely sustained structural device, not just a hook: Monk's uncertainty about his own moral character -- was he a good man before the accident? -- runs underneath the Victorian murder plots for years of the series.
He's partnered, in shifting configurations, by two people: Hester Latterly, a blunt, unclubbable Crimean War nursing veteran who becomes his professional ally and eventually his wife; and Oliver Rathbone, a barrister whose courtroom skill resolves many of the series' cases and whose personal entanglement with Hester complicates the central trio for books at a stretch. Perry's Victorian London is meticulously researched and often bleak, with cases reaching into asylums, the opium trade, dockside crime and the era's rigid class and gender lines, and the plots frequently hinge on Monk's investigative method: patient, procedural, and willing to implicate people society protects.
Frequently asked questions
How many William Monk books are there?
There are 24 novels, from The Face of a Stranger (1990) to Dark Tide Rising (2018).
What order should I read the William Monk books in?
Publication order, starting with The Face of a Stranger. Monk's recovered memory, his marriage to Hester Latterly, and his later move to the Thames River Police all build across the series.
Is William Monk connected to Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series?
They share the same Victorian London setting and author but follow different characters with no direct crossover; either series can be read independently of the other.
Does William Monk ever recover his memory?
Fragments return gradually across the early books, but the series treats his amnesia as an ongoing part of his character rather than a mystery solved and closed in a single volume.
Is there a new William Monk book coming?
No further Monk novel has been published since Dark Tide Rising (2018); Anne Perry died in April 2023, and Dark Tide Rising is her final entry in the series.
If you like the William Monk series
Reading order last verified .