The reason, I believe, lies in the character of William Monk. Due to an accident, he has no recollection of most of the years of his life. It's much easier for a reader to appreciate the virtues and flaws of a character when they're supported and explained by life experiences. Without such support, William Monk seems cold and abrasive with no mitigating circumstances. His best quality seems to be an appreciation of the nurse Hester Latterly.

Of her Monk novels, A Breach of Promise, Ms. Perry's ninth and newest, I found to be the most enjoyable, and the cause I suspect is a shift in the main character. In contrast to her other Monk novels, the main character in this one is Sir Oliver Rathbone, a lawyer as well as friend and associate of Monk and Hester. Sir Oliver has always been my favorite major character in this series, and I was glad to see he was more prominently featured in this story. I hope that this is not a rare departure and that Ms. Perry will continue to give Sir Oliver a greater role in her Monk series.

Sir Oliver is approached by a young man, Killian Melville, an architect, who fears he is about to be sued for breach of promise to marry Zillah Lambert, the daughter of his wealthy patron. Melville denies there is any flaw in Zillah and claims that he never proposed marriage and did not even realize for some time that the family was proceeding with wedding plans. He says that he absolutely cannot marry Zillah but refuses to give any further explanation.

Initially Sir Oliver refuses to take the case, but at a party he observes the lengths to which young women and particularly their mothers will go in order to snag an eligible man. He comes to appreciate the position Melville finds himself in and informs him that he will defend him.

Meanwhile, Hester has taken a position as nurse to Lieutenant Gabriel Sheldon who has been severely injured and disfigured in fighting in colonial India. His young wife and older brother are unable to deal with the psychological and emotional consequences of his experiences.

A servant in the house enlists Hester's assistance in locating the children of her long-dead brother, and Hester recruits Monk to investigate. Sir Oliver, in turn, has revealed his concerns about Melville's case and sought advice from Monk, Hester, and members of the Sheldon household.

Thus, there are three interconnected story lines in A Breach of Promise: the law suit and resulting trial against Melville, the convalescence of Gabriel Sheldon, and the search for the missing children. The novel is well-paced as it shifts from courtroom to sickroom to London environs.

As usual, Ms. Perry's knowledge of Victorian England enhances the plot. (I believe I've learned more about Victorian England from her novels than I ever learned in history classes – and I enjoyed it more, too!) There are few authors who employ setting to such advantage. The Victorian Age is more than a mere setting; the plot as well as the character development evolve from the conditions and attitudes of the period. It would be impossible to transport this plot to another time and place without drastic revisions.

My sole reservation concerning the book is what I found to be overly abundant discourse on the social and legal treatment of women during that time period. I believe it. I think it's outrageous and can easily envision myself as a militant suffragette. While a little explanation can heighten appreciation of the characters and setting, excessive sermonizing, however, subtracts from the flow of the story. Unfortunately, A Breach of Promise, leans towards the excessive.

The plot, however, is particularly engrossing (I got especially caught up in the courtroom scenes), and readers shouldn't avoid this book simply because Ms. Perry seems to have a private agenda.

I strongly recommend this novel to those readers who have enjoyed Ms. Perry's books in the past. As for those readers who are unfamiliar with her books, this is a good introduction to her novels. A prior knowledge of the characters is not necessary to appreciate the plot, and once you've read one of her books, you'll be searching out others.

--Lesley Dunlap