Anne Perry’s spellbinding Victorian mysteries, especially those featuring William Monk, have enthralled listeners for a generation. The Plain Dealer calls Monk “a marvelously dark, brooding creation” — and, true to form, this Perry masterpiece is as deceptively deep and twisty as the Thames. As commander of the River Police, Monk is accustomed to violent death, but the mutilated female body found on Limehouse Pier one chilly December morning moves him with horror and pity. The victim’s name is Zenia Gadney. Her waterfront neighbors can tell him little — only that the same unknown gentleman had visited her once a month for many years. She must be a prostitute, but — described as quiet and kempt — she doesn’t appear to be a fallen woman.
