Summary: Corridors of The Night
One night, in a corridor of the Royal
Naval Hospital, Greenwich, nurse Hester Monk is approached by a terrified girl.
She's from a hidden ward of children, all subject to frequent blood-letting,
and her brother is dying. While William Monk's River Police fight to keep
London safe from gun-runners, Hester takes on a new role at the hospital,
helping to administer a secretive new treatment. But she slowly realizes that
this experimental cure is putting the lives of the children at risk. Attempting
to protect the young victims, she comes under threat from one rich, powerful,
and very ill man who is desperate to survive...(copied from Goodreads)
Book Review: Corridors of The Night
Ex Crimean Nurse Hester Monk covers a shift for a
friend when she finds a secret hospital ward where scared and very sick children
are kept. While Hester tries to keep them alive, she finds out they are part of
a cynical medical experiment. The three children and Hester herself soon
find themselves in grave danger having been abducted to help with the
experiment.
This
is installment #21 in The William Monk Series. I enjoy them as stand-alone
works and love the universe of characters she creates who show up like old
friends. This story contains new male characters with discriminating behavior.
By today’s standards Hester has to deal with appalling views on women. Discrimination
against women in the work place seems to be an additional theme in the plot, which
I find interesting from a historic point of view.
The descriptions annoy me even
though I realize the characters have been crafted for this exact purpose. The patient Bryson Radnor, is the main example even
though the chemist Hamilton Rand is also quite skilled in patronizing and condescending
behavior towards Hester. Radnor has the full range of bad traits being condescending,
ungrateful, manipulative and patronizing trying to undermine Hester for not
being a man. In his defense I have to say he is sick and angry, not able
to deal with receiving nursing help, but the way he makes the most of every
moment to bully his own daughter as well as Hester makes me incredibly angry.
In
this story Hester is the main character, even if there is a separate story line
where Monk and his River Police are trying to keep London safe. They conduct an
operation against a cargo ship smuggling weapons, which is not exactly a
roaring success. This shorter part of the story seems like addition to the real
story, whereas Hester stars in the main part. Monk, however, has to use his
detective skills to rescue her towards the end of the plot.
Hester is faced with plenty of dilemmas connected to
blood transfusion. I would imagine there were not much in the way of ethical
regulations at the time even though blood transfusion had been tried on and off
for hundreds of years. I find it interesting reading as we get to follow
Hester’s though process when dealing with patients. She focuses mainly
on keeping the children alive through this cynical experiment, when she is
their only advocate.
The patient Radnor has consented and is paying for experimental
treatment as this is his only hope to survive “the white blood disease”, today
known as leukemia. Against Hester’s will she helps with the secret experimental
treatment. As a nurse of the time she doesn’t seem to have much power or say in
what she takes part in. Seems she pretty much does as she’s told even though
she is the one with experience with severe blood loss, being an ex WW1
battlefield nurse.
I enjoy the cast of recurring characters, among them is
Squeaky Robinson who somewhat lightens up the otherwise dark plot with his
volatile temper and failed attempts to cover up his feelings. He has a good
heart which he thinks nobody knows about. Having a history as a brothel owner
involved in a number of shady and underhanded dealings, he has now somewhat cleaned
up his act to only include the occasional forgery. I find it funny that Monk
knows Squeaky sometimes colors outside the lines a bit, but closes his eyes as
long as it’s nothing major. He works as a semi-reliable accountant for Hester’s
health Clinique for prostitutes. In return he gets to live there for free.
The written East London Cockney dialect I sometimes
find a bit hard to read, but I enjoy it a lot and feel it adds authenticity to
the plot. The way Perry makes sure readers know upper class characters
from lower class, I think works quite well in her stories.
Fans of Anne Perry’s numerous works will enjoy Corridors
of The Night. It is also recommended for readers of historical fiction.
All opinions in this review are completely my own.
My rating 4 stars / 5
Book Details
Hardcover: 473 pages
Publisher: Thorndike Press; Large Print edition (October 7, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1410480364
ISBN-13: 978-1410480361
About The Author
Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in
Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The
Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater
Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane.
She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the
Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep,
as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland. To learn more about the author, visit
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