New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry takes her venerable Victorian sleuth William Monk in a sharply new direction in her new novel, THE SHIFTING TIDE (Ballantine Books Hardcover; April 27, 2004; $25.95), which Booklist praises for its "marvelous historical material on the Thames."

William Monk knows London’s streets like the back of his hand; after all, they are where he earns his living. But the river Thames and its teeming docks—where towering schooners and clipper ships unload their fabulous cargoes and wharf rats and night plunderers ply their trades—is unknown territory.

Only dire need persuades Monk to accept an assignment from shipping magnate Clement Louvain to investigate the theft of a cargo of African ivory from Louvain’s recently docked schooner. Monk is desperate for work, not only to feed himself and his wife, Hester, but to keep open the doors of her clinic, a last resort for sick and starving street women.

But he wonders: Why didn’t Louvain report the ivory theft to the River Police? Even more mysterious, why has Louvain brought to Hester’s clinic a desperately ill woman who he claims is the discarded mistress of an old friend?

With insight, compassion, and a portraitist’s genius, Perry illuminates the shifting tide of emotions encompassing Queen Victoria’s London and the people who live there, as Monk and Hester struggle to save themselves and their world from a catastrophe whose dimensions they can scarcely measure.

"Perry’s historical mysteries suggestively peel away layer after layer

of Victorian respectability until the underlying social evils of a gilded era

are exposed in all their naked truth."

-- The New York Times Book Review

"Intelligently written and historically fascinating."

"You can count on a Perry tale to be superior."

"[A] master of crime fiction who rarely fails to deliver a strong story

and a colorful cast of characters."

"The queen of the British historical mystery."

"Captivating.…One of Perry’s most engrossing puzzlers….A period piece in the best sense, the action seamlessly growing out of the social tapestry she weaves."

-- People (A Page-Turner of the Week)

"The action careers between the low- and high-born in Victorian society. The denouement is shocking, and the characters are so richly drawn that you’ll miss them when they’re gone."

with a final courtroom confrontation that’s a humdinger."

Anne Perry is the New York Times bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England. In addition, she is the author of a new series set during World War I that began with No Graves As Yet, and a recent novella, The Christmas Journey. Among her other novels featuring investigator William Monk are Death of a Stranger, Funeral in Blue, Slaves of Obsession, and The Twisted Root. She also writes the popular novels featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, including Seven Dials, Southampton Row, The Whitechapel Conspiracy, and Half Moon Street. Her short story "Heroes" won an Edgar Award. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Anne Perry’s SEVEN DIALS was released on April 1, 2004 as a

Ballantine Books mass market paperback; $7.50; ISBN 0-345-44008-0

THE SHIFTING TIDE

(Fiction / 0-345-44009-9 / 352 pages / $25.95)

A Ballantine Books Hardcover / April 27, 2004