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World War I #1
No Graves As Yet
Through Anne Perry’s magnificent Victorian novels, millions of readers have enjoyed the pleasures and intrigue of a bygone age. Now, with the debut of an extraordinary new series, this New York Times bestselling author sweeps us into the golden summer of 1914, a time of brief enchantment when English men and women basked in the security of wealth and power, even as the last weeks of their privileged world were swiftly passing. Theirs was a peace that led to war.
On a sunny afternoon in late June, Cambridge professor Joseph Reavley is summoned from a student cricket match to learn that his parents have died in an automobile crash. Joseph’s brother, Matthew, as officer in the Intelligence Service, reveals that their father had been en route to London to turn over to him a mysterious secret document—allegedly with the power to disgrace England forever and destroy the civilized world. A paper so damning that Joseph and Matthew dared mention it only to their restless younger sister. Now it has vanished.
What has happened to this explosive document, if indeed it ever existed? How had it fallen into the hands of their father, a quiet countryman? Not even Matthew, with his Intelligence connections, can answer these questions. And Joseph is soon burdened with a second tragedy: the shocking murder of his most gifted student, beautiful Sebastian Allard, loved and admired by everyone. Or so it appeared.
Meanwhile, England’s seamless peace is cracking—as the distance between the murder of an Austrian archduke by a Serbian anarchist and the death of a brilliant university student by a bullet to the head of grows shorter by the day.
Anne Perry is a sublime master of suspense. In No Graves As Yet, her latest haunting masterpiece, she reminds us that love and hate, cowardice and courage, good and evil are always a part of life, in our own time as well as on the eve of the greatest war the world has ever known.
From the Hardcover edition.
On a sunny afternoon in late June, Cambridge professor Joseph Reavley is summoned from a student cricket match to learn that his parents have died in an automobile crash. Joseph’s brother, Matthew, as officer in the Intelligence Service, reveals that their father had been en route to London to turn over to him a mysterious secret document—allegedly with the power to disgrace England forever and destroy the civilized world. A paper so damning that Joseph and Matthew dared mention it only to their restless younger sister. Now it has vanished.
What has happened to this explosive document, if indeed it ever existed? How had it fallen into the hands of their father, a quiet countryman? Not even Matthew, with his Intelligence connections, can answer these questions. And Joseph is soon burdened with a second tragedy: the shocking murder of his most gifted student, beautiful Sebastian Allard, loved and admired by everyone. Or so it appeared.
Meanwhile, England’s seamless peace is cracking—as the distance between the murder of an Austrian archduke by a Serbian anarchist and the death of a brilliant university student by a bullet to the head of grows shorter by the day.
Anne Perry is a sublime master of suspense. In No Graves As Yet, her latest haunting masterpiece, she reminds us that love and hate, cowardice and courage, good and evil are always a part of life, in our own time as well as on the eve of the greatest war the world has ever known.
From the Hardcover edition.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
356 people are currently reading
2734 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
362 books3,376 followersAnne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in England, lived in Scotland most of her life after serving five years in prison for murder (in New Zealand). A beloved mystery authoress, she is best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series.
Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".
Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.
Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories
Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".
Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.
Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 486 reviews
February 10, 2022
3.5 stars
It was a decent story, but a little slow at times. Perhaps it's a pace that belongs to the period, 1914. It was good enough to go on with the series.
It was a decent story, but a little slow at times. Perhaps it's a pace that belongs to the period, 1914. It was good enough to go on with the series.
June 15, 2017
'There are things we have to fight for'
If you are familiar with Anne Perry's Victorian murder mystery series then it's worth knowing that this book is in quite a different category of fiction, a quantum leap in terms of writing and thought. There's nothing light about this, and it is one of the most profound and rich evocations of the thought world of a certain class in England, 1914.
Set on the brink of war, this is a dense and very detailed read (some might call it slow) in which every psychological nuance of our characters is excavated. Joseph and Matthew Reavley are, respectively, a Cambridge Theology don and a member of the intelligence services - elite, well-educated, the epitome of a kind of class-bound masculinity which is centred on morality and ethical responsibility, not just for themselves but for the whole of the `civilised' world.
Faced with death, perhaps murder, in their close circles, as well as the hovering spectre of a war which will destroy millions, Joseph and Matthew confront all the ambiguities and ambivalences of what it means to be an Englishman (and gender is important in this book) in July and August 1914.
With detailed debates about 'peace-making' vs. appeasement, and questions of what is, and isn't, worth fighting for, as well as meditations on what it does to both a person and a culture when we cross that line and kill, this is deeply thoughtful - though readers wanting a fast-paced crime/mystery might well find it frustrating.
There are moments where Joseph's repeated hand-wringing over his own culpability threaten to tip over into the sentimental, though Perry usually manages to pull it back. Overall, a bleak and emotive read which uses a 'small' story of murder in a Cambridge college to stand-in for the much larger story of violence, bloodshed, revenge and retribution that pulls Europe into the chaos of the First World War.
If you are familiar with Anne Perry's Victorian murder mystery series then it's worth knowing that this book is in quite a different category of fiction, a quantum leap in terms of writing and thought. There's nothing light about this, and it is one of the most profound and rich evocations of the thought world of a certain class in England, 1914.
Set on the brink of war, this is a dense and very detailed read (some might call it slow) in which every psychological nuance of our characters is excavated. Joseph and Matthew Reavley are, respectively, a Cambridge Theology don and a member of the intelligence services - elite, well-educated, the epitome of a kind of class-bound masculinity which is centred on morality and ethical responsibility, not just for themselves but for the whole of the `civilised' world.
Faced with death, perhaps murder, in their close circles, as well as the hovering spectre of a war which will destroy millions, Joseph and Matthew confront all the ambiguities and ambivalences of what it means to be an Englishman (and gender is important in this book) in July and August 1914.
With detailed debates about 'peace-making' vs. appeasement, and questions of what is, and isn't, worth fighting for, as well as meditations on what it does to both a person and a culture when we cross that line and kill, this is deeply thoughtful - though readers wanting a fast-paced crime/mystery might well find it frustrating.
There are moments where Joseph's repeated hand-wringing over his own culpability threaten to tip over into the sentimental, though Perry usually manages to pull it back. Overall, a bleak and emotive read which uses a 'small' story of murder in a Cambridge college to stand-in for the much larger story of violence, bloodshed, revenge and retribution that pulls Europe into the chaos of the First World War.
November 22, 2011
No Graves As Yet, the initial volume in Anne Perry’s WWI series, begins with a cricket match. Somehow that is appropriate because this book took me longer to finish than a long, drawn-out cricket match. The pace is slow and leisurely and the handling of the characters is ever so much more personal than I sense in her treatment of William Monk or Thomas and Charlotte in her two series of Victorian mysteries. In those mysteries, I see a deft presentation of human rights as almost an agenda (the treatment of women as something less than fully human as a way of challenging even modern assumptions, the arrogant assumptions of outdated medicine as a warning against superstitious opposition to research and treatment in the present world, and the political corruption within government and police force as a cautionary observation with regard to human nature then and now). Even though No Graves As Yet deals with the serious issue of pacification with regard to appeasement juxtaposed against aggression and moral conviction struggling against savage sensibilities, one doesn’t get the sense of preaching or politicking. One gets the sense of real people struggling with real issues of faith and reason, right and wrong.
For those who know Anne Perry as a genius of conundrum in regard to shaping the jigsaw pieces of a good mystery, the very title of No Graves As Yet might put them off. Perhaps, it is something of a misnomer because there are at least five “mysterious” deaths in the course of the narrative and the reader is expected to determine whether their proximity to each other is coincidental or causal. All will eventually be revealed, but the result is neither as obvious as initially expected nor as mysterious as hoped. For me, this story is a mixed bag. The title of the book doesn’t refer to individual graves. It refers to those rows and rows of white crosses in the graveyards of WWI casualties. I’m reminded of that great Irish folk song about WWI with the verse something like:
“But now in this graveyard, it is still no man’s land,
A thousand white crosses in mute witness stand,
To man’s foul injustice to his fellow man;
To a whole generation who was butchered and damned.”
Perry didn’t use those lyrics, but since the Irish trouble looms in the shadows of this story and comes to the light on several occasions, she well could have. The good news is that there were many notable lines that she did craft. On one occasion, a discussion concludes with one of the participants asking the minister/professor protagonist (actually, there is a dual protagonist but that might lead to a spoiler) if God sees “saving souls” in the same, mostly humanistic, way that he himself did. It’s an open and profound question about God’s purpose in one’s life that is mostly left open when the protagonist answers, “Probably not, but He is more likely to be right.” (p. 63) One can either take this as a clever warning about assuming we know God’s will beyond doubt or a smug acceptance of the fact that a human could not know the full will of God. Anyone who knows me knows that I took the former perspective, believing that life is discovery and having a faith conviction that part of that discovery is encountering a will and purpose beyond my own limitations.
By having a protagonist minister/professor (drawn from Perry’s knowledge of her own ancestor for whom this “hero” is named) involved in the mysteries in this book, Perry is able to speak bluntly about faith. In his personal struggle, Joseph Reavley considers: “Where was the fire of his faith when he needed it? Anyone could believe on a calm Sunday in a church pew, when life was whole and safe. Faith is real only when there is nothing else between you and the abyss, an unseen thread strong enough to hold the world.” (p. 97) That is poetry that truly captures the best definition of faith that I know, “Faith is believing God—even when it looks bad for ‘Him.’”
Indeed Reavley gets a chance to speak of his unseen thread when confronted about evil on the very next page.
“Trust in what?” Her thin, black-gloved hand sliced the air. “A God who takes everything from me and lets evil destroy good?”
“Nothing destroys good,” he said, wondering if it was true, “If good were never threatened, and even beaten sometimes, then there would be no good, because it would eventually become no more than wisdom, self-interest.” (p. 98)
Or, as I have said on many occasions, such a perspective would mean that good was as mechanical as a vending machine and that doesn’t have meaning for me. But I should be typing more about this book and less about my belief system. Yet, how can a minister not resonate with a story about another minister? I know I shook my head and conceded the sad truth when I read this statement: “Being a minister means that people tend not to tell you their uglier thoughts.” (p. 128) His statement expresses a heart-breaking reality concerning pastoral counseling and its limits. Another observation that hit home was the phrase “…exhausted by other people’s emotions.” (p. 203) Have I been there?!
Another profound moment (again, I apologize for my ministerial sensibilities here) occurred when Reavley spoke of enabling through denial, “…by refusing to see the shadows in him we reinforced them instead of helping him to overcome them.” (p. 200)
Two other ideas jumped out at me from these pages. One was Joseph’s inner battle as to whether he had real faith. “For all his proclaimed love of reason, the faith in God he professed aloud, was he a moral coward, without the courage to test the truth, or the real belief in anything but the facts he could see?” (p. 295) I like the delicate balance between faith and reason shown in that question. Another interesting observation dealt with grief. “No one is old enough to hurt alone.” (p. 201) One could substitute a number of adjectives for “old” into that statement and it would still be true: mature, sophisticated, intelligent, etc.
As one can readily see, there is much to be gained from this rather introspective novel. One might be rather surprised at my unusually low rating for this novel—given the profundity within.
Nonetheless, I feel like the book has pacing problems. I think the protagonist was too reactionary and introspective to be interesting in the long haul. My edition has over 300 pages of what would make a terrific 150 page mystery (even WITH some of the introspection in which I found profundity). If one could offer half-stars, I would rate this as 2.5 because it is just below a book I can recommend and not likely to be as well-received as other books in her oeuvre. In one sense it is more literary than her other work; in another, it might be considered indulgent.
For those who know Anne Perry as a genius of conundrum in regard to shaping the jigsaw pieces of a good mystery, the very title of No Graves As Yet might put them off. Perhaps, it is something of a misnomer because there are at least five “mysterious” deaths in the course of the narrative and the reader is expected to determine whether their proximity to each other is coincidental or causal. All will eventually be revealed, but the result is neither as obvious as initially expected nor as mysterious as hoped. For me, this story is a mixed bag. The title of the book doesn’t refer to individual graves. It refers to those rows and rows of white crosses in the graveyards of WWI casualties. I’m reminded of that great Irish folk song about WWI with the verse something like:
“But now in this graveyard, it is still no man’s land,
A thousand white crosses in mute witness stand,
To man’s foul injustice to his fellow man;
To a whole generation who was butchered and damned.”
Perry didn’t use those lyrics, but since the Irish trouble looms in the shadows of this story and comes to the light on several occasions, she well could have. The good news is that there were many notable lines that she did craft. On one occasion, a discussion concludes with one of the participants asking the minister/professor protagonist (actually, there is a dual protagonist but that might lead to a spoiler) if God sees “saving souls” in the same, mostly humanistic, way that he himself did. It’s an open and profound question about God’s purpose in one’s life that is mostly left open when the protagonist answers, “Probably not, but He is more likely to be right.” (p. 63) One can either take this as a clever warning about assuming we know God’s will beyond doubt or a smug acceptance of the fact that a human could not know the full will of God. Anyone who knows me knows that I took the former perspective, believing that life is discovery and having a faith conviction that part of that discovery is encountering a will and purpose beyond my own limitations.
By having a protagonist minister/professor (drawn from Perry’s knowledge of her own ancestor for whom this “hero” is named) involved in the mysteries in this book, Perry is able to speak bluntly about faith. In his personal struggle, Joseph Reavley considers: “Where was the fire of his faith when he needed it? Anyone could believe on a calm Sunday in a church pew, when life was whole and safe. Faith is real only when there is nothing else between you and the abyss, an unseen thread strong enough to hold the world.” (p. 97) That is poetry that truly captures the best definition of faith that I know, “Faith is believing God—even when it looks bad for ‘Him.’”
Indeed Reavley gets a chance to speak of his unseen thread when confronted about evil on the very next page.
“Trust in what?” Her thin, black-gloved hand sliced the air. “A God who takes everything from me and lets evil destroy good?”
“Nothing destroys good,” he said, wondering if it was true, “If good were never threatened, and even beaten sometimes, then there would be no good, because it would eventually become no more than wisdom, self-interest.” (p. 98)
Or, as I have said on many occasions, such a perspective would mean that good was as mechanical as a vending machine and that doesn’t have meaning for me. But I should be typing more about this book and less about my belief system. Yet, how can a minister not resonate with a story about another minister? I know I shook my head and conceded the sad truth when I read this statement: “Being a minister means that people tend not to tell you their uglier thoughts.” (p. 128) His statement expresses a heart-breaking reality concerning pastoral counseling and its limits. Another observation that hit home was the phrase “…exhausted by other people’s emotions.” (p. 203) Have I been there?!
Another profound moment (again, I apologize for my ministerial sensibilities here) occurred when Reavley spoke of enabling through denial, “…by refusing to see the shadows in him we reinforced them instead of helping him to overcome them.” (p. 200)
Two other ideas jumped out at me from these pages. One was Joseph’s inner battle as to whether he had real faith. “For all his proclaimed love of reason, the faith in God he professed aloud, was he a moral coward, without the courage to test the truth, or the real belief in anything but the facts he could see?” (p. 295) I like the delicate balance between faith and reason shown in that question. Another interesting observation dealt with grief. “No one is old enough to hurt alone.” (p. 201) One could substitute a number of adjectives for “old” into that statement and it would still be true: mature, sophisticated, intelligent, etc.
As one can readily see, there is much to be gained from this rather introspective novel. One might be rather surprised at my unusually low rating for this novel—given the profundity within.
Nonetheless, I feel like the book has pacing problems. I think the protagonist was too reactionary and introspective to be interesting in the long haul. My edition has over 300 pages of what would make a terrific 150 page mystery (even WITH some of the introspection in which I found profundity). If one could offer half-stars, I would rate this as 2.5 because it is just below a book I can recommend and not likely to be as well-received as other books in her oeuvre. In one sense it is more literary than her other work; in another, it might be considered indulgent.
November 8, 2018
The Reavley siblings--Joseph, Matthew, and Judith--are devastated by the death of their parents in an automobile accident. When the scene is examined, it appears their demise may have been aided by parties unknown to them. Mr. Reavley planned to share a document of world significance with his son Matthew who works in intelligence. Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination occurs early in the story. Soon another friend is killed. Joseph, a Cambridge professor and clergyman, takes a lead role investigating. With a mixture of cozy and espionage genres, this novel just doesn't achieve success in either genre. It's too political for lovers of cozies and too quaint for readers of espionage. Perry's Inspector Monk series is for more enjoyable.
March 7, 2012
I love Anne Perry's "Monk" and "Pitt" novels. I think when I picked this one up I presumed it was one or the other of those. This book was on my shelf for awhile and I pulled it off without reading the back cover for details. A few chapters in and I was scratching my head, so I turned the book over and realized I was reading a WW1 novel, featuring Joseph Reavley. So, since it wasn't what I was expecting it to be, it was slow going for awhile. But, the last 100 pages or so were really, really good. I finished the book feeling satisfied with the conclusion. I see that there are at least 5 more novels featuring these characters and I will look forward to visiting with them again.
March 5, 2021
There are not a lot of great novels set in WW1. The monotony of life in the trenches, the day-to-day struggle to stay alive, the sheer bloody pointlessness of the battles… It’s hard to make this into a unique story. Especially since Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front did it so well back in 1929. Every subsequent novel will have to confront the same themes and do so knowing that it cannot avoid the comparison. Which is why those books that successfully break out do so by focusing on the character’s private life before his service or while on leave. Ernest Hemmingway’s A Farewell to Arms for example. Or Pat Barker’s Regeneration. More than that, it’s all but impossible to make the struggle seem edifying or heroic. Every one of those novels is about unimaginable suffering and tragedy. The end of innocence. If there is an exception to that trend it can only be with the Biggles novels (which I’ve never read) where the romance of aerial knights locked in combat over battlefields of death manages to overcome the sense of loss.
I bring this up because this is that rare WW1 novel that seeks to be aspirational while also embracing the sense of loss and destruction of innocence that defines the period. And it does that by heavy fictionalization to provide a new explanation for the war – it’s not the result of random forces but a massive conspiracy by nonstate actors. We know this from the beginning of the book, the day of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in Sarajevo, which is also the day Joseph and Matthew Reavley’s parents are murdered while on their way to share an important document proving the greatest conspiracy in world history. A conspiracy that would ruin the British Empire and bring about the end of civilization.
I’m of two minds about this change. On the one hand it does provide a way of involving us in the war in a way we can actually care about. It’s hard to focus on war and death for no real cause led by people whose sole qualification for the job is their inability to imagine the depth of suffering they are inflicting. On the other hand, isn’t that antithetical to the entire point of WW1? WW1 is a pointless war. To make it about some grand conspiracy feels disrespectful to all the people who died in agony so their betters could enjoy their position of unquestioned authority.
I think I can accept this invention though, because after having established such a radical concept, Perry takes great care to keep it on the close side of implausibility. It could never have happened, but at least it isn’t risibly absurd. I also appreciated that the conspirators (while representing an apparently large group) were not all powerful. The assassination at Sarajevo and the gradual slide into war were all something they were trying to prevent, which I think gives the book a decided edge of moral ambiguity.
The mystery component of the book is interesting. I confess I had worked out the main riddle fairly early on, but the book was good at distracting me with irrelevant minutia that made me question whether my conclusion was too simple. One part that did irritate me though was the way nobody asked rather key questions of a sort that even someone not investigating, y’know, a murder might have asked. They also spend a bit too long (more than half the book) doubting the self-evident reality of the conspiracy. I mean, they know their parents were killed to prevent their talking for God’s sakes, so how can they doubt the conspiracy was real?
The most interesting part of it for me was that the mystery focused on an attempt to learn a friend’s character after his death. Turns out the boy was not the paragon of virtue he seemed, and this is both interesting from an investigatory perspective and for what it means for our lead character. Joseph is a professor of Classics at Cambridge who just lost his wife and now his parents and favorite pupil, so for him this investigation is revealing a profound crisis of faith. Someone he knows is a killer and likely involved in his parents’ death and it’s profoundly unsettling and destructive to his faith in a benevolent God. What can a minister say to people suffering loss when he himself no longer believes in what he says? Matthew and the other characters are less interesting and I mostly found their storylines a distraction leading nowhere. Maybe future books will improve on that.
The research is very strong here, with Cambridge coming to life in a way that reminds me of the time I stayed there. The experience of taking a degree at Cambridge in the early 20th century feels very much like it is presented in books from the period. The language also seems to be of the period, with words I didn’t know (such as tarmacadam for tarmac) and a formal and suppressed sort of catch. That said, the reality of large sections made some of the more obvious issues feel very out of place. Cars for example. Everyone has one. The Reavleys have three. And even a rural policeman can speak knowledgeably about the experience of driving. Cars certainly existed at this point but look at the picture below of London c. 1912. Cars all over the place (especially with public transport) but every other vehicle’s a horse-drawn carriage. And this is London! The countryside took a whole lot longer to abandon its horses. Yet I don’t think they ever mention one. The other biggie is the nervousness over the possibility of war. The most shocking thing for everyone about WW1 was how quickly it came about. 37 days between the assassination and the invasion of Belgium. Yet only in the last week did the prospect of war really enter the public consciousness. People were more worried about the Irish situation (which in fairness Perry does focus on as well) and paid no attention to far-off Sarajevo.
I enjoyed this book with reservations. I’m unsure if I’ll continue onto the war itself. The conspiracy seems like it should be over now as a narrative device, yet from reading the summaries of the following books it seems like it isn’t. And while the conspiracy remains on the right side of absurd now, it feels like it’s tottering on a knife edge. The slightest nudge and it will fall over into stupidity. The mystery angle was interesting (and it’s interesting too to read a quaint English murder mystery written by a quaint English murderer) and setting the entire book in the bucolic prewar days was a good idea. If the sense of foreboding is overstated (again, few people could see war of any sort coming in the early days of July) it is at least dramatically appropriate.
I bring this up because this is that rare WW1 novel that seeks to be aspirational while also embracing the sense of loss and destruction of innocence that defines the period. And it does that by heavy fictionalization to provide a new explanation for the war – it’s not the result of random forces but a massive conspiracy by nonstate actors. We know this from the beginning of the book, the day of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in Sarajevo, which is also the day Joseph and Matthew Reavley’s parents are murdered while on their way to share an important document proving the greatest conspiracy in world history. A conspiracy that would ruin the British Empire and bring about the end of civilization.
I’m of two minds about this change. On the one hand it does provide a way of involving us in the war in a way we can actually care about. It’s hard to focus on war and death for no real cause led by people whose sole qualification for the job is their inability to imagine the depth of suffering they are inflicting. On the other hand, isn’t that antithetical to the entire point of WW1? WW1 is a pointless war. To make it about some grand conspiracy feels disrespectful to all the people who died in agony so their betters could enjoy their position of unquestioned authority.
I think I can accept this invention though, because after having established such a radical concept, Perry takes great care to keep it on the close side of implausibility. It could never have happened, but at least it isn’t risibly absurd. I also appreciated that the conspirators (while representing an apparently large group) were not all powerful. The assassination at Sarajevo and the gradual slide into war were all something they were trying to prevent, which I think gives the book a decided edge of moral ambiguity.
The mystery component of the book is interesting. I confess I had worked out the main riddle fairly early on, but the book was good at distracting me with irrelevant minutia that made me question whether my conclusion was too simple. One part that did irritate me though was the way nobody asked rather key questions of a sort that even someone not investigating, y’know, a murder might have asked. They also spend a bit too long (more than half the book) doubting the self-evident reality of the conspiracy. I mean, they know their parents were killed to prevent their talking for God’s sakes, so how can they doubt the conspiracy was real?
The most interesting part of it for me was that the mystery focused on an attempt to learn a friend’s character after his death. Turns out the boy was not the paragon of virtue he seemed, and this is both interesting from an investigatory perspective and for what it means for our lead character. Joseph is a professor of Classics at Cambridge who just lost his wife and now his parents and favorite pupil, so for him this investigation is revealing a profound crisis of faith. Someone he knows is a killer and likely involved in his parents’ death and it’s profoundly unsettling and destructive to his faith in a benevolent God. What can a minister say to people suffering loss when he himself no longer believes in what he says? Matthew and the other characters are less interesting and I mostly found their storylines a distraction leading nowhere. Maybe future books will improve on that.
The research is very strong here, with Cambridge coming to life in a way that reminds me of the time I stayed there. The experience of taking a degree at Cambridge in the early 20th century feels very much like it is presented in books from the period. The language also seems to be of the period, with words I didn’t know (such as tarmacadam for tarmac) and a formal and suppressed sort of catch. That said, the reality of large sections made some of the more obvious issues feel very out of place. Cars for example. Everyone has one. The Reavleys have three. And even a rural policeman can speak knowledgeably about the experience of driving. Cars certainly existed at this point but look at the picture below of London c. 1912. Cars all over the place (especially with public transport) but every other vehicle’s a horse-drawn carriage. And this is London! The countryside took a whole lot longer to abandon its horses. Yet I don’t think they ever mention one. The other biggie is the nervousness over the possibility of war. The most shocking thing for everyone about WW1 was how quickly it came about. 37 days between the assassination and the invasion of Belgium. Yet only in the last week did the prospect of war really enter the public consciousness. People were more worried about the Irish situation (which in fairness Perry does focus on as well) and paid no attention to far-off Sarajevo.
I enjoyed this book with reservations. I’m unsure if I’ll continue onto the war itself. The conspiracy seems like it should be over now as a narrative device, yet from reading the summaries of the following books it seems like it isn’t. And while the conspiracy remains on the right side of absurd now, it feels like it’s tottering on a knife edge. The slightest nudge and it will fall over into stupidity. The mystery angle was interesting (and it’s interesting too to read a quaint English murder mystery written by a quaint English murderer) and setting the entire book in the bucolic prewar days was a good idea. If the sense of foreboding is overstated (again, few people could see war of any sort coming in the early days of July) it is at least dramatically appropriate.
October 30, 2015
I listened to the audio book, which was very well read, but I found I wasn't enjoying it as much as I wanted to: I struggled to the end to find out "whodunnit" but, quite honestly, there was much too much introspection for my taste. The two main charcters kept on and on asking themselves questions. Perhaps as this is the first of a series, Anne Perry wanted to place the characters and settings very firmly in our minds. It was interesting to read about the events leading up to the beginning of WWI. I'm not sure I have the patience to go on to the next novels though. Maybe.
April 3, 2016
Excellent, loved what she did with this book. It's dedicated to her grandfather, who is the main character. I loved how she evoked the entire time period. Very, very well done, I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
August 19, 2007
NO GRAVES AS YET (Amateur Sleuth-England-1914) - G+
Perry, Anne – 1st in WWI series
Ballantine Books, 2003-Hardcover
Jospeh Reavley, a Cambridge professor, and his family have their world shattered when their parents are killed in a motor crash. Jospeh’s bother, Matthew, a member of the British secret service, had received a call from their father saying he was coming to London with a document which outlined a plot that would change the future of England and the world. The brothers find that the crash was not an accident and the document is missing. When one of Joseph’s most gifted students is found dead after an impassioned speech to Joseph about England, peace and war, Joseph decides to find out of the deaths are connected.
*** Conspiracy theories are not my favorite plot device. It is hard for me to identify with the strong feelings expressed by many of the characters in this book, but I do believe people, particularly of the English upper classes, felt them. This is not my favorite Perry, but it is hard to deny that she is a superb writer. Her ability to crease a sense of time and place are unparalleled.
Perry, Anne – 1st in WWI series
Ballantine Books, 2003-Hardcover
Jospeh Reavley, a Cambridge professor, and his family have their world shattered when their parents are killed in a motor crash. Jospeh’s bother, Matthew, a member of the British secret service, had received a call from their father saying he was coming to London with a document which outlined a plot that would change the future of England and the world. The brothers find that the crash was not an accident and the document is missing. When one of Joseph’s most gifted students is found dead after an impassioned speech to Joseph about England, peace and war, Joseph decides to find out of the deaths are connected.
*** Conspiracy theories are not my favorite plot device. It is hard for me to identify with the strong feelings expressed by many of the characters in this book, but I do believe people, particularly of the English upper classes, felt them. This is not my favorite Perry, but it is hard to deny that she is a superb writer. Her ability to crease a sense of time and place are unparalleled.
October 9, 2022
Audible credit 12 hours 13 min. Narrated by Michael Page (A)
A very big disappointment and a waste ofa credit! This book, the first in the series set during World War One covers the same time frame as The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman, the six weeks following the assassination of the archduke. It could have been SO much more than it was. It had the aura of ignorance of the impending doom awaiting Great Britain and the countries of the continent. Perry did a superb job of sharing what life at St. John's in Cambridge must have been before the war. There is the apparent murder of the golden boy Sebastian, a star student of Rev. Joseph Rively at the college to be solved. There is a secret message that contains a plot that could take down the royal family being carried by John and Alice Rively to his son Matthew who works for British intelligence, but their lives end in an automobile accident on the way to London and the message disappears. The four adult children of John and Alice struggle with their immense grief at the sudden loss of beloved parents. How could a good God allow such a bad thing to happen? The wisdom of C. S. Lewis in The Problem Of Pain was needed here. Perry starts out so well dealing wiith the subject, then leaves Joseph struggling and failing in his faith.
These are the parts I liked and would have enjoyed if they had been well developed. Most the book is centered around Joseph's life. He was still recovering from the death of his wife when the story begins, and her death is mentioned a number of times, Perry never tells how long they had been married or what caused her death. We meet sister Hannah only on her return for her parents' funeral. The youngest daughter Judith, 23, is still living at home and must deal with grief alone except for a few weekend visits by her older brothers. If the future of Britain depends on bungling Matthew, things will be messy. I found it odd that the brothers referred to the parents by their first names, never Mother or Father.
I enjoy beautiful words that create scenes so vivid I feel I am a part that world. But I felt like if the reader told me how hot the summer was or how the sun shone though a window and cast its light into a room ONE MORE TIME I would scream! And of course, he did because he was reading, and I'm positive he was as sick of it as much as I was. If it had been a library book, I could have skipped those paragraphs, but I had I don't have that luxury with an audio book. At least I didn't throw my tablet at the wall! Why didn't the editor catch this?
After listening to the book, the only character I had gotten to know at all well was Sebastian, and he was dead! Michael Page, the narrator, was the books' one redeeming quality and Anne Perry had nothing to do with that. I won't be reading any more of the series. I'll choose Mornings On Horseback by David McCullough next time.
A very big disappointment and a waste ofa credit! This book, the first in the series set during World War One covers the same time frame as The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman, the six weeks following the assassination of the archduke. It could have been SO much more than it was. It had the aura of ignorance of the impending doom awaiting Great Britain and the countries of the continent. Perry did a superb job of sharing what life at St. John's in Cambridge must have been before the war. There is the apparent murder of the golden boy Sebastian, a star student of Rev. Joseph Rively at the college to be solved. There is a secret message that contains a plot that could take down the royal family being carried by John and Alice Rively to his son Matthew who works for British intelligence, but their lives end in an automobile accident on the way to London and the message disappears. The four adult children of John and Alice struggle with their immense grief at the sudden loss of beloved parents. How could a good God allow such a bad thing to happen? The wisdom of C. S. Lewis in The Problem Of Pain was needed here. Perry starts out so well dealing wiith the subject, then leaves Joseph struggling and failing in his faith.
These are the parts I liked and would have enjoyed if they had been well developed. Most the book is centered around Joseph's life. He was still recovering from the death of his wife when the story begins, and her death is mentioned a number of times, Perry never tells how long they had been married or what caused her death. We meet sister Hannah only on her return for her parents' funeral. The youngest daughter Judith, 23, is still living at home and must deal with grief alone except for a few weekend visits by her older brothers. If the future of Britain depends on bungling Matthew, things will be messy. I found it odd that the brothers referred to the parents by their first names, never Mother or Father.
I enjoy beautiful words that create scenes so vivid I feel I am a part that world. But I felt like if the reader told me how hot the summer was or how the sun shone though a window and cast its light into a room ONE MORE TIME I would scream! And of course, he did because he was reading, and I'm positive he was as sick of it as much as I was. If it had been a library book, I could have skipped those paragraphs, but I had I don't have that luxury with an audio book. At least I didn't throw my tablet at the wall! Why didn't the editor catch this?
After listening to the book, the only character I had gotten to know at all well was Sebastian, and he was dead! Michael Page, the narrator, was the books' one redeeming quality and Anne Perry had nothing to do with that. I won't be reading any more of the series. I'll choose Mornings On Horseback by David McCullough next time.
April 15, 2017
Anne Perry, best known for her mysteries, here combines a historical fiction saga with an underlying mystery.
Set in the summer before the beginning of World War I, Joseph Reavley is advised his parents have died in an auto accident. His brother, who works in Military Intelligence, tells Joesph his father had come into possession of a document which would be political dynamite if the contents became known.
Still reeling from this tragedy, Joseph is faced with the news that his most gifted student (he's a professor at Cambridge) has been murdered. I will not say more due to spoilers.
Anne Perry has a great gift for character and details. This is not a fast, zip, zip read. Perry builds up a suspenseful story while also capturing the feeling of the quiet last summer before the horrors of war began.
If you like this book, but do not love it, I do recommending proceeding to Book 2. This is a five part saga and the first book is (only slightly)less interesting that the remaining four. If after Book 2 you do not want to continue the series, then its just not your cup of tea.
High recommended for Anne Perry fans; historical fiction fans; historical mystery fans; fans of family sagas. I have read much though not all of Anne Perry's work and I think this small five books series is one of her best works.
Set in the summer before the beginning of World War I, Joseph Reavley is advised his parents have died in an auto accident. His brother, who works in Military Intelligence, tells Joesph his father had come into possession of a document which would be political dynamite if the contents became known.
Still reeling from this tragedy, Joseph is faced with the news that his most gifted student (he's a professor at Cambridge) has been murdered. I will not say more due to spoilers.
Anne Perry has a great gift for character and details. This is not a fast, zip, zip read. Perry builds up a suspenseful story while also capturing the feeling of the quiet last summer before the horrors of war began.
If you like this book, but do not love it, I do recommending proceeding to Book 2. This is a five part saga and the first book is (only slightly)less interesting that the remaining four. If after Book 2 you do not want to continue the series, then its just not your cup of tea.
High recommended for Anne Perry fans; historical fiction fans; historical mystery fans; fans of family sagas. I have read much though not all of Anne Perry's work and I think this small five books series is one of her best works.
April 18, 2011
It starts out well enough, with a car accident that kills two people, a missing document outlining a devastating conspiracy theory and two brothers who suspect that their parents death was not an accident. I was actually looking forward to Joseph and Matthew teaming up to solve the murder of their parents. Instead, once the funeral is over they both go back to their respective jobs; Matthew to London and the Secret Service, and Joseph to his teaching job at Cambridge, where he is distracted by the death of one of his students. From there the plot moves so painfully slowly I almost gave it up a few times. Everything that happens from here on out is purely guesswork. It is not until the final pages that things start to fall into place and some truths are revealed, but not all. I was disappointed when the document was finally found and the terrible conspiracy theory finally revealed but what are they going to do about it? Nothing it seems and who was behind it all? Apparently that is material for 5 more books, but I'm not interested enough to read them.
August 16, 2013
I gave up on page 125, which was longer than I should've gone, really. Great WWI setting and premise, but then you get:
1. Why were my parents killed, why, why, why?
2. The Balkan conflict is irrelevant to England!
3. Random person you don't care about is killed
4. Repeat 1 and 2 until you get annoyed
I highly don't recommend.
1. Why were my parents killed, why, why, why?
2. The Balkan conflict is irrelevant to England!
3. Random person you don't care about is killed
4. Repeat 1 and 2 until you get annoyed
I highly don't recommend.
January 9, 2025
For some reason this is one of my favorite periods of time to read about, the politics of the time just before World War I. This one focuses mainly on Joseph and Matthew Reavley, two sons of an ex-British politician who is found dead with their mother at the start of the book. These two characters are really well sketched out. There are also a couple of sisters who are not as well fleshed out.
The intrigue is good and the college goings on I really enjoyed. I will definitely continue the series.
The intrigue is good and the college goings on I really enjoyed. I will definitely continue the series.
May 27, 2023
This was a good story, but did drag somewhat as the protagonists rehashed over and over in their thought processes trying to deduce what happened and who did it. It was enlightening to feel the fear and angst everyone was suffering as they wondered if there would be war, and if England would be dragged into it. When they finally figure out what happened in the murders and who must have done it, the book does come a quick and sad conclusion. I plan to read the next book.
“Fear does different things to people. Some run away. Some go forward to meet it before it's there.”
“Fear does different things to people. Some run away. Some go forward to meet it before it's there.”
February 13, 2022
AUDIOLIBRO: he de reconocer que los capítulos centrales de me han hecho un poco bola. Lo que parecía una propuesta de resolución de asesinatos con trasfondo político se convierte en un tratado de literatura/filosofía/política de la época desde la visión inglesa un poco petarda para mi gusto… aunque remonta en los capítulos finales.
March 5, 2015
I have enjoyed the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Victorian murder mysteries in the past, but it has been awhile since I read any of Anne Perry's novels. I picked this one up in a sale on Audible and both enjoyed it and didn't enjoy it.
Partway through the novel I decided that I would really like to know the resolution of the murders in the beginning and then had the author work backwards towards the solution. After finishing it, I am not sure. On one hand I didn't have the time to mull over the resolution, but on the other hand, I am not sure knowing would have added to the writing.
Ms. Perry writes beautifully. Her descriptions, though different from Rosamunde Pilcher, are equally as evocative. Perry's are more in support of the story than lyrical descriptions evoking the landscapes. Ms. Perry's descriptions of emotions and the look on her characters' faces are masterful.
I have to say that the death of the Reavely parents is infinitely sad and there is a thread of that sadness throughout the story.
The other thing about this book, though the idea includes other historical novels as well, is that the success or failure of school/university history classes come into full scrutiny when reading a book like this. The novel takes place in the summer before WW1 starts for England. It is set in a very short time period. There are parts of the book that talk about the events, not just the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, but the actions of Russia, Germany, Serbia, France, etc. None of the classes I took (or, perhaps, I just don't remember clearly) covered this few week period very thoroughly. I don't feel like I understand the nuances of those weeks and have had to crib a bit. This experience makes me think that the whole reason we go to school is to understand enough to understand novels throughout our lives. After all, the exams and papers are a one shot deal and then over, whereas reading is forever.
I think this is a hidden gem and would be a great addition to a history class.
Partway through the novel I decided that I would really like to know the resolution of the murders in the beginning and then had the author work backwards towards the solution. After finishing it, I am not sure. On one hand I didn't have the time to mull over the resolution, but on the other hand, I am not sure knowing would have added to the writing.
Ms. Perry writes beautifully. Her descriptions, though different from Rosamunde Pilcher, are equally as evocative. Perry's are more in support of the story than lyrical descriptions evoking the landscapes. Ms. Perry's descriptions of emotions and the look on her characters' faces are masterful.
I have to say that the death of the Reavely parents is infinitely sad and there is a thread of that sadness throughout the story.
The other thing about this book, though the idea includes other historical novels as well, is that the success or failure of school/university history classes come into full scrutiny when reading a book like this. The novel takes place in the summer before WW1 starts for England. It is set in a very short time period. There are parts of the book that talk about the events, not just the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, but the actions of Russia, Germany, Serbia, France, etc. None of the classes I took (or, perhaps, I just don't remember clearly) covered this few week period very thoroughly. I don't feel like I understand the nuances of those weeks and have had to crib a bit. This experience makes me think that the whole reason we go to school is to understand enough to understand novels throughout our lives. After all, the exams and papers are a one shot deal and then over, whereas reading is forever.
I think this is a hidden gem and would be a great addition to a history class.
February 10, 2015
This book was boring with a capital Z.
The audiobook felt as if it was 24 hrs. long instead of 12 – not the fault of the narrator (which was pretty good) but because the way the book was structured. There were only 15 chapters going from 35 min. to 1 hr. in length and a good chunk of them were dedicated to long, repetitive monologues from almost every imaginable character about the horribleness of War. We hear about it from one of the victims, the students, the teachers, the police, the barmaids, even the VILLAINS, for goodness’ sake! I think all that harping was completely unnecessary as any person with two brain cells can figure out on their own the terrible consequences of war.
But I guess if the long monologues weren’t there, the mystery would have been done in 100 pgs. The first monologue told me all I needed to know about the murders (who and why). Obviously I wouldn’t have expected Joseph to figure it out because there wasn’t any proof, but it bugged me that some of the tangible clues to the murders were in his face and he only applied himself at the end. Before that, he’s pretty much meandering about, being hurt when people implied that his father was delusional or wondering why he didn’t know that somebody intended to murder someone. I mean, WTF? I didn’t know that being in the Church meant you could read minds or that your father was never wrong.
Anyhow, I’ve read enough of this author (15+ books) to give the series another chance (but not anytime soon.) I’m very interested in that time period and it was interesting to read about the turmoil in Europe in the early 20th century.
If you’re new to the author, I wouldn’t recommend this book to start though. It may bore you to death.
Review of audiobook edition, narrated by Michael Page.
The audiobook felt as if it was 24 hrs. long instead of 12 – not the fault of the narrator (which was pretty good) but because the way the book was structured. There were only 15 chapters going from 35 min. to 1 hr. in length and a good chunk of them were dedicated to long, repetitive monologues from almost every imaginable character about the horribleness of War. We hear about it from one of the victims, the students, the teachers, the police, the barmaids, even the VILLAINS, for goodness’ sake! I think all that harping was completely unnecessary as any person with two brain cells can figure out on their own the terrible consequences of war.
But I guess if the long monologues weren’t there, the mystery would have been done in 100 pgs. The first monologue told me all I needed to know about the murders (who and why). Obviously I wouldn’t have expected Joseph to figure it out because there wasn’t any proof, but it bugged me that some of the tangible clues to the murders were in his face and he only applied himself at the end. Before that, he’s pretty much meandering about, being hurt when people implied that his father was delusional or wondering why he didn’t know that somebody intended to murder someone. I mean, WTF? I didn’t know that being in the Church meant you could read minds or that your father was never wrong.
Anyhow, I’ve read enough of this author (15+ books) to give the series another chance (but not anytime soon.) I’m very interested in that time period and it was interesting to read about the turmoil in Europe in the early 20th century.
If you’re new to the author, I wouldn’t recommend this book to start though. It may bore you to death.
Review of audiobook edition, narrated by Michael Page.
January 4, 2011
I kept dragging my feet on starting this series. Even though I love Perry's William Monk series, World War I has never held a fascination for me. Anne Perry is one of my all time favorite authors, one I would dearly love to meet. So, when I had a chance to fill a large brown grocery bag with books, hard bound, paperback, you name it, for a measly $5, I took every Anne Perry book I could find, along with Mary Higgins Clark, Elizabeth Peters ... No Graves As Yet was one of those books - a beautiful hardbound book with the dust jacket still on it, in almost pristine condition.
And Perry did not fail to produce. Joseph Reavly is based on Perry's great-grandfather. I practically inhaled this book. I was fascinated & horrified at the same time.
There is a different feel to this book than in the Monk series.
And Perry did not fail to produce. Joseph Reavly is based on Perry's great-grandfather. I practically inhaled this book. I was fascinated & horrified at the same time.
There is a different feel to this book than in the Monk series.
didn-t-finish
March 3, 2019I pushed myself to continue reading this mystery, despite it being fairly repetitive. After 50% I put it down. I never became interested in the characters, as I did with the Monk series. Perry was primarily focused on the exaggerated expression of emotion of the "detective" and others. Just not for me.
October 27, 2022
I think of Anne Perry as a Victorian mystery writer, and so I am newly trying this WW1 series. The first in this series predates the war, but it is on the horizon, with much pondering and conjecture about whether or not there will really be war, and whether or not it will reach England.
One of the reviewers pointed out what I did not notice: the main protagonist, Joseph, was actually the author's grandfather, to whom she'd dedicated the book.
I liked the main characters, Joseph and Matthew, brothers. Joseph is an emotionally wounded priest who has changed his vocation to academia, and Matthew works with spies, not knowing whom to trust. Together, they try to solve the case of their parents' deaths.
I guessed their murderer, but not the rest of the mystery, and for a while, I thought someone else had done it - someone Joseph was overlooking in his reasonings. I think that some of the earlier conversations would have gone differently if the murderer was who it turned out to be. I don't think that person could have hidden it so well and yet be in such emotional contact with others.
I liked how the beauty of nature consoled Joseph some after the deaths, but not completely, of course. I also liked how he realistically felt anger and internal doubts and struggled with what to tell others that might be comforting, but he also appreciated the "very real compassion" of the vicar. One reviewer would have recommended C.S. Lewis' "The Problem of Pain" to him. I've read enough of Lewis that I can't remember if I've read that one, but I've read his "A Grief Observed" about his own grieving of his wife, and that could be helpful, too.
I also liked Joseph's interactions with his students, including those who confided in him, and wondering how well he really knew them, or just what they let him see.
I can't really envision a teacher punching a student like that, but it was a different time and place. I'm also not quite sure how old these students were, although if they were talking of maybe joining the military, they were probably of age.
Matthew told Shearing about the conspiracy twice, but the second time, it read as if Shearing had never heard about it before. I would've understood, partly, since Matthew did go into slightly more detail the second time around, but it sounded as if Shearing hadn't been introduced to the idea at all.
I have never thought of Dante's "Inferno" being comforting or uplifting before, but twice in this book, Joseph found it to be so. It's a work that all my kids have read, as its symbolism applied to the politics of the time, but that made it sound even less appealing to me. A book about veiled politics! But even worse is the thought of reading about people being tortured endlessly. I understand that it's a creative, historical classic, but it's never been on my TBR list. Joseph liked, I think, that people's punishments fit the crime, and that often they were natural consequences of what they'd done, or at least related to natural consequences. What bits and pieces I'd heard of it sounded more fanciful than natural consequences, but maybe, since I haven't read it, I shouldn't comment. It also is untethered to Biblical ideas of Hell.
One comment I will make, though, is that just because someone believes in a Hell doesn't mean that they want people to go there. Jesus believed in Hell, and went to vast extremes to redeem us from it. There are plenty of realities that we don't like - war, famine, disease - that are nonetheless true, and Hell is one of them.
Favorite quotes:
"They are young minds, full of energy and promise, but they are also morally undisciplined now and then. They are on the edge of learning about the world, and about themselves."
"Fear does different things to different people. Some run away. Some go forward to meet it before t's there - can't bear the suspense... Takes a strong man to wait."
"Joseph found it difficult to gather his feelings in the face of this sudden very real compassion. Indifference woke anger, or a sense of isolation, and that was in some ways easier."
"Trust in God, my dear friend. He knows our path and has walked every step before us."
"She knew how to be kind without lookin' down on folks an' there ain't many what can do that."
"And it really matters what you leave behind. He said it's your thanks to the past, your love of the present, and your gift to the future."
"We weren't very much alike - he was cleverer than I'll ever be - but he always made me feel he respected what I could do."
"We shall miss my mother's patience, her spirit of hope that was never just easy words, never denial of evil or suffering, but the quiet faith that they could be overcome, and the trust that the future would be bright... We should be grateful for every life that has given us happiness, and gratitude is the treasuring of the gift, the nourishing of it, the use, and then to pass it on bright and whole to others."
“Where was the fire of his faith when he needed it? Anyone could believe on a calm Sunday in a church pew, when life was whole and safe. Faith is real only when there is nothing else between you and the abyss, an unseen thread strong enough to hold the world.” That reminds me of a Charles Spurgeon quote, "To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust Him in the dark - that is faith." Or this quote, "We walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7
One of the reviewers pointed out what I did not notice: the main protagonist, Joseph, was actually the author's grandfather, to whom she'd dedicated the book.
I liked the main characters, Joseph and Matthew, brothers. Joseph is an emotionally wounded priest who has changed his vocation to academia, and Matthew works with spies, not knowing whom to trust. Together, they try to solve the case of their parents' deaths.
I guessed their murderer, but not the rest of the mystery, and for a while, I thought someone else had done it - someone Joseph was overlooking in his reasonings. I think that some of the earlier conversations would have gone differently if the murderer was who it turned out to be. I don't think that person could have hidden it so well and yet be in such emotional contact with others.
I liked how the beauty of nature consoled Joseph some after the deaths, but not completely, of course. I also liked how he realistically felt anger and internal doubts and struggled with what to tell others that might be comforting, but he also appreciated the "very real compassion" of the vicar. One reviewer would have recommended C.S. Lewis' "The Problem of Pain" to him. I've read enough of Lewis that I can't remember if I've read that one, but I've read his "A Grief Observed" about his own grieving of his wife, and that could be helpful, too.
I also liked Joseph's interactions with his students, including those who confided in him, and wondering how well he really knew them, or just what they let him see.
I can't really envision a teacher punching a student like that, but it was a different time and place. I'm also not quite sure how old these students were, although if they were talking of maybe joining the military, they were probably of age.
Matthew told Shearing about the conspiracy twice, but the second time, it read as if Shearing had never heard about it before. I would've understood, partly, since Matthew did go into slightly more detail the second time around, but it sounded as if Shearing hadn't been introduced to the idea at all.
I have never thought of Dante's "Inferno" being comforting or uplifting before, but twice in this book, Joseph found it to be so. It's a work that all my kids have read, as its symbolism applied to the politics of the time, but that made it sound even less appealing to me. A book about veiled politics! But even worse is the thought of reading about people being tortured endlessly. I understand that it's a creative, historical classic, but it's never been on my TBR list. Joseph liked, I think, that people's punishments fit the crime, and that often they were natural consequences of what they'd done, or at least related to natural consequences. What bits and pieces I'd heard of it sounded more fanciful than natural consequences, but maybe, since I haven't read it, I shouldn't comment. It also is untethered to Biblical ideas of Hell.
One comment I will make, though, is that just because someone believes in a Hell doesn't mean that they want people to go there. Jesus believed in Hell, and went to vast extremes to redeem us from it. There are plenty of realities that we don't like - war, famine, disease - that are nonetheless true, and Hell is one of them.
Favorite quotes:
"They are young minds, full of energy and promise, but they are also morally undisciplined now and then. They are on the edge of learning about the world, and about themselves."
"Fear does different things to different people. Some run away. Some go forward to meet it before t's there - can't bear the suspense... Takes a strong man to wait."
"Joseph found it difficult to gather his feelings in the face of this sudden very real compassion. Indifference woke anger, or a sense of isolation, and that was in some ways easier."
"Trust in God, my dear friend. He knows our path and has walked every step before us."
"She knew how to be kind without lookin' down on folks an' there ain't many what can do that."
"And it really matters what you leave behind. He said it's your thanks to the past, your love of the present, and your gift to the future."
"We weren't very much alike - he was cleverer than I'll ever be - but he always made me feel he respected what I could do."
"We shall miss my mother's patience, her spirit of hope that was never just easy words, never denial of evil or suffering, but the quiet faith that they could be overcome, and the trust that the future would be bright... We should be grateful for every life that has given us happiness, and gratitude is the treasuring of the gift, the nourishing of it, the use, and then to pass it on bright and whole to others."
“Where was the fire of his faith when he needed it? Anyone could believe on a calm Sunday in a church pew, when life was whole and safe. Faith is real only when there is nothing else between you and the abyss, an unseen thread strong enough to hold the world.” That reminds me of a Charles Spurgeon quote, "To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust Him in the dark - that is faith." Or this quote, "We walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7
August 29, 2019
Meh. Highly dramatic, in a way that reminded me of stage melodramas, and a very implausible plot. Lovely descriptions of English countryside and good evocation of the plummet into WWI. The author’s high minded tone felt saccharine and somewhat nauseating as I am aware that before she assumed this pseudonym, she and her teenaged BFF murdered her friend’s mother by bludgeoning, for no good reason. For real.
October 17, 2020
There is truly nothing like the racing heartbeat you get during the last stretch of a mystery novel.
January 2, 2022
I was not happy with this book and it took a long time to get into it and finish. I so much prefer her other series
June 4, 2017
3.5 stars. Good start to a new-to-me series.
April 28, 2013
• Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec Avant la Tourmente?
"Ayant lu, à mon grand désespoir, toute la saga des Pitt d'Anne Perry, il me reste à découvrir ses deux autres sagas. J'ai décidé de commencer par celle des frères Reavley, qui non seulement est la plus courte, mais dont la période historique me plaît moins aussi, gardant le meilleur pour la fin."
• Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Juin 1914, les quatre frères et soeurs Reavley apprennent subitement la mort de leurs parents dans un accident de voiture. Mais Matthew a reçu un coup de fil étrange de son père la veille et décide d'enquêter sur ce qu'il a pu se passer et qui semble les impliquer dans un complot qui aura des répercussions mondiales, rien que ça."
• Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous?
"Je m'étais préparée à ne pas être aussi charmée par cette série que par les fabuleux Pitt! Je l'ai assez dit, la guerre, ce n'est pas mon truc! Dans ce premier opus pourtant, on retrouve tout ce que j'aime: une famille anglaise complexe et attachante, avec l'histoire et les traditions qui font d'un anglais un anglais... Et puis surtout, l'histoire se déroule entre Londres et Cambridge et là encore, Anne Perry me fait rêver, me donne l'impression d'y être vraiment, me permet de m'évader. La guerre quant à elle, reste à distance pour le moment! Et même si je crains que l'on ne puisse plus l'éviter dans les prochains tomes, pour le moment je suis séduite!"
• Et comment cela s'est-il fini?
"Les fins d'Anne Perry sont généralement soignées et en général, apportent toutes les réponses aux questions que l'on se posent. Si on lit les suivants, c'est parce que l'on s'est attaché aux personnages et non parce qu'elle utilise des feintes de série télé pour vous obliger à vous précipiter sur la suite. Ici, c'est un tout petit peu moins le cas, tout n'est pas complètement résolu. Mais cette série ne comprenant que 5 tomes, l'auteur l'a vraisemblablement traitée de manière un peu différente et de toutes façons le résultat reste le même: je veux le tome suivant!"
http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...
"Ayant lu, à mon grand désespoir, toute la saga des Pitt d'Anne Perry, il me reste à découvrir ses deux autres sagas. J'ai décidé de commencer par celle des frères Reavley, qui non seulement est la plus courte, mais dont la période historique me plaît moins aussi, gardant le meilleur pour la fin."
• Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Juin 1914, les quatre frères et soeurs Reavley apprennent subitement la mort de leurs parents dans un accident de voiture. Mais Matthew a reçu un coup de fil étrange de son père la veille et décide d'enquêter sur ce qu'il a pu se passer et qui semble les impliquer dans un complot qui aura des répercussions mondiales, rien que ça."
• Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous?
"Je m'étais préparée à ne pas être aussi charmée par cette série que par les fabuleux Pitt! Je l'ai assez dit, la guerre, ce n'est pas mon truc! Dans ce premier opus pourtant, on retrouve tout ce que j'aime: une famille anglaise complexe et attachante, avec l'histoire et les traditions qui font d'un anglais un anglais... Et puis surtout, l'histoire se déroule entre Londres et Cambridge et là encore, Anne Perry me fait rêver, me donne l'impression d'y être vraiment, me permet de m'évader. La guerre quant à elle, reste à distance pour le moment! Et même si je crains que l'on ne puisse plus l'éviter dans les prochains tomes, pour le moment je suis séduite!"
• Et comment cela s'est-il fini?
"Les fins d'Anne Perry sont généralement soignées et en général, apportent toutes les réponses aux questions que l'on se posent. Si on lit les suivants, c'est parce que l'on s'est attaché aux personnages et non parce qu'elle utilise des feintes de série télé pour vous obliger à vous précipiter sur la suite. Ici, c'est un tout petit peu moins le cas, tout n'est pas complètement résolu. Mais cette série ne comprenant que 5 tomes, l'auteur l'a vraisemblablement traitée de manière un peu différente et de toutes façons le résultat reste le même: je veux le tome suivant!"
http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...
December 28, 2021
Si algo me ha parecido este libro es lento. La introducción de los personajes, de sus problemas y conflictos, así como las densas descripciones, me han dificultado mucho engancharme de una vez.
Sin embargo, he de decir que la intriga y la trama, así como la época en la que se sitúa, me han despertado bastante interés.
Sin embargo, he de decir que la intriga y la trama, así como la época en la que se sitúa, me han despertado bastante interés.
February 13, 2014
Joseph Reavley, an ordained minister and Cambridge professor is watching a student cricket match when his younger brother Matthew, who is an officer with the Intelligence Services, approaches him to break the news that their parents were both killed earlier that day in a car accident. Their father had called Matthew the day before to indicate he had a document with information that would be incredibly damaging to England should it be exposed and he would bring it to Matthew. The accident happened while en route. In the days and weeks that followed, Joseph and Matthew came to believe that the deaths weren't an accident and began to do their own investigation into what happened and where the mysterious document went. At about the same time, one of Joseph's most promising students was found dead. Tensions mount as the nation moves closer and closer to the start of WW I.
I'VE FOUND A NEW SERIES!!! There are five books in this series and from what I gather, they follow the brothers through the years of the war with each book focusing on a different year. There are elements of mystery to this, yet the county library files this as Fiction. Indeed, the cover states: A Novel of World War I. This is a very likeable family so I'm looking forward to following them through the war years. A lot is said of the events in Europe leading up to the start of the war. I admit to not knowing much of that history, but I would assume that she would be true to that and work within those parameters. A couple bits at the beginning were slow going but none of it is trivial or filler. Not a fast read, but a very satisfying one. This is the first Anne Perry book I've read. I want to read the rest of this series and then explore her others as well.
I'VE FOUND A NEW SERIES!!! There are five books in this series and from what I gather, they follow the brothers through the years of the war with each book focusing on a different year. There are elements of mystery to this, yet the county library files this as Fiction. Indeed, the cover states: A Novel of World War I. This is a very likeable family so I'm looking forward to following them through the war years. A lot is said of the events in Europe leading up to the start of the war. I admit to not knowing much of that history, but I would assume that she would be true to that and work within those parameters. A couple bits at the beginning were slow going but none of it is trivial or filler. Not a fast read, but a very satisfying one. This is the first Anne Perry book I've read. I want to read the rest of this series and then explore her others as well.
September 9, 2024
If you are looking for a quick read -- crime, investigation, brilliant solution revealed -- this is not the novel for you.
I first read the whole series -- 5 novels, each set in a different year of World War 1, each featuring one or more murders solved in the novel but also with an overarching problem that is finally solved in the 5th novel -- during the years of commemoration for World War I. Now I am rereading.
The main characters are a family of four adult children. In this novel (taking place from late June to early August 1914) Joseph, a 35-year-old widower, ordained as an Anglican priest but presently living (hiding) in a college in Cambridge University where he teaches Biblical languages) and his younger brother Matthew (who is 28 and works for the Secret Service in London) are the main family characters. We also meet briefly their youngest sister Judith -- 24, unmarried and living at home near Cambridge -- and Hannah, in her early 30s, married to a Naval Officer and living in Portsmouth.
This novel, as well as posing the problem that causes several deaths and will continue throught the series, shows the effects on people of feeling that a huge event (in this case, war) is about to happen. Some try to go on living their lives and saying it couldn't possibly affect them. Some are sure that it will but are not sure how to react. Some are scared; others are eager. I think it's a good novel to read in troubled times and to reflect on. Plus Perry describes turn-of-the-century England well And creates characters that develop throughout the series.
I first read the whole series -- 5 novels, each set in a different year of World War 1, each featuring one or more murders solved in the novel but also with an overarching problem that is finally solved in the 5th novel -- during the years of commemoration for World War I. Now I am rereading.
The main characters are a family of four adult children. In this novel (taking place from late June to early August 1914) Joseph, a 35-year-old widower, ordained as an Anglican priest but presently living (hiding) in a college in Cambridge University where he teaches Biblical languages) and his younger brother Matthew (who is 28 and works for the Secret Service in London) are the main family characters. We also meet briefly their youngest sister Judith -- 24, unmarried and living at home near Cambridge -- and Hannah, in her early 30s, married to a Naval Officer and living in Portsmouth.
This novel, as well as posing the problem that causes several deaths and will continue throught the series, shows the effects on people of feeling that a huge event (in this case, war) is about to happen. Some try to go on living their lives and saying it couldn't possibly affect them. Some are sure that it will but are not sure how to react. Some are scared; others are eager. I think it's a good novel to read in troubled times and to reflect on. Plus Perry describes turn-of-the-century England well And creates characters that develop throughout the series.
September 24, 2015
I liked this book right up until the end, which was extremely unsatisfying. The story is a slow but interesting mystery that takes place at the same time, and appears to be connected to, the outbreak of World War I. On the same day that Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo, John Reavley and his wife are killed in a car crash near their home in England. Reavley was on his way to meet with his son Matthew, who works in British Intelligence, and deliver a letter that he believed would bring dishonor on the entire kingdom. It doesn't take long for Matthew and his brother, Joseph, a minister and Cambridge professor, to determine their parent's deaths were no accident. There are many possibilities. Not only in there a tense situation in Europe, demands to create an Irish republic are reaching fever pitch. As Matthew and Joseph try to follow the clues they find the way littered with other bodies (which would seem to make the title somewhat disengenuous). There are some interesting plot twists and I enjoyed the historical background neatly worked into the story. We get to see the person on the other side of the plot and spend much of the book trying to determine his identity. The problem is that only some of the questions are answered by the end. While this is the first in a series, I still think a book should be able to stand on its own, and this is one leg short of being able to do so. Still, I will probably give the next book a try.
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