No Graves As Yet

I'm a fan of Anne Perry's William Monk and Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series. She evokes time and place so well in these Victorian era series that I was hesitant to start this first book in a new series set during the World War I era. I was afraid it wouldn't measure up, so I let it sit on my bookshelf for several years before finally picking it up this week. I discovered that my instincts were right. This is not Anne Perry at her best. She exchanges the realm of detective novels for the world of espionage without substantially altering her writing style. Unfortunately the subtle introspection that works so well in her detective series becomes overwrought melodrama as the characters contemplate international instability, national security, show more and the possibility of war. While the murders are resolved by the end of the book, there is a larger plot thread that will obviously be continued in the next book of the series. I'm curious about how this thread will play out, but I'm not sure I want to devote any more time to a mediocre series when there are so many other books on my TBR list that seem more appealing. show less

This novel is the first in a series and one I have been planning to read for some time. I want to fit in some WWI related fiction and non-fiction in this and the next couple years. Generally speaking I enjoy Anne Perry's mystery novels, but sometimes they disappoint. This one, unexpectedly, did. I can't quite pin down why this didn't gel for me, but I have some ideas. I didn't latch onto the main characters and I know that is part of the reason. I liked several of the portrayals of secondary characters however. The book seemed much too stretched out and even almost boring at times. One of the main characters is a former minister and now professor and he has a lot of long drawn out angst over things. Everyone is way too overwrought, show more scenes seem over-dramatized and over-written. Nearly every conversation seemed to have the anxiety level amped to 11. The story begins when four adult children lose their parents in a single motorcar accident. But was it an accident?

This book takes place beginning in the summer before the outbreak of hostilities and it ends when war is declared. There is a missing document, supposedly one that would rock the world if revealed. An interesting look at English life at the dawn of war, despite the weakness of the storytelling (and the story itself). This just did not strike me as well written compared to other Perry novels I have read. It isn't a bad book, but not a very good one I think. The book picked up a little towards the end, but the ending I thought was rather unsatisfying. Despite this I think I'll give the second book in the series a try as that seems to be where the direct WWI stuff happens. show less

Anne Perry is so good at creating the atmosphere of tragic transition; the point in the story (or in history) in which you know something terrible and life shattering is about to happen, but the innocent folks of the past (and the guilty ones too) have no idea.

So we have England just at the edge of WWI, and deaths, and a plot, and the washed golden light. I do miss my favorite characters from the Pitt and Monk novels, who by this novel must surely all be dead. The characters in No Graves Yet are sympathetic and faintly clueless and determined to do good or evil and often confused by it; the descriptive writing is sheer delight, and the plot very...well, this plot was very structured, and I saw the structure pretty quickly (which meant, show more yes, I thought I knew who done it and then was properly twisted aside). It's kind of like laying a trail of bread crumbs and then...wait, you really you had a wolf following you

But I digress. Perry's fans will like this one, I do, and I will look for the next in the series as well. show less

I've always enjoyed Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries -- she does deep research, and her novels show it in their immersive reality. Her first World War I novel does not disappoint, bringing 1914 into sharp focus: an England unwittingly on the edge of war, a world half-modern and half-traditional.

Joseph Reavley, the main character, is likable, and an Anglican priest/college professor is in a surprisingly good position for amateur detecting. But "amateur detecting" does Joseph a disservice, because the plot makes the Reavleys' pursuit of the truth more a driving need than a hobby. It's a good story, and told with Perry's usual sense of moral shadings and human passions. I look forward to reading the next one in the series, and especially show more to seeing what little sister Judith Reavley gets up to in the tumult and change of wartime.

Note on audio edition: The narrator does great accents, but is often overwrought when characters get emotional. Shouty men and shrieky women. show less

My generation seems to be more aware of the history of WWII than WWI so this series became of particular interest to me. Having discovered Anne Perry's writing through her Christmas mysteries, I am very appreciative of the way she is able to craft her stories with descriptive language that truly pulls the reader into the feelings of each character. In this novel, I found her poignant writing in expressing grief to be very meaningful.

Without providing a spoiler, this story was more enlightening to me as my husband and I had recently watched The Crown Season 2, Episode 6, "Vergangenheit."

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.

An enjoyable mystery. Interesting to read on the 100th anniversary of the Archduke's assassination. I liked reading about the response of the people in England to the crisis. The fear of war and the idea that the war would be short. Some people believing that there Great Britain need not be involved and others feeling that war was inevitable. Anne Perry did a good job of depicting the atmosphere in the country at the time while still keeping the story moving.