No Graves as Yet: A Novel of World War One (World War One Novels) [Hardcover]

I thought this Anne Perry's best book for ages, with original perspectives on a complex and misunderstood period. Admittedly, a little of the story stretches credibility, there are a couple of tiny slips about cricket in the first two pages - but then there is no appearance of her awful court scenes, and fewer Americanisms than in recent books have crept into the language. What impresses is the moral depth with which she imbues the tale - there is a sense of the complexity of human life, and especially in reactions to death, but as they would have been understood in 1914. Most astonishing is the extraordinary grasp of the spirit of Hegelian Idealism which was central to British academic life at the time. She does not discuss the optimism in human progress, Hegel and his British disciples are not mentioned (a lesser writer would have worn the scholarship on the sleeve), but the characters are filled with that spirit and some of the complacency it engendered. It is one thing to capture the material detail of an earlier age, but so much greater, as here, when the spirit is caught on the wing. I look forward to the next episodes in this rich new enterprise.

This is the first in a new series for Anne Perry. Forget the Pitts and Monk, Anne Perry has moved on in time to the start of the First World War and her main characters are brothers Joseph and Matthew Reavley. Joseph is a professor of biblical languages at Cambridge University and Matthew works for the British Intelligence. When their parents are killed in a car crash and Joseph's star student is shot the brothers find themselves having to begin unravelling a complex web of international intrigue.

An obscure Archduke is shot in Serbia. What could that possibly have to do with the death of the Reavleys and Joseph's cloistered world at Cambridge? Everything, it turns out, as international forces trying to prevent war vie against those riding heedlessly ahead. War is unthinkable, and yet it seems that there is something worse.

One of Anne Perry's strengths as a writer is her understanding of the nuances in the relationships between people and this is shown to advantage in this book. On the other hand, the pace is often slowed by moral discourses and discussions of right and wrong and greater rights versus greater wrongs. In addition to these endless moral dilemmas I didn't feel that the writer is at her best using male viewpoint characters. In her earlier books I loved the sheer fun of Charlotte Pitt and the social whirl and delicious ball gowns, as well as the juxtaposition of rich and poor in Victorian life. I felt for the anger and fire of Hester Latterly as she fought the Victorian medical establishment. I didn't feel for the Reavleys.

So this was not one of Anne Perry's more memorable books. I hope there will be more action and more three dimensional characters in the remaining books of the series.

I have read four out of the five novels in this outstanding historical mystery series, and I cannot wait to begin the last. Unfortunately, "NO GRAVES AS YET," gets off to a slow start, and this may discourage those who ordinarily would be interested in reading the other four books. The pace does pick up about half-way through, but my advice to fans of Anne Perry, historical fiction, thrilling mysteries, and chilling espionage, is to begin with book two, "Shoulder the Sky," which does a terrific job of recapping the plot. I can almost guarantee that if you hang in there with the author's most ambitious literary project yet, you will not be sorry.

On a sunny afternoon in late June, 1914, Cambridge professor and ordained chaplain, Joseph Reavley, learns that his parents, John and Alys, have died in an automobile crash. He was watching a cricket match when his younger brother Matthew, an officer in England's Secret Intelligence Service, (SIS), arrived to give him the horrific news. Coincidently, on the very same day, June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated, along with his wife, by a Bosnian-Serb nationalist. Austria-Hungary's resulting demands against the Kingdom of Serbia were to activate a series of alliances, which, within weeks saw all of the major European powers at war.

The day before his death, John Reavley, a former member of Parliament, had phoned Matthew to tell him that he discovered documents outlining a plan which, if implemented, "would ruin England's honor and change the history of the world." The deadly "accident" occurred while the Reavleys were driving from their home in St. Giles to deliver the papers to Matthew. These documents seemingly vanished into thin air. They were definitely not present at the crash scene. The circumstances surrounding John and Alys Reavley's deaths are too suspicious for the brothers not to take action. They investigate and find that their parents were actually murdered. The car crash was used to cover the crime.

Back at work, Matthew cannot concentrate on the job at hand. He is too distracted by the violent murders and the circumstances surrounding them. Joseph, already grieving at the loss of his beloved wife, goes into a tailspin with the news about his parents. The last straw, in a series of traumas, occurs when he discovers that his most promising student, a pacifist, has been murdered on campus. The brothers take off on a journey through England to find the truth, and, hopefully the documents

Joseph begins to question his core beliefs and convictions. The world is not the place he thought it to be, and the foundation of his faith is shaken. The turmoil in the brothers' lives is echoed by the political turbulence on the continent, and the ever-growing Irish rebellion. Is there a possible connection between John and Alys Reavley's deaths and the impending war? Judith Reavley, the youngest sister, is also restless and discontented. And another siser, Hannah, though grief stricken by the sudden loss of her parents, is kept busy with life at home.

The ending explodes with the brothers' findings and the beginning of the Great War, which many predict will end in just 4 months, around Christmas time. Joseph is not the only naive one - the world is still a place of relative innocence in August of 1914. WWI will soon change everything forever.

A heads-up here - the primary plot, which propels all five books, is the mystery surrounding the figure of the "Peacemaker," a man who represents those who seek to make a treaty between Kaiser Wilhelm II and King George V, which would unite warring Germany and Britain into a common front. The results would be disastrous for the entire world. The discovery of the man's identity, and all the details of his machinations, are not revealed until book five...so I still do not know what happens. I thought I would find the answers at this novel's conclusion and I was disappointed. However, there are enough mysteries throughout the series to keep the pages turning. The wonderful historical fiction is well researched, and the author's description of war on the Western Front is so vivid that the reader feels as if he/she is present in the trenches. The character development is brilliant and I have come, after accompanying these people on so many adventures, to care for them deeply. The chilling espionage, and the perpetrators involved, provide an added attraction which builds tension and drama through all five books.

Again, if you have not bought or borrowed "NO GRAVES AS YET," I would advise you to go straight to book two. But whatever you do, don't miss Anne Perry's WWI series.
Jana Perskie

Shoulder the Sky
Angels in the Gloom
At Some Disputed Barricade (World War One Novel 4)
We Shall Not Sleep (World War One Novels)