At Some Disputed Barricade (World War One Novel 4) [Paperback]

This is the 4th of Anne Perry's quintet of novels set before and during the first world war, but the first that I have read. I was a little unsure of what to expect, given both her reputation as a crime novelist specialising in the Victorian period, and the sometimes easy and simplistic fiction set during periods of war, but found this book far more engaging and morally complex or ambiguous than I had expected.

It is 1917 and Joseph Reavley is chaplain of his regiment being massacred at Passchendaele; while his sister is driving a front-line ambulance, and his brother is in the Intelligence service at home trying to track down `the Peacemaker', a man desperate to bring an end to the war through alliance with Germany. Individual stories of the murder of an incompetent General in the trenches, cases of sexual blackmail amongst pro-peace MPs, and Judith's own war experiences intertwine without ever becoming too tidily and neatly pressed together.

Where I think this novel excels is in the dramatising of the twisted moralities of a nation at war, where both the `idealists' and the `traitors' (and to Perry's credit, no-one is securely either one or the other) can want the same thing; and where a passion to stop the destruction of a generation of men not just in England but in Europe and farther afield, a morally good goal in itself, can lead to actions that are more than morally questionable.

With visceral depictions of warfare, along with the desperate struggle to maintain some dignity, honour and sense of hope in the midst of such unimaginable carnage, this is ultimately a very humane novel that doesn't judge or lecture or table-thump. Far, far more than a `crime novel' this deserves to be far more widely read and is, I think, Perry's coming of age as a writer. It certainly isn't necessary to have read the earlier books first but I think it does deepen the characterisation to have followed some of the same people from 1914. Highly recommended.

Set in the battlefields of the Ypres Salient, 1917, Anne Perry's "At Some Disputed Barricade" is not only an unusual murder mystery, it is also historical fiction at its best. The author's description of the Great War's Western Front and the horrors of trench warfare is so visceral that the reader feels, at times, like a witness to the fighting, suffering and endless slaughter. But don't be put off, there are also wonderful moments which display the friendship, camaraderie, bravery and loyalty of the soldiers, who have been brothers at arms, some for more than two years, "at some disputed barricade." The characters come to life on the page, especially the three protagonists who play important roles throughout. This is book four in a five part series - "No Graves As Yet" is #1, "Shoulder the Sky" #2, "Angels in the Gloom #3, and "We Shall Not Sleep" is the conclusion. I highly recommend starting with the first novel, or the second, which does a great job of recapping the plot, if you want to get the most out of this book and the two that follow.

The storyline features Captain Joseph Reavley, chaplain and former Cambridge professor, who ministers to the wounded and dying at the frontlines, risking his life at every moment to bring the wounded to field hospitals, and the dead back behind the lines, to be buried decently. As the Battle of Passchedaele rages around them, a trusted commanding officer is among the many fatalities from Joseph's regiment. He is replaced by young Major Howard Northrup, a pompous, proud incompetent. Northrup's orders, seemingly insane at times, and against the advice of more experienced soldiers, cause many good men to die needlessly. "He is an arrogant fool and his men hate him." The Major is soon found dead, a bullet through his head. When it becomes obvious that one, or more, of his subordinates is/are the killers, Joseph would like to turn a blind eye. But he cannot, especally as the major's father is a general, determined to see the person(s) responsible for his son's death brought before the firing squad.

Matthew Reavley, Joseph's younger brother, is a member of England's Secret Intelligence Service, (SIS). He has spent the last three years seeking the identity of the "The Peacemaker," a mysterious figure 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. England would abandon France and Belgium to the Germans. The Germans and the British would then form an empire to divide the world between them. "Most of Europe would fall to Germany, who would help Britain to keep its present empire and add to it the old colonies, including the entire United States, which had recently entered the war." This chilling story of treason begins with the first novel, when the Reavley siblings' parents are killed as a result of the Peacemaker's machinations. Tension builds, (really thrilling in parts), until the last episode. Reavley suspects everyone, even his boss. Whomever he is, the treacherous instigator is alive and hard at work, and has been for many years, even before the war began. This Peacemaker believes he can convince the King to sign the treaty to form the "Anglo-German hegemony." He has to be someone important enough to have access to both King and Kaiser. And he must be stopped!

Twenty-seven year-old Judith Reavley, sister to Joseph and Matthew, is a volunteer ambulance driver serving on the Ypres Salient. She has been on the battlefield for almost three years. The once glamorous beauty, is now haggard, exhausted and world-weary. She is anguished at the prospect of courts-martial and executions for any of the brave men accused of the Northrup murder. After all, Judith has worked with and befriended these soldiers over the course of the long war.

The tensions which build around this highly charged drama and murder mystery are chilling. And the Peacemaker's much more nefarious schemes, are believable and quite frightening. I became quickly absorbed in each of the series' mysteries, but this one is the most exciting so far. The author manages to grab the reader and pull him/her along, into another time and place. I know I cannot wait to finish the final book to see who the Peacemaker is and what happens to the characters I have come to like so much.

An unputdowanable read!

PS - the review title is a quotation from the poem "I have a rendezvous with Death" by Alan Seeger
Jana Perskie

No Graves as Yet
Shoulder the Sky
Angels in the Gloom
We Shall Not Sleep (World War One Novels)

The first thing I have to say is that this review is written having failed to read the last few chapters, as it made me so annoyed that I was wasting my time reading this unrealistic, contrived bilge, that I left it on a train in order to inflict on some other poor sap.

The characters were unrealistic and the way they just happened upon each other 'Quite by chance', stretched believability to the extreme. The worst scene for me was the poor Padre, one of the central characters in the book who for some bizarre reason is tasked with all manner of investigations, is flying in a twin seat aircraft, when he is set upon by none other that, (que drum role), the red baron, what a surprise! He even manages to shoot up the said Barons tail, thought thankfully we didn't completely abandon reality to say that our investigatorial vicar actually shot him down.

Whilst it appears that some research was done, it seems that the author had no understanding of the military or the way in which the first world war was fought on the western front. There was also no understanding of how the different troops interact with each other and what there respective jobs should have been.

Anyway - 'nuff said' - I love this kind of book, and am quite widely read on the first world war, but in my humble opinion this is 'tripe' of the first order, more in the style of Mills and Boon than Birdsong.