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World War I #4
Les tranchées de la haine
En cette fin de juillet 1917, le moral des troupes britanniques est au plus bas. L'aumônier Joseph Reavley tente difficilement de contenir le souffle de mutinerie qui se propage dans les tranchées d'Ypres, en France. Quand le major Northup, commandant incompétent de sa section, est retrouvé assassiné, douze soldats sont arrêtés et c'est à Joseph qu'il incombe de découvrir la vérité sur leur prétendue culpabilité. La tâche se complique lorsque sa sœur Judith, ambulancière sur le front, décide de sauver ces hommes de la cour martiale en les aidant à s'évader... Pendant ce temps, leur frère Matthew, membre des services secrets anglais, découvre un complot qui porte la marque du Pacificateur, ce mystérieux personnage dont il pensait être débarrassé et qui continue à intriguer, à coups de meurtres et de trahisons, pour faire perdre la guerre à l'Angleterre.
413 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 2, 2006
129 people are currently reading
873 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
364 books3,384 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 161 reviews
August 16, 2017
This is the 4th of Anne Perry's quintet of novels set before and during the first world war. 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.
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.
May 29, 2012
The third of Perry's WWI series featuring the Reavsley siblings, this book revolves around a mutiny in the regiment in which Joseph is a captain/chaplain and which his sister Judith serves as an ambulance driver. A new, rigid, ignorant major, a general's son, is discovered dead, killed by an English bullet, and the truth soon emerges that 12 men held a kangaroo court, found him guilty of ignoring the advice of more seasoned combat generals, and holding a mock execution in which one of the bullets turned out to be real. Joseph finds himself saddled with his men's defense and hiding his sister's part in their escape.
Against the capture, escape, return, and trial of the men is also Matthew Reavsley's renewed pursuit of the arch-manipulator and traitor called the Peacemaker, whom he thought dead. Now he learns the man is still alive and still trying to manipulate the war for a hoped-for new order in which there will be no more wars, one that will result either in a German-English peace that divides the Continent (and the world) between the two powers, or a Communist victory in Russia which will create a warless world.
The book is off to something of a slow start, but it picks up halfway through. The descriptions of the battle of Paschendaele, fought during the wettest August anyone can remember, with trenches swimming with water and debris and the mud up to mens' thighs, is heartbreaking. It's all too easy to understand how men would break under the commands of an unsympathetic and unheeding officer that would send them into life-threatening situations that could be avoided.
Against the capture, escape, return, and trial of the men is also Matthew Reavsley's renewed pursuit of the arch-manipulator and traitor called the Peacemaker, whom he thought dead. Now he learns the man is still alive and still trying to manipulate the war for a hoped-for new order in which there will be no more wars, one that will result either in a German-English peace that divides the Continent (and the world) between the two powers, or a Communist victory in Russia which will create a warless world.
The book is off to something of a slow start, but it picks up halfway through. The descriptions of the battle of Paschendaele, fought during the wettest August anyone can remember, with trenches swimming with water and debris and the mud up to mens' thighs, is heartbreaking. It's all too easy to understand how men would break under the commands of an unsympathetic and unheeding officer that would send them into life-threatening situations that could be avoided.
February 24, 2015
I barely finished this book. I have read the 3 books in the series leading up to this one and become increasingly disappointed in each. Perry has a wonderful subject to write about. There are an unlimited number of stories and plot lines she could follow. And when she does what she does best - give the reader a clear view of a world at a specific place in time and at a specific location - the book shines. The detail she provides in her narrative is always impressive.
However, this series has an over-arcing plot line about a Peacemaker character who supposedly wants peace for England, regardless of the price. This plot line is completely unnecessary. Each of the books has at least one and sometimes multiple stand-alone mysteries to solve and this lame plot line is superfluous. Unfortunately the amount of space devoted to this comic book villain seems to increase in each successive book. It occupied so much space in this book I wasn't able to simply skip through the pages devoted to it. There were too many.
It appears that the last book in the series will focus on this plot. So I won't read it. That is a shame because the primary story she should be focusing on - how the various members of a family survived through the war was interesting and I would like to have known the conclusion to that story.
However, this series has an over-arcing plot line about a Peacemaker character who supposedly wants peace for England, regardless of the price. This plot line is completely unnecessary. Each of the books has at least one and sometimes multiple stand-alone mysteries to solve and this lame plot line is superfluous. Unfortunately the amount of space devoted to this comic book villain seems to increase in each successive book. It occupied so much space in this book I wasn't able to simply skip through the pages devoted to it. There were too many.
It appears that the last book in the series will focus on this plot. So I won't read it. That is a shame because the primary story she should be focusing on - how the various members of a family survived through the war was interesting and I would like to have known the conclusion to that story.
July 25, 2022
WW1 is known to most people only by what they learn in their history class. I don’t know if the events in this story are true or not, or composed of several incidences during the inexplicable horror of “the war to end all wars” but this series has forced me to delve deeper into events and the battle lines. I realize the characters are fictional but the events may or may not be. Anyone looking for a quick resolution to who the “Peacemaker” is, is not seeing the bigger picture “the war”, from the home front, to the battlefronts, the war at sea and the politics of it. This series is not just a mystery to be solved.
August 20, 2012
I am really skimming these Anne Perry WWI books now (one to go!), and the primary merit of this one is that it is shorter than the earlier ones. (And, in a less snarky vein, Perry gives lots of period detail that makes the scene very real, very 3-dimensional. That is her strength in these books. Not plot. Not character. And, dear heaven, not dialogue. And tel me, please: did villagers really give their sons names like TIDDLY WOP in the late 19th century???)
Her plotting grows sillier. While the Peacemaker is still trying to bring the war to an end (and for whatever reason, figures it would be better to have England lose than to have Germany lose. Why, exactly?), as usual another murder must be solved by the most exasperating Reavley, Joseph. This time, it's an incompetent and arrogant officer whom Joseph finds dead in no-man's-land. His wound doesn't seem to be battle-inflicted. And, wouldn't you just know it, just as Joseph is thinking he maybe won't mention that to anyone else, nosey-body reporter Mason stumbles along and, for whatever perverse reason, invests the reporting of the officer's possible murder with huge meaning and forces Reavley to report it. And whom else would the commanding officer choose to investigate the murder but, of course, Reavley. And whom do the men eventually court-martialed for the murder choose to defend them? You guessed it!
On top of the beyond-suspension-of-disbelief plots (the Peacemaker sublot is equally ludicrous), Perry must think her readers all suffer from severe memory loss. She repeats, repeats, repeats: the dead rats in the trenches; the deaths of the Reavley parents; the taste of tea made in a Dixie can; the rain, how hard it is to steer an ambulance, etc., etc. A good editor could have made this a novella.
Her plotting grows sillier. While the Peacemaker is still trying to bring the war to an end (and for whatever reason, figures it would be better to have England lose than to have Germany lose. Why, exactly?), as usual another murder must be solved by the most exasperating Reavley, Joseph. This time, it's an incompetent and arrogant officer whom Joseph finds dead in no-man's-land. His wound doesn't seem to be battle-inflicted. And, wouldn't you just know it, just as Joseph is thinking he maybe won't mention that to anyone else, nosey-body reporter Mason stumbles along and, for whatever perverse reason, invests the reporting of the officer's possible murder with huge meaning and forces Reavley to report it. And whom else would the commanding officer choose to investigate the murder but, of course, Reavley. And whom do the men eventually court-martialed for the murder choose to defend them? You guessed it!
On top of the beyond-suspension-of-disbelief plots (the Peacemaker sublot is equally ludicrous), Perry must think her readers all suffer from severe memory loss. She repeats, repeats, repeats: the dead rats in the trenches; the deaths of the Reavley parents; the taste of tea made in a Dixie can; the rain, how hard it is to steer an ambulance, etc., etc. A good editor could have made this a novella.
May 4, 2007
Good book and good story. One of the best quotes about ministry I've seen in a while comes from this book.
“Maybe that was what a chaplain’s job really was- not to teach others to believe, but to be seen to believe oneself. To stand no so much for a specific faith, but for the endurance of faith, for its power to outlast everything else."
It's lead me to a new understanding of chaplaincy. Very cool.
“Maybe that was what a chaplain’s job really was- not to teach others to believe, but to be seen to believe oneself. To stand no so much for a specific faith, but for the endurance of faith, for its power to outlast everything else."
It's lead me to a new understanding of chaplaincy. Very cool.
January 8, 2008
Fourth in the WWI series. Drama maintained until the end.
June 19, 2010
More tedious moralizing and repetitious narrative bog down the fourth installment in the series.
July 5, 2023
I couldn't put this book down. I can't wait to read the next in the series!
March 13, 2024
I like seeing how the siblings support each other in their traumas.
September 22, 2012
I am very fond of Anne Perry's novels; they are of earlier times and she seems to have a voice that is particularly well matched for those times. This one, which is set nearly three quarters of a century after the Inspector Monk mysteries I have been reading, is a gut-wrenching novel of the front-line fighting and the back-line battles of minds during World War I. I have to presume, although the publisher does not say so (what is wrong with these people?) that this is both a sequel to at least one other novel and also a prequel to some other novel: I say that, because the text reading about things that happened in the past seems to make this a continuation, and there is no final result of the major story line.
What there is, however, is an unforgettable account of what it was like for the British serving in the front lines during the Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres), which I had never heard of, but which apparently was the real turning point of the war. I have just read through the Wikipedia accounts of that battle, which are all high-level stuff. Perry's novel is quite different, focusing on a drama involving a chaplain now serving as a captain in a unit which regularly goes out at night to find and bring back wounded from the day's battle, his sister, who is driving an ambulance with an American volunteer as an assistant, and a fellow officer who is a former student of his from Cambridge, who is thinking of organizing a mutiny because of the senseless warfare, which resulted in just under 250,000 casualties on the Allied side and over 400,000 on the German side. Meanwhile back in London, the chaplain's younger brother, involved in the Secret Intelligence Service, is busily investigating a political conspiracy to bring about a British-German union as a way of peace, with that separate story being told in alternate chapters. This complexity is difficult to follow at times, which is why I have to believe that one or more of three other books Perry wrote about the First World War are prequels to this one, but the novel stands on it own as an intense look at the squalor and hardships of front line life, along with a penetrating side story involving the pettiness of some high-bred officers and the community spirit of the low-born, a perennial Perry subject. Perry's brother is an army surgeon, which may have helped her portrayals of what at times seems like WWI MASH.
As a footnote, Wikipedia points out that Adolf Hitler was one of the German soldiers on the other side of the battle line. I'm a bit surprised that Perry overlooked the chance to introduce him into the story, especially since the chaplain and his antagonistic former student have to go far behind the German lines in their search for a deserter.
What there is, however, is an unforgettable account of what it was like for the British serving in the front lines during the Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres), which I had never heard of, but which apparently was the real turning point of the war. I have just read through the Wikipedia accounts of that battle, which are all high-level stuff. Perry's novel is quite different, focusing on a drama involving a chaplain now serving as a captain in a unit which regularly goes out at night to find and bring back wounded from the day's battle, his sister, who is driving an ambulance with an American volunteer as an assistant, and a fellow officer who is a former student of his from Cambridge, who is thinking of organizing a mutiny because of the senseless warfare, which resulted in just under 250,000 casualties on the Allied side and over 400,000 on the German side. Meanwhile back in London, the chaplain's younger brother, involved in the Secret Intelligence Service, is busily investigating a political conspiracy to bring about a British-German union as a way of peace, with that separate story being told in alternate chapters. This complexity is difficult to follow at times, which is why I have to believe that one or more of three other books Perry wrote about the First World War are prequels to this one, but the novel stands on it own as an intense look at the squalor and hardships of front line life, along with a penetrating side story involving the pettiness of some high-bred officers and the community spirit of the low-born, a perennial Perry subject. Perry's brother is an army surgeon, which may have helped her portrayals of what at times seems like WWI MASH.
As a footnote, Wikipedia points out that Adolf Hitler was one of the German soldiers on the other side of the battle line. I'm a bit surprised that Perry overlooked the chance to introduce him into the story, especially since the chaplain and his antagonistic former student have to go far behind the German lines in their search for a deserter.
July 30, 2008
I think Anne Perry is one of the finest authors of historical mysteries I have ever read. She has such a fine sense of atmosphere and really delves into the character's lives, personalities and feelings and places them in the most extraordinary situations where every character is tested almost beyond endurance. Perry also analyzes historical and moral issues with such delicacy and balance that I feel I have a much better understanding of important issues. Of course, Perry excels at character development, but also crafts such interesting and intriquing mysteries that I race through the pages. Her writing is superb and also is a pleasure to listen to on audiobooks.
Spoiler alerts!!!!!!!
As far as the story itself. . . this book is the fourth of five books about WWI. Joseph, Judith and Matthew Reavley (along with a brief appearance from their sister, Hannah) are siblings that are all involved in WWI. Joseph is a chaplain on the front lines. The horrific battle of Passchendaele is the backdrop of the story. Matthew is an intelligence officer who thought he had killed the Peacemaker in novel 3. His work is just as dangerous as he never knows whom to trust. He discovers that the Peacemaker is still alive and still manipulating things to bring about his own ends. Judith, a young woman of extraordinary courage, is still driving ambulance for the British front lines.
We again meet Richard Mason, the war correspondent working with the Peacemaker. Perry adds new dimensions and depth to our understanding of Richard Mason.
The basic outline of the story is that a new commanding Major, an incompentent and arrogant officer, is murdered by his own men--men in Joseph's regiment. Joseph is torn between loyalty and justice as he works to solve the mystery.
Anne Perry very clearly believes that despite its terrible costs, the British were obligated to go to war with Germany. This is an important theme in the entire series. However, she does not shy away from the terrible costs of war, the incompentence of some of the officers, the brutality and pain of it. She makes one understand fully the devasation of the war which cost nearly an entire generation of men. Nor does Ms. Perry paint the Germans as brutal and evil. She gives a rather intriguing glimpse of the other side during this novel and one fully realizes how frightening it is when rulers with lust for power have the power to drive entire nations to war. And the cost is really terrible.
If you haven't read this series, it is important that you read it in chronological order, beginning with the first novel, No Graves as yet.
Spoiler alerts!!!!!!!
As far as the story itself. . . this book is the fourth of five books about WWI. Joseph, Judith and Matthew Reavley (along with a brief appearance from their sister, Hannah) are siblings that are all involved in WWI. Joseph is a chaplain on the front lines. The horrific battle of Passchendaele is the backdrop of the story. Matthew is an intelligence officer who thought he had killed the Peacemaker in novel 3. His work is just as dangerous as he never knows whom to trust. He discovers that the Peacemaker is still alive and still manipulating things to bring about his own ends. Judith, a young woman of extraordinary courage, is still driving ambulance for the British front lines.
We again meet Richard Mason, the war correspondent working with the Peacemaker. Perry adds new dimensions and depth to our understanding of Richard Mason.
The basic outline of the story is that a new commanding Major, an incompentent and arrogant officer, is murdered by his own men--men in Joseph's regiment. Joseph is torn between loyalty and justice as he works to solve the mystery.
Anne Perry very clearly believes that despite its terrible costs, the British were obligated to go to war with Germany. This is an important theme in the entire series. However, she does not shy away from the terrible costs of war, the incompentence of some of the officers, the brutality and pain of it. She makes one understand fully the devasation of the war which cost nearly an entire generation of men. Nor does Ms. Perry paint the Germans as brutal and evil. She gives a rather intriguing glimpse of the other side during this novel and one fully realizes how frightening it is when rulers with lust for power have the power to drive entire nations to war. And the cost is really terrible.
If you haven't read this series, it is important that you read it in chronological order, beginning with the first novel, No Graves as yet.
June 12, 2011
This series turned out to be not at all what I expected it to be. I suppose I was expecting more of what Perry offers in her Victorian mysteries. But this is less mystery and more war drama and intrigue. It's definitely not what I would call my ideal mystery, I prefer the traditional "fair play" mysteries, where I am able to play detective, am presented with a handful of suspects, and a bunch of clues, some red herrings, and am given a chance to solve the whole shebang myself before the denouement. I suppose, this preference of mine is owing to the fact that I was raised on Agatha Christie. Whatever the case may be, once I got over the fact that this series was not in fact going to offer me that experience, I still kept reading because I admired the main characters--Joseph, Judith and Matthew Reavley, and I admired how Perry took her reader into the trenches with them.
In At Some Disputed Barricade, Joseph, a captain/chaplin, and Judith, an ambulance driver, are both on the front in 1917 Flanders. The sense of hopelessness after three years of fighting over the same bit of mud is well captured, as is the assured certainty that they and their fellows will not leave there alive. Their life on the front is in no way depicted in a romanticized way. There is mud, blood, rats, fleas, moldy bread and all. And there is an immense amount of courage as well. In this novel, Joseph has to risk his life and go over to the German side in order to find a soldier who has mutinied and murdered. Even admidst the conflict and killing, even in the middle of German territory, his life very much in danger, Joseph's immense empathetic nature notes how the German soldiers mirror his own.
On second thought, I suppose the entire series as a whole does have one large fairplay-ish aspect, because there is the enigmatic and crazed "Peacekeeper," a man who will kill a few coldly (including the parents of the Reavleys) in order to have England submit to the Germans, and reach a peace at the cost of their nation. The identity of the Peacekeeper is not revealed and Matthew, who works for British intelligence, has been trying to track him down. I'm still rather in the dark as to who he is, though I have an idea. I'm very eager to read the fifth and final of the series, We Shall Not Sleep, now. I want to see peace arrived at. I want to see hope returned and I want to know the identity of the Peacekeeper!
In At Some Disputed Barricade, Joseph, a captain/chaplin, and Judith, an ambulance driver, are both on the front in 1917 Flanders. The sense of hopelessness after three years of fighting over the same bit of mud is well captured, as is the assured certainty that they and their fellows will not leave there alive. Their life on the front is in no way depicted in a romanticized way. There is mud, blood, rats, fleas, moldy bread and all. And there is an immense amount of courage as well. In this novel, Joseph has to risk his life and go over to the German side in order to find a soldier who has mutinied and murdered. Even admidst the conflict and killing, even in the middle of German territory, his life very much in danger, Joseph's immense empathetic nature notes how the German soldiers mirror his own.
On second thought, I suppose the entire series as a whole does have one large fairplay-ish aspect, because there is the enigmatic and crazed "Peacekeeper," a man who will kill a few coldly (including the parents of the Reavleys) in order to have England submit to the Germans, and reach a peace at the cost of their nation. The identity of the Peacekeeper is not revealed and Matthew, who works for British intelligence, has been trying to track him down. I'm still rather in the dark as to who he is, though I have an idea. I'm very eager to read the fifth and final of the series, We Shall Not Sleep, now. I want to see peace arrived at. I want to see hope returned and I want to know the identity of the Peacekeeper!
July 3, 2017
Anne Perry continues her excellent World War I series with this fourth installment. We are plunged into the heart of England and France and into the hearts and minds of Joseph, Matthew, Judith and all those connected to them. Murder and intrigue swirl at the center of the story, and as in past books, Joseph, an Army chaplain, must examine what he thinks he believes and who he thought he knew. In lesser hands, this revisitation of the same theme with the same characters could become tired and cloying. However, reading this book was like getting to know long-time friends even better. We may not always like what we discover, but the honesty and humanity Perry reveals compel readers to keep turning pages. I was eager to begin the final book in the series, but also sad, knowing that I only had another 300 pages or so to spend with these deeply imagined, warm-hearted, and very real characters. Then again, life is like that: We can never know how chance will intervene, and lest we fill ourselves with regrets over things not said or done, it's wise to count every moment as if it might be our last.
May 16, 2019
At Some Disputed Barricade by Anne Perry
This is the fourth of Anne Perry’s WWI book series. I am drawn ever more deeply into the world created finding myself walking in the shade and darkness of millions of nightmares in the middle of the experiences she describes. The truth is that more questions are asked than answers given as the characters struggle with how to find their way through an overwhelming barrage of moral complexities dumped on each and every one while in the midst of incredible stress, fatigue, pain and shock. Being drawn even more deeply into the experience, I find myself left to delve into my own personal heart sense of fairness, good and evil.
This is the fourth of Anne Perry’s WWI book series. I am drawn ever more deeply into the world created finding myself walking in the shade and darkness of millions of nightmares in the middle of the experiences she describes. The truth is that more questions are asked than answers given as the characters struggle with how to find their way through an overwhelming barrage of moral complexities dumped on each and every one while in the midst of incredible stress, fatigue, pain and shock. Being drawn even more deeply into the experience, I find myself left to delve into my own personal heart sense of fairness, good and evil.
November 18, 2017
I have been listening to this series so it has taken me longer than usual, but this is really a great story, and I have learned more about WWI than I ever knew. Truly horrific trench warfare, I am just amazed that anyone survived. This is book 4 out of 5 , and each is a.murder mystery, philosophical discussion of war and religion, and a story of 2 brothers and 2 sisters that bring to life 1917 England. I am writing this after finishing the last book, which brings the overarching story of the hunt for the Peacemaker to a close.
April 15, 2018
Realized I never finished this series Anne Perry wrote about WWI's Western Front, and wanted to go back and complete the series. She didn't disappoint. Her descriptions of the soldier's lives on the frontline, the mud, rats, rain, fear, suffering, hunger and how the British soldiers survived going over the lines again and again is gripping. She also touches on the stories of those on the homefront tying it all together in a beautiful tale of trying to look at war and how we view it - no right or wrong answers, but just glimpses of how individuals define bravery, courage, and hope.
April 1, 2018
This is the fourth book in the World War One series by Anne Perry. With this series it is important to read the previous books in the series prior to reading this one as the series incorporates an overall mystery in addition to the mystery in each individual book.
What I like best about this book (and the series in general) is the depiction of life in World War One, this time 1917. If you are a fan of historical fiction then you will like this book.
What I like best about this book (and the series in general) is the depiction of life in World War One, this time 1917. If you are a fan of historical fiction then you will like this book.
October 12, 2020
“Sometimes you don’t win battles” she answered quietly, but with unwavering certainty, “But your side wins the war. People get lost, soldiers get killed. Do you only fight if you know you’ll win? That sounds like a coward to me.” (p. 285) Spoken in a confrontation with someone trying to convince her of the hopelessness of her cause, despite her experience with broken bodies, irresponsible commands, and, admittedly, personal fear, is not the platitude it seems to echo at first. In this third novel in Anne Perry’s less popular (than the two Victorian Era series), but no less powerful, World War I series, traumatic events confront shattered ideals and deeply held convictions for the three Reavely siblings. Though I haven’t finished the series, At Some Disputed Barricade seems by far the best.
Joseph, the chaplain, uncovers a murder which he really wishes he hadn’t. Judith, the ambulance driver, feels compelled to act in a manner that seems the antithesis of her heroic life choice. Matthew, the intelligence agent, seems to have grasped, even confronted, the elusive Peacemaker—the Uber-antagonist of the series, only to experience a confusing twist that rather more obfuscates the issue than solves it. Amidst mud-soaked, lice-infested, disease-ridden, bloody and gangrenous horrors, At Some Disputed Barricade unashamedly asks the question, “Which is more dangerous, the enemy firing across the front or the enemy firing at your back?” The question is both figurative and literal in the context of the story, though my wording is essentially a paraphrase rather than a direct quotation.
A front-line soldier takes it upon himself to murder an incompetent martinet of an officer, an officer who insists on men dying to follow incredibly stupid orders, an officer who refuses to listen to the men who have been in the trenches for the duration of the war. Naturally, the dead officer has powerful connections and said connections want revenge. So, when no one will implicate the murderer, about a dozen men are taken to court-martial for murder and mutiny. All of the Reavleys find themselves caught between duty and justice, between formal legality and actual right. And, of course, the fighting near Ypres doesn’t let up.
On the homefront, Matthew begins investigating blackmail on a high-ranking diplomat and he discovers a conspiracy to remove by means of death and scandal those ministers and diplomats who are opposed to suing for peace with Germany, unconditionally. It doesn’t take long for Matthew to recognize the hand of an old nemesis or a very well-trained disciple of said nemesis. Then, believe it or not, the very court-martial case involving his brother suddenly seems in play regarding the conspiracy. It is as if the conspirators want the entire frontline to mutiny and leave a gap for the Germans to rush through.
On another level, as with the other books, a continuing battle to define his faith takes place in the Joseph Reavley character, the chaplain. At one point, a character challenges Joseph’s usefulness to the men and his intellectual honesty. His thoughts coalesce: “Many of the men thought he should not be confused, as they were. They wanted answers, and felt let down if he couldn’t give them. Priests were God’s authority on earth. For a priest to say he did not know was about the same as admitting that God did not know; that he had somehow become confused and lost control. Life and death themselves become meaningless.” (pp. 83-84) So, Reavley continues to beat himself up in his thoughts. “He had touched a nerve. How many nights had Joseph wrestled in prayer to find some sense, some light of hope in the endless loss? If God really had any power or cared for mankind at all, why did he do nothing?” (p. 84) At a much later point in the story, his thoughts are still painful to him: “What did faith mean? That everything would turn out right in the end? What was the end? Could any overriding plan one day make sense of it all?” (p. 236)
At Some Disputed Barricade is a stimulating book and, as I observed earlier in this article, it may well be the best of the first three. Yet, it is not without its problematic improbabilities. An ambulance lands in a crater without breaking an axle and three people are able to get it out and get it on its way; characters manage to go through the German line and back; and a character who has never fired a weapon of a certain type does so and manages to hit a distinguished enemy with a long track record of using said weapon. Some of the situations simply defy conceivability. But still, it’s solid reading.
But the specter of death hovers behind everything. When characters seem bent on defying the odds in what is likely a gesture of futility, one wonders how rational beings can keep fighting. Indeed, the defending counsel tries to make just such a point to demonstrate how the martinet had driven his men to the brink of mutiny (without, of course, actually admitting the mutiny). One of the judges in the trial is insistent that one does what one has to do. “Nobody wins them all,” Ward said drily, “But you damn well fight them all.” (p. 271) Such seems to be the difference between heroes and cowards. Or is it? At Some Disputed Barricade will probably make you think, despite the occasional circumstance which seems just too convenient.
Joseph, the chaplain, uncovers a murder which he really wishes he hadn’t. Judith, the ambulance driver, feels compelled to act in a manner that seems the antithesis of her heroic life choice. Matthew, the intelligence agent, seems to have grasped, even confronted, the elusive Peacemaker—the Uber-antagonist of the series, only to experience a confusing twist that rather more obfuscates the issue than solves it. Amidst mud-soaked, lice-infested, disease-ridden, bloody and gangrenous horrors, At Some Disputed Barricade unashamedly asks the question, “Which is more dangerous, the enemy firing across the front or the enemy firing at your back?” The question is both figurative and literal in the context of the story, though my wording is essentially a paraphrase rather than a direct quotation.
A front-line soldier takes it upon himself to murder an incompetent martinet of an officer, an officer who insists on men dying to follow incredibly stupid orders, an officer who refuses to listen to the men who have been in the trenches for the duration of the war. Naturally, the dead officer has powerful connections and said connections want revenge. So, when no one will implicate the murderer, about a dozen men are taken to court-martial for murder and mutiny. All of the Reavleys find themselves caught between duty and justice, between formal legality and actual right. And, of course, the fighting near Ypres doesn’t let up.
On the homefront, Matthew begins investigating blackmail on a high-ranking diplomat and he discovers a conspiracy to remove by means of death and scandal those ministers and diplomats who are opposed to suing for peace with Germany, unconditionally. It doesn’t take long for Matthew to recognize the hand of an old nemesis or a very well-trained disciple of said nemesis. Then, believe it or not, the very court-martial case involving his brother suddenly seems in play regarding the conspiracy. It is as if the conspirators want the entire frontline to mutiny and leave a gap for the Germans to rush through.
On another level, as with the other books, a continuing battle to define his faith takes place in the Joseph Reavley character, the chaplain. At one point, a character challenges Joseph’s usefulness to the men and his intellectual honesty. His thoughts coalesce: “Many of the men thought he should not be confused, as they were. They wanted answers, and felt let down if he couldn’t give them. Priests were God’s authority on earth. For a priest to say he did not know was about the same as admitting that God did not know; that he had somehow become confused and lost control. Life and death themselves become meaningless.” (pp. 83-84) So, Reavley continues to beat himself up in his thoughts. “He had touched a nerve. How many nights had Joseph wrestled in prayer to find some sense, some light of hope in the endless loss? If God really had any power or cared for mankind at all, why did he do nothing?” (p. 84) At a much later point in the story, his thoughts are still painful to him: “What did faith mean? That everything would turn out right in the end? What was the end? Could any overriding plan one day make sense of it all?” (p. 236)
At Some Disputed Barricade is a stimulating book and, as I observed earlier in this article, it may well be the best of the first three. Yet, it is not without its problematic improbabilities. An ambulance lands in a crater without breaking an axle and three people are able to get it out and get it on its way; characters manage to go through the German line and back; and a character who has never fired a weapon of a certain type does so and manages to hit a distinguished enemy with a long track record of using said weapon. Some of the situations simply defy conceivability. But still, it’s solid reading.
But the specter of death hovers behind everything. When characters seem bent on defying the odds in what is likely a gesture of futility, one wonders how rational beings can keep fighting. Indeed, the defending counsel tries to make just such a point to demonstrate how the martinet had driven his men to the brink of mutiny (without, of course, actually admitting the mutiny). One of the judges in the trial is insistent that one does what one has to do. “Nobody wins them all,” Ward said drily, “But you damn well fight them all.” (p. 271) Such seems to be the difference between heroes and cowards. Or is it? At Some Disputed Barricade will probably make you think, despite the occasional circumstance which seems just too convenient.
March 25, 2009
This was actually an audio book. I was advised that Anne Perry's books in the WWI period weren't very good. So naturally I liked it very much. Yes, she again had a lot to say about the suffering of war--but she also gave you characters that worry about the moral questions.
June 22, 2015
The fourth in Perry's WWI series, the Reavley siblings continue to search for The Peacemaker amid the carnage of the trenches. One really needs to read all 5 of the books in order.
October 7, 2011
So far this was my least favorite title in this otherwise fine series.
November 21, 2022
I'm still engrossed in this WWI series, although "enjoying" would be a strange word to apply to it, when their living (and dying) conditions were so horrific.
I'm also still enjoying the Joseph, Cavan, and Judith characters, and I think that Mason's character is well done with the balance of the public's right to know and the affect on morale at wartime.
It's a little odd that in book 2, Joseph investigated the murder of a British soldier by someone on his own side, hoping the death would be blamed on the enemy, and here, in book 4, he was investigating exactly the same thing - even if the situation and the motives were different. It's also an interesting contrast in how he approached the two cases.
I loved Sam's forgiveness.
The courtroom side of things was shorter than it often was in Perry's Victorian novels.
One other reviewer complained about the "moralizing" in this book. I didn't really feel like that was so. Yes, morals were a topic of consideration for Joseph, but he wasn't moralizing in the sense that he wasn't telling others what they *should* do. Instead, he was more introspective, trying to figure out his own morality in his position as chaplain there, and wrestling with his own beliefs. That's different than moralizing, or at least my definition of it. There was no superiority in his views, and even no certainty in it, and no outward push of his beliefs towards others. He was very compassionate with others whom the war made them rethink their beliefs, and didn't judge them by his own wavering beliefs.
I felt it was a little unrealistic for characters to ... SPOILER ... pursue, catch, and retrieve a deserter behind enemy lines, just following in the wake of an attack, in all that carnage, and among the vast number of soldiers. If it were so easy to cross enemy lines, many more troops would have done it.
Anne Perry occasionally has "good" characters in her books that stoop to murder, for what she considers good reasons, that I do not. It's never happened before, in any books, anywhere, but in this book, however, I could imagine siding with those who took a life - things had gone so far in causing much unnecessary loss of life, with no change in strategy. I'm not quite a pacifist, but almost. I do think more things can be resolved without violence than most people are aware, but there does come a time when defense is appropriate. Whether I'd actually do such a thing is another issue entirely, and one I hope I never have to face. Actually, the original plan, before the murderer got ahold of it, was not a bad one to try to prevent future loss.
Favorite quotes:
"Don't decide for me what I'm going to say... That is arrogant and offensive."
"Help someone if you can, anyone, doesn't matter who they are or what you think they've done. Don't think, just help the pain. Stay with them, don't let go."
"Maybe that was what a chaplain's job really was - not to teach others to believe, but to be seen to believe oneself."
"Good luck.
"I expected you to say, 'God be with you, my son,' or something of that sort."
"God be with you. I trust God. It's the luck I'm a bit dubious about."
I'm also still enjoying the Joseph, Cavan, and Judith characters, and I think that Mason's character is well done with the balance of the public's right to know and the affect on morale at wartime.
It's a little odd that in book 2, Joseph investigated the murder of a British soldier by someone on his own side, hoping the death would be blamed on the enemy, and here, in book 4, he was investigating exactly the same thing - even if the situation and the motives were different. It's also an interesting contrast in how he approached the two cases.
I loved Sam's forgiveness.
The courtroom side of things was shorter than it often was in Perry's Victorian novels.
One other reviewer complained about the "moralizing" in this book. I didn't really feel like that was so. Yes, morals were a topic of consideration for Joseph, but he wasn't moralizing in the sense that he wasn't telling others what they *should* do. Instead, he was more introspective, trying to figure out his own morality in his position as chaplain there, and wrestling with his own beliefs. That's different than moralizing, or at least my definition of it. There was no superiority in his views, and even no certainty in it, and no outward push of his beliefs towards others. He was very compassionate with others whom the war made them rethink their beliefs, and didn't judge them by his own wavering beliefs.
I felt it was a little unrealistic for characters to ... SPOILER ... pursue, catch, and retrieve a deserter behind enemy lines, just following in the wake of an attack, in all that carnage, and among the vast number of soldiers. If it were so easy to cross enemy lines, many more troops would have done it.
Anne Perry occasionally has "good" characters in her books that stoop to murder, for what she considers good reasons, that I do not. It's never happened before, in any books, anywhere, but in this book, however, I could imagine siding with those who took a life - things had gone so far in causing much unnecessary loss of life, with no change in strategy. I'm not quite a pacifist, but almost. I do think more things can be resolved without violence than most people are aware, but there does come a time when defense is appropriate. Whether I'd actually do such a thing is another issue entirely, and one I hope I never have to face. Actually, the original plan, before the murderer got ahold of it, was not a bad one to try to prevent future loss.
Favorite quotes:
"Don't decide for me what I'm going to say... That is arrogant and offensive."
"Help someone if you can, anyone, doesn't matter who they are or what you think they've done. Don't think, just help the pain. Stay with them, don't let go."
"Maybe that was what a chaplain's job really was - not to teach others to believe, but to be seen to believe oneself."
"Good luck.
"I expected you to say, 'God be with you, my son,' or something of that sort."
"God be with you. I trust God. It's the luck I'm a bit dubious about."
September 29, 2019
Rated 4.02
July 1917. Joseph Reavley, a chaplain, and his sister, Judith, an ambulance driver, are bone-weary as they approach the fourth year of the conflict; the peace of the English countryside seems a world away. On the Western Front, the Battle of Passchendaele has begun, and among the many fatalities from Joseph’s regiment is the trusted commanding officer, who is replaced by a young major whose pompous incompetence virtually guarantees that many good soldiers will die needlessly. But soon he, too, is dead–killed by his own men. Although Joseph would like to turn a blind eye, he knows that he must not. Judith, however, anguished at the prospect of courts-martial and executions for the twelve men arrested for the crime, has no such inhibitions and, risking of her own life, helps all but one of the prisoners to escape.
Back in England, Joseph and Judith’s brother, Matthew, continues his desperate pursuit to unmask the sinister figure known as the Peacemaker–an obsessed genius who has committed murder and treason in an attempt to stop Britain from winning the war. As Matthew trails the Peacemaker, Joseph tracks his comrades through Switzerland and into enemy territory. His search will lead to a reckoning pitting courage and honor against the blind machinery of military justice.
The carnage and horrific living conditions during WWI are unbelievable. A murder of an officer at the front lines stretches Joseph and Judith beyond their moral capacity. Continued search for the Peacemaker is an interesting cat and mouse experience. I have enjoyed this series and learning more about WWI.
July 1917. Joseph Reavley, a chaplain, and his sister, Judith, an ambulance driver, are bone-weary as they approach the fourth year of the conflict; the peace of the English countryside seems a world away. On the Western Front, the Battle of Passchendaele has begun, and among the many fatalities from Joseph’s regiment is the trusted commanding officer, who is replaced by a young major whose pompous incompetence virtually guarantees that many good soldiers will die needlessly. But soon he, too, is dead–killed by his own men. Although Joseph would like to turn a blind eye, he knows that he must not. Judith, however, anguished at the prospect of courts-martial and executions for the twelve men arrested for the crime, has no such inhibitions and, risking of her own life, helps all but one of the prisoners to escape.
Back in England, Joseph and Judith’s brother, Matthew, continues his desperate pursuit to unmask the sinister figure known as the Peacemaker–an obsessed genius who has committed murder and treason in an attempt to stop Britain from winning the war. As Matthew trails the Peacemaker, Joseph tracks his comrades through Switzerland and into enemy territory. His search will lead to a reckoning pitting courage and honor against the blind machinery of military justice.
The carnage and horrific living conditions during WWI are unbelievable. A murder of an officer at the front lines stretches Joseph and Judith beyond their moral capacity. Continued search for the Peacemaker is an interesting cat and mouse experience. I have enjoyed this series and learning more about WWI.
November 13, 2019
My rating 3.5
July 1917. Joseph Reavley, a chaplain, and his sister, Judith, an ambulance driver, are bone-weary as they approach the fourth year of the conflict; the peace of the English countryside seems a world away. On the Western Front, the Battle of Passchendaele has begun, and among the many fatalities from Joseph’s regiment is the trusted commanding officer, who is replaced by a young major whose pompous incompetence virtually guarantees that many good soldiers will die needlessly. But soon he, too, is dead–killed by his own men. Although Joseph would like to turn a blind eye, he knows that he must not. Judith, however, anguished at the prospect of courts-martial and executions for the twelve men arrested for the crime, has no such inhibitions and, risking of her own life, helps all but one of the prisoners to escape.
Back in England, Joseph and Judith’s brother, Matthew, continues his desperate pursuit to unmask the sinister figure known as the Peacemaker–an obsessed genius who has committed murder and treason in an attempt to stop Britain from winning the war. As Matthew trails the Peacemaker, Joseph tracks his comrades through Switzerland and into enemy territory. His search will lead to a reckoning pitting courage and honor against the blind machinery of military justice.
I think I will be glad when I finish this series, which I will. The books contain much description an sometimes are preachy about peace. The history of WWI is sometimes hard to read wit the death and terror of the trenches and the honor shown. Overall, I'm glad for a greater understanding of WW I, but also find the books a bit slow and depressing.
July 1917. Joseph Reavley, a chaplain, and his sister, Judith, an ambulance driver, are bone-weary as they approach the fourth year of the conflict; the peace of the English countryside seems a world away. On the Western Front, the Battle of Passchendaele has begun, and among the many fatalities from Joseph’s regiment is the trusted commanding officer, who is replaced by a young major whose pompous incompetence virtually guarantees that many good soldiers will die needlessly. But soon he, too, is dead–killed by his own men. Although Joseph would like to turn a blind eye, he knows that he must not. Judith, however, anguished at the prospect of courts-martial and executions for the twelve men arrested for the crime, has no such inhibitions and, risking of her own life, helps all but one of the prisoners to escape.
Back in England, Joseph and Judith’s brother, Matthew, continues his desperate pursuit to unmask the sinister figure known as the Peacemaker–an obsessed genius who has committed murder and treason in an attempt to stop Britain from winning the war. As Matthew trails the Peacemaker, Joseph tracks his comrades through Switzerland and into enemy territory. His search will lead to a reckoning pitting courage and honor against the blind machinery of military justice.
I think I will be glad when I finish this series, which I will. The books contain much description an sometimes are preachy about peace. The history of WWI is sometimes hard to read wit the death and terror of the trenches and the honor shown. Overall, I'm glad for a greater understanding of WW I, but also find the books a bit slow and depressing.
February 6, 2020
I read the first book of this series and then this one because we were reading it for a book club. I planned on reading numbers 2 and 3 when I could. I am thinking now this one may be enough. I might read the last one since I’d like to know who the peacemaker is. The first book gave me enough background on the characters for this book. Though some may think it is too gruesome and graphic I learned a little about WWI. There doesn’t seem to be many books that take place during this war. I was interested in the mash unit storyline although the only female character was the ambulance driver. The main storyline revolves around an incompetent officer and the action taken by his men. Although the British Army command must take action, they seem to understand the difficult position and the effect on moral of the men. I was surprised at the severity of the possible punishments. I love reading Historical fiction because it makes me appreciate where I am in time.
September 19, 2021
A horrific look into war and the regiments at Flanders field during WWI. Three years into the war and a new Major is sent to replace the one who died. He does not understand the fighting conditions, will not take advice, and gives orders that cause his men to die. Some soldiers try to scare him straight, but he ends up dead. The Major's father can't believe his son was incompetent and arrests 12 men. In the end, he is forced to acknowledge his son's faults. The chaplain is tasked with funding out what he doesn't want to know, to find the men when they escape,and then with defending them at the court martial. All the whole there is a super villain trying to stop the war so that Russia, Germany, Austria, England, France and who knows which other countries can become One country and there will be peace forever. Totally forgetting about human and individual dreams. The descriptions of the fighting and daily life for the soldiers is sadly, horrifyingly accurate.
May 4, 2020
Matthew thought the peacemaker was dead only to realize his plans are still in motion by someone else or he isn't really dead. Matthew continues to hunt him down in London. Meanwhile Joseph and Judith continue to work alongside the soldiers fighting on France. When a young and incompetent man is put in command and several men die needlessly the other soldiers decide to take matters into their own hands and their commanding officer is shot dead. Joseph must work to find the one who shot him and defend those who didn't. To complicate matters Joseph realizes his sister Judith has helped the men go AWOL. Anne Perry does a wonderful job making the reader feel the hopelessness and desperation of the men in the trenches.
May 2, 2021
World War I Series
This is the fourth book in the World War I Series. When a junior minister in the government comes and tells Matthew Reavley how he is being set up to be forced out of the government, Matthew realizes that Patrick Hannassey was not the Peacemaker after all and starts hunting for the Peacemaker again. In France, an incompetent officer is killed by his own men and Richard Mason witnesses it so Joseph Reavley has to report to his superior. When the officers father shows up he demands the men who shot his son be court martialed. This was an intriguing read. The book held my attention so much that I finished it in one day. Highly recommend this book and the series.
This is the fourth book in the World War I Series. When a junior minister in the government comes and tells Matthew Reavley how he is being set up to be forced out of the government, Matthew realizes that Patrick Hannassey was not the Peacemaker after all and starts hunting for the Peacemaker again. In France, an incompetent officer is killed by his own men and Richard Mason witnesses it so Joseph Reavley has to report to his superior. When the officers father shows up he demands the men who shot his son be court martialed. This was an intriguing read. The book held my attention so much that I finished it in one day. Highly recommend this book and the series.
December 16, 2021
There's a rule of thumb on books that start out badly. If you're under 50, you should read 50 pages before giving up. If you're over 50, you should read 100 minus your age--time is too short. I usually go with "read your age," but in this case I went with the rule that let me stop at page 24. If I hadn't enjoyed two of Perry's Victorian mysteries, I wouldn't even have started,
So: I haven;t read this. The first 24 pages were so full of repetition, annoying and needless dialect-rendering, which becomes offensive, and stupid names that I found it really difficult to reach page 24. As always, your mileage may vary.
I might some day try more of Perry's Victorian mysteries--but certainly not more of her WWI group.
So: I haven;t read this. The first 24 pages were so full of repetition, annoying and needless dialect-rendering, which becomes offensive, and stupid names that I found it really difficult to reach page 24. As always, your mileage may vary.
I might some day try more of Perry's Victorian mysteries--but certainly not more of her WWI group.
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