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World War I #3
Angels in the Gloom
With this latest entry in a bestselling series that evokes all the passion and heroism of history’s most heartbreaking conflict–the war that was meant to end all wars–Anne Perry adds new luster to her worldwide reputation.
Angels in the Gloom is an intense saga of love, hate, obsession, and murder that features an honorable English family–brothers Joseph and Matthew Reavley and their sisters, Judith and Hannah.
In March 1916, Joseph, a chaplain at the front, and Judith, an ambulance driver, are fighting not only the Germans but the bitter cold and the appalling casualties at Ypres. Scarcely less at risk, Matthew, an officer in England’s Secret Intelligence Service, fights the war covertly from London. Only Hannah, living with her children in the family home in tranquil Cambridgeshire, seems safe.
Appearances, however, are deceiving. By the time Joseph returns home to Cambridgeshire, rumors of spies and traitors are rampant. And when the savagely brutalized body of a weapons scientist is discovered in a village byway, the fear that haunts the battlefields settles over the town–along with the shadow of the obsessed ideologue who murdered the Reavleys’ parents on the eve of the war. Once again, this icy, anonymous powerbroker, the Peacemaker, is plotting to kill.
Perry’s kaleidoscopic new novel illuminates an entire world, from the hell of the trenches to the London nightclub where a beautiful Irish spy plies her trade; from the sequestered laboratory where a weapon that can end the war is being perfected to the matchless glory of the English countryside in spring. Steeped in history and radiant with truth, Angels in the Gloom is a masterpiece that warms the heart even as it chills the blood.
Angels in the Gloom is an intense saga of love, hate, obsession, and murder that features an honorable English family–brothers Joseph and Matthew Reavley and their sisters, Judith and Hannah.
In March 1916, Joseph, a chaplain at the front, and Judith, an ambulance driver, are fighting not only the Germans but the bitter cold and the appalling casualties at Ypres. Scarcely less at risk, Matthew, an officer in England’s Secret Intelligence Service, fights the war covertly from London. Only Hannah, living with her children in the family home in tranquil Cambridgeshire, seems safe.
Appearances, however, are deceiving. By the time Joseph returns home to Cambridgeshire, rumors of spies and traitors are rampant. And when the savagely brutalized body of a weapons scientist is discovered in a village byway, the fear that haunts the battlefields settles over the town–along with the shadow of the obsessed ideologue who murdered the Reavleys’ parents on the eve of the war. Once again, this icy, anonymous powerbroker, the Peacemaker, is plotting to kill.
Perry’s kaleidoscopic new novel illuminates an entire world, from the hell of the trenches to the London nightclub where a beautiful Irish spy plies her trade; from the sequestered laboratory where a weapon that can end the war is being perfected to the matchless glory of the English countryside in spring. Steeped in history and radiant with truth, Angels in the Gloom is a masterpiece that warms the heart even as it chills the blood.
337 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
110 people are currently reading
930 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
362 books3,377 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 180 reviews
July 12, 2017
In this third of her quintet of WW1 novels set in each year of the war, (and which must be read in order), Perry temporarily leaves the trenches of Flanders behind for the home front in 1916.
Joseph is wounded and is recuperating back in Cambridge, allowing Perry to explore the experiences of Hannah, the married Reavley sister, who has been a shadowy figure up until now. A self-described 'wife and mother', married to a Naval commander, Hannah doesn't want the freedoms that the younger Judith enjoys and sees no need for women to take a more active role in society, to agitate for the vote and so on - an interesting perspective that must have been prevalent at the time but which novelists tend to shun for the feisty, feminist figure. It's a mark of Perry's thoughtfulness in this series that she gives the conservative space in her story.
We also get an insight into Matthew's emotional life as he pursues a relationship with an Irish Nationalist - 1916, of course, being the year of the Easter Rising which happens in the background. To add to the nod to international politics, Trotsky has a walk-on part as a London journalist/writer looking forward to the 1917 revolutions to follow.
While the overarching arc of the Peacemaker's manipulations continues in this book, the main theme seems to be about betrayal in all its forms: of one's country, most obviously, but also in personal relationships, both married and other, as well as questions of betrayal of oneself.
There are moments where the high purpose and moral purity of the characters, especially Joseph can get a little wearing (and it's good to see Joseph lose his temper a bit, though obviously he beats himself up about it later!) but there's an exciting finale set at sea which offers some action and reminds us that Perry can be a very versatile writer.
Overall, this is a wonderfully melancholy and bleak series. I need a break before moving on to book 4 set in 1917, but will certainly be back with the Reavley family soon.
Joseph is wounded and is recuperating back in Cambridge, allowing Perry to explore the experiences of Hannah, the married Reavley sister, who has been a shadowy figure up until now. A self-described 'wife and mother', married to a Naval commander, Hannah doesn't want the freedoms that the younger Judith enjoys and sees no need for women to take a more active role in society, to agitate for the vote and so on - an interesting perspective that must have been prevalent at the time but which novelists tend to shun for the feisty, feminist figure. It's a mark of Perry's thoughtfulness in this series that she gives the conservative space in her story.
We also get an insight into Matthew's emotional life as he pursues a relationship with an Irish Nationalist - 1916, of course, being the year of the Easter Rising which happens in the background. To add to the nod to international politics, Trotsky has a walk-on part as a London journalist/writer looking forward to the 1917 revolutions to follow.
While the overarching arc of the Peacemaker's manipulations continues in this book, the main theme seems to be about betrayal in all its forms: of one's country, most obviously, but also in personal relationships, both married and other, as well as questions of betrayal of oneself.
There are moments where the high purpose and moral purity of the characters, especially Joseph can get a little wearing (and it's good to see Joseph lose his temper a bit, though obviously he beats himself up about it later!) but there's an exciting finale set at sea which offers some action and reminds us that Perry can be a very versatile writer.
Overall, this is a wonderfully melancholy and bleak series. I need a break before moving on to book 4 set in 1917, but will certainly be back with the Reavley family soon.
July 22, 2014
Angels in the Gloom puts both Reavley brothers, co-protagonists of Anne Perry’s World War One series of mysteries/thrillers, in harm’s way. Angels in the Gloom is an emotional story. It features betrayal (emotional and national), infidelity (emotional and physical), espionage (intentional and unintentional), battle fatigue (physical and psychological) and even, unlike most of the previous stories, a rather vivid battle narrative. It is supposed to be a mystery, but the mystery isn’t very mysterious—except for the overarching mystery of a master spy, the so-called Peacemaker, which may well be too drawn-out for most tastes.
In most ways, I have a tremendous appreciation for the way Perry weaves her protagonists through the inevitable faith crisis when confronted by evil. The assumption is that assuming God could remove evil and suffering that God should remove evil and suffering. Of course, that assumption doesn’t take any self-limitation required in God’s guarantee of free will into consideration. Yet, one wonders how far things should really be able to go. One wonders why God doesn’t step in more often.
That’s the milieu in which the events occur in Angels in the Gloom. But not everyone is strong enough to face the reality of evil! As Captain (Chaplain) Joseph Reavley is warned by his sister when he is confronting a shallow vicar, “Don’t push him in the water, Joe. He can’t swim.” (p. 35) On another occasion, I particularly liked the phrasing, “religious shell shock” as it applied to the same vicar (pp. 182-3). And, although, it may seem trite to some people, I liked Reavley’s observation that “You can be dragged into the future, kicking like a child, or you can walk in upright and with some dignity. That’s almost all the choice you’ve got.” (p. 165) I particularly liked the idea that one who is wise knows “answers don’t always help” (p. 299) and Perry’s reformulation of Mick Jagger when speaking of God’s Providence: “I think He said we would have all that we need, not all that we want.” (p. 325) When asked, “All we need for what?” the chaplain protagonist replied, “To realize the best in ourselves.” “To practice pity and honor until they become part of us and the courage to care to the last strength we have, to give everything.” (p. 325) That’s powerful, emotional, and realistic. It doesn’t answer the very human questions about evil, but if offers a perspective on moving forward in the face of evil. Indeed, when the chaplain is asked if he can recognize violence behind everyday faces, he responds in the negative because, “We all have the darkness. Some act on it; most of us don’t. I can’t tell who will or already has.” (p. 237) Doesn’t such a statement rings clearly with honesty like T. S. Eliot’s “shadow?”
Of course, one reason that I read Anne Perry’s historical novels is to get some of the flavor of history. More than one character expresses (in thought or statement) that this supposed War to End All Wars was worthwhile in spite of the cost. “Their ideals had been vast, a new age of peace and progress for mankind. Of course there was a price—nothing came without one, least of all change. But it had seemed then to be infinitely worth doing. How long ago that was now!” (p. 127) Another character compares the war to illness: “’We’ll heal. As with any illness, the fever breaks, then we begin to get our strength back.’ He gave her a quick, bright glance. ‘Maybe it will give us an immunity?’” (p. 181)
I was also amused at one agent’s interview with Leon Trotsky. During the interview, the famous revolutionary waxed eloquently about the oratory of Jean Jaures, “How he could speak! Like a great waterfall, elemental! And yet he could be gentleness itself, endlessly patient in explaining.” (p. 200) And, while mentioning oratory, there is a great line about sermons, “Of course the difficulty is that if you speak of something in a sermon, so often the people you mean it for are quite sure it is directed at everyone but them…” (p. 239). That certainly holds true in my experience.
In addition to my personal bias that the Peacemaker scenario has dragged on for too long, there was one other place at which I was disappointed in the book. On page 223, the minister avoids using a biblical text to meet the needs of the assembled congregation because, “The Bible was all to do with other people, two thousand years ago and somewhere else.” That is not my experience. Because the Bible deals with people remote from me in space and time, I can consider the narratives from more than my limited subjective perspective. In that way, the text can become alive enough to speak to me in the here and now without being too obscured by my existential presumptions. The historical nature of the narratives drops my guard and allows me to be impacted by whatever truth is contained in the passage.
One short episode in the novel may well be worth the price of admission. One character asks, “Do the ordinary laws of society apply to men like Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, or geniuses of the spirit like da Vinci or Beethoven? Would I have saved Rembrandt or Vermeer from the gallows, if they had warranted it? Or Shakespeare or Dante or Homer? Yes—probably. Wouldn’t you?” There is no overt answer to this on page 176, merely Joseph’s internal question, “Did you weight one gift against another, count the price in other people’s lives, innocent people, make judgments?” (p. 176) Personally, I don’t think a genius is above the law, but it’s a fascinating thought exercise to work through.
In spite of my personal bias, Angels in the Gloom is a worthy addition to the series. I feel like the mysteries are not as strong as those in the Pitt or Monk series, but the questions are deeper and the characters even more real to me as the reader.
In most ways, I have a tremendous appreciation for the way Perry weaves her protagonists through the inevitable faith crisis when confronted by evil. The assumption is that assuming God could remove evil and suffering that God should remove evil and suffering. Of course, that assumption doesn’t take any self-limitation required in God’s guarantee of free will into consideration. Yet, one wonders how far things should really be able to go. One wonders why God doesn’t step in more often.
That’s the milieu in which the events occur in Angels in the Gloom. But not everyone is strong enough to face the reality of evil! As Captain (Chaplain) Joseph Reavley is warned by his sister when he is confronting a shallow vicar, “Don’t push him in the water, Joe. He can’t swim.” (p. 35) On another occasion, I particularly liked the phrasing, “religious shell shock” as it applied to the same vicar (pp. 182-3). And, although, it may seem trite to some people, I liked Reavley’s observation that “You can be dragged into the future, kicking like a child, or you can walk in upright and with some dignity. That’s almost all the choice you’ve got.” (p. 165) I particularly liked the idea that one who is wise knows “answers don’t always help” (p. 299) and Perry’s reformulation of Mick Jagger when speaking of God’s Providence: “I think He said we would have all that we need, not all that we want.” (p. 325) When asked, “All we need for what?” the chaplain protagonist replied, “To realize the best in ourselves.” “To practice pity and honor until they become part of us and the courage to care to the last strength we have, to give everything.” (p. 325) That’s powerful, emotional, and realistic. It doesn’t answer the very human questions about evil, but if offers a perspective on moving forward in the face of evil. Indeed, when the chaplain is asked if he can recognize violence behind everyday faces, he responds in the negative because, “We all have the darkness. Some act on it; most of us don’t. I can’t tell who will or already has.” (p. 237) Doesn’t such a statement rings clearly with honesty like T. S. Eliot’s “shadow?”
Of course, one reason that I read Anne Perry’s historical novels is to get some of the flavor of history. More than one character expresses (in thought or statement) that this supposed War to End All Wars was worthwhile in spite of the cost. “Their ideals had been vast, a new age of peace and progress for mankind. Of course there was a price—nothing came without one, least of all change. But it had seemed then to be infinitely worth doing. How long ago that was now!” (p. 127) Another character compares the war to illness: “’We’ll heal. As with any illness, the fever breaks, then we begin to get our strength back.’ He gave her a quick, bright glance. ‘Maybe it will give us an immunity?’” (p. 181)
I was also amused at one agent’s interview with Leon Trotsky. During the interview, the famous revolutionary waxed eloquently about the oratory of Jean Jaures, “How he could speak! Like a great waterfall, elemental! And yet he could be gentleness itself, endlessly patient in explaining.” (p. 200) And, while mentioning oratory, there is a great line about sermons, “Of course the difficulty is that if you speak of something in a sermon, so often the people you mean it for are quite sure it is directed at everyone but them…” (p. 239). That certainly holds true in my experience.
In addition to my personal bias that the Peacemaker scenario has dragged on for too long, there was one other place at which I was disappointed in the book. On page 223, the minister avoids using a biblical text to meet the needs of the assembled congregation because, “The Bible was all to do with other people, two thousand years ago and somewhere else.” That is not my experience. Because the Bible deals with people remote from me in space and time, I can consider the narratives from more than my limited subjective perspective. In that way, the text can become alive enough to speak to me in the here and now without being too obscured by my existential presumptions. The historical nature of the narratives drops my guard and allows me to be impacted by whatever truth is contained in the passage.
One short episode in the novel may well be worth the price of admission. One character asks, “Do the ordinary laws of society apply to men like Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, or geniuses of the spirit like da Vinci or Beethoven? Would I have saved Rembrandt or Vermeer from the gallows, if they had warranted it? Or Shakespeare or Dante or Homer? Yes—probably. Wouldn’t you?” There is no overt answer to this on page 176, merely Joseph’s internal question, “Did you weight one gift against another, count the price in other people’s lives, innocent people, make judgments?” (p. 176) Personally, I don’t think a genius is above the law, but it’s a fascinating thought exercise to work through.
In spite of my personal bias, Angels in the Gloom is a worthy addition to the series. I feel like the mysteries are not as strong as those in the Pitt or Monk series, but the questions are deeper and the characters even more real to me as the reader.
April 15, 2017
This is the third book in the Reavley/World War I series. We have met in the first two book three of the Reavley family---Joseph, the chaplain; Judith, his sister, a volunteer ambulance driver in the same unit; and Matthew, who is fighting a covert war as he is in Special Intelligence.
Only Hannah Reavley, their sister, seems safe. She is a home in their small village not far from Cambridge. But things are about to change. Joseph is severely wounded while helping recue a soldier and is sent home to recuperate.
Joseph is glad to see his sister Hannah and she is indeed glad to see him. Her husbands is at sea with the Royal Navy; and she and their two children are alone.
When Joseph is finally on the road to recovery, their adversary strikes again. There is a top secret compound in the Cambridshire countryside nearby known as "the Establishment". They are doing some secret war work there and that is all anyone knows. Then a top scientist in "the establishment" is murdered. Again, I go no further due to spoilers.
One of the real parts of Book 3 that I enjoy was Anne Perry's description of the home front. in England. Hannah has the burden of waiting. Dreading the mail or a telegram to tell her hier husband has been killed or injured. Trying to raise two children alone. Wartime shortages. And mourning when local families lose sons and fathers and brothers for in these small English villages, everybody knows everybody and the casualties are people Hannah has known all her life.
The suspense keeps up--I have said in earlier reviews that this five part saga is imho one of Anne Perry's best sets of work.
Highly recommended for Anne Perry fans' mystery fans; historical fiction fans and family saga fans.
Only Hannah Reavley, their sister, seems safe. She is a home in their small village not far from Cambridge. But things are about to change. Joseph is severely wounded while helping recue a soldier and is sent home to recuperate.
Joseph is glad to see his sister Hannah and she is indeed glad to see him. Her husbands is at sea with the Royal Navy; and she and their two children are alone.
When Joseph is finally on the road to recovery, their adversary strikes again. There is a top secret compound in the Cambridshire countryside nearby known as "the Establishment". They are doing some secret war work there and that is all anyone knows. Then a top scientist in "the establishment" is murdered. Again, I go no further due to spoilers.
One of the real parts of Book 3 that I enjoy was Anne Perry's description of the home front. in England. Hannah has the burden of waiting. Dreading the mail or a telegram to tell her hier husband has been killed or injured. Trying to raise two children alone. Wartime shortages. And mourning when local families lose sons and fathers and brothers for in these small English villages, everybody knows everybody and the casualties are people Hannah has known all her life.
The suspense keeps up--I have said in earlier reviews that this five part saga is imho one of Anne Perry's best sets of work.
Highly recommended for Anne Perry fans' mystery fans; historical fiction fans and family saga fans.
August 13, 2015
After the second book in the series, I was kind of indifferent about reading this one, but since I already had it from the library, I dove in. I’m glad I did. This one was my favorite thus far in the series. It included interesting internal struggles for the characters, such as Joseph (a chaplain) trying to decide if he wanted to go back to the trenches after he was wounded. While recovering he saw how much good he could do in his own village and how much his family at home needed him. But he also felt a duty toward the men in the trenches. The book also included a mystery and a spy-vs-spy plot. The part about the Battle of Jutland was the highlight of the book for me—hard to put down.
I loved this quote from when the war made one of the characters question his beliefs:
Rounding up a bit to 5 stars.
I loved this quote from when the war made one of the characters question his beliefs:
Rounding up a bit to 5 stars.
August 9, 2011
The third in her new series about WWI, highly recommended by my mother. Unfortunately, I'm tired of Anne Perry. While her stories are good and full of intrigue, I find myself telling the characters to "get over it" (the murder of their parents). It's really not their fault that Anne continues to use the same phrases over and over: "Joseph again felt the deep loss of Arlys and John," and "Arlys and John's murder could still not be left behind, the loss was too great." (Not her writing mine, but still...so I'll finish it 'cause I'm almost done, but I'm tired of Anne Perry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2018
Angels in the Gloom (2005) by Anne Perry is third novel in her WWI series which follows the Reavely family. On the day WWI began, Joseph, Matthew, and Hannah's parents were killed in an automobile accident. At least that's official version. Joseph and Matthew know that a man known only as the Peacemaker is really responsible and even as they go to work for their country--each in their own way, Joseph as an army chaplain and Matthew in intelligence, they vow to discover the Peacemaker's identity and bring him to justice.
This third book finds Joseph sent home from the front after suffering an injury while rescuing a soldier caught in the no-man's-land between trenches. Having helped the police on two other occasions when murders occurred, he is asked to help once again when a scientist working at a local top-secret establishment is found murdered. Are enemy agents at work in the small village of St. Giles or is the motive a more prosaic matter of jealousy or a woman scorned? Matthew is also hard at work on a mystery of his own--trying to track down the German spies who are leaking details of Britain's war strategies.
Observations While Reading:
Hannah--sister of Joseph--is incredibly annoying. Every time she's in a scene we get to witness her angst over whether or not she's doing/saying/feeling the right thing...whether it's reacting to people who are hurting (her brother, women in the community who have lost loved ones in the war, etc.) or whether she's being selfish wanting Joseph to stay at home after being wounded or if she's going all maudlin over the fact that life has changed (because war) and why (please insert as much whine as you can on that word) can't life just be like it used to be?
Too much introspection and self-doubt. I mean, yeah, I understand that watching the young men you grew up with die (Joseph on the front lines) OR reading the lists of the missing and killed (those back home) would make you question a lot things you took for granted...but this is supposed to be a historical mystery not high drama and conscience-searching.
It is taking For-Ev-ER to get to anything even slightly resembling "gumshoe work" or "mystery" (referred to in blurb on back of book). Constant references to the Peacemaker who killed Joseph Reavley's parents--but no actual trying to track down said Peacemaker. No actual detecting. There are rumors that a murder is gonna take place somewhere in this book....but not sure when. Made it to the 100 page mark (that first third of the book really drags--it felt much longer)...finally the mystery is going to start! Let's see if things pick up.
Actually, no. The "gumshoe work" really takes a back seat to everything else here. Don't get me wrong--I'm not opposed to dramatic historical fiction. BUT. Don't plaster your book with blurbs advertising what a suspenseful thriller this is with mystery and detection all over the place when that's really not the focus of the story at all. Solving the mystery of who killed the scientist is almost an afterthought. More attention is given to the difficulty Joseph faces when he realizes who the culprit is than is given to following the processes of detection that led him to that conclusion. And...by the third book in the series you'd think that Matthew and Joseph would have made some sort of substantial progress on hunting down the Peacemaker.
On the plus side, Perry does know human relationships and has a way of writing about them that can be quite appealing. I just wish she didn't feel the need to go at the inner workings so hard and heavy OR if she does feel that need, then I'd like to see her do a straight fiction novel. I will say that I do like the representations of the Reavley brothers...and I might even like Hannah more if she could break out of her introspection. This is a complicated family with a lot going on which makes them very interesting. ★★★ which would have been more if the mystery elements had been stronger.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Bloc. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
This third book finds Joseph sent home from the front after suffering an injury while rescuing a soldier caught in the no-man's-land between trenches. Having helped the police on two other occasions when murders occurred, he is asked to help once again when a scientist working at a local top-secret establishment is found murdered. Are enemy agents at work in the small village of St. Giles or is the motive a more prosaic matter of jealousy or a woman scorned? Matthew is also hard at work on a mystery of his own--trying to track down the German spies who are leaking details of Britain's war strategies.
Observations While Reading:
Hannah--sister of Joseph--is incredibly annoying. Every time she's in a scene we get to witness her angst over whether or not she's doing/saying/feeling the right thing...whether it's reacting to people who are hurting (her brother, women in the community who have lost loved ones in the war, etc.) or whether she's being selfish wanting Joseph to stay at home after being wounded or if she's going all maudlin over the fact that life has changed (because war) and why (please insert as much whine as you can on that word) can't life just be like it used to be?
Too much introspection and self-doubt. I mean, yeah, I understand that watching the young men you grew up with die (Joseph on the front lines) OR reading the lists of the missing and killed (those back home) would make you question a lot things you took for granted...but this is supposed to be a historical mystery not high drama and conscience-searching.
It is taking For-Ev-ER to get to anything even slightly resembling "gumshoe work" or "mystery" (referred to in blurb on back of book). Constant references to the Peacemaker who killed Joseph Reavley's parents--but no actual trying to track down said Peacemaker. No actual detecting. There are rumors that a murder is gonna take place somewhere in this book....but not sure when. Made it to the 100 page mark (that first third of the book really drags--it felt much longer)...finally the mystery is going to start! Let's see if things pick up.
Actually, no. The "gumshoe work" really takes a back seat to everything else here. Don't get me wrong--I'm not opposed to dramatic historical fiction. BUT. Don't plaster your book with blurbs advertising what a suspenseful thriller this is with mystery and detection all over the place when that's really not the focus of the story at all. Solving the mystery of who killed the scientist is almost an afterthought. More attention is given to the difficulty Joseph faces when he realizes who the culprit is than is given to following the processes of detection that led him to that conclusion. And...by the third book in the series you'd think that Matthew and Joseph would have made some sort of substantial progress on hunting down the Peacemaker.
On the plus side, Perry does know human relationships and has a way of writing about them that can be quite appealing. I just wish she didn't feel the need to go at the inner workings so hard and heavy OR if she does feel that need, then I'd like to see her do a straight fiction novel. I will say that I do like the representations of the Reavley brothers...and I might even like Hannah more if she could break out of her introspection. This is a complicated family with a lot going on which makes them very interesting. ★★★ which would have been more if the mystery elements had been stronger.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Bloc. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
August 27, 2019
This is a very readable story of a family during WW I in England. While Joseph serves as chaplain at the front and is injured he returns home to recuperate. A sister is working as an ambulance driver at the front as well. Another brother works in England on a special project for the government to help win the war.
The plot revolves around a murder of a scientist who is working on the same special project.
There is a man who is obsessed with the war and the weapons developments called the Peacemaker. It seems that he was probably behind the murder of Joseph's parents, although it was done to look like an accident.
The strong points of the book aside from the complex murder plot and surprising twists, is the realistic portrayal of war both at the front and the effects on families left at home. Perry is at her best in describing an attack on a British battleship at sea, on which Joseph has been assigned.
A very good read.
The plot revolves around a murder of a scientist who is working on the same special project.
There is a man who is obsessed with the war and the weapons developments called the Peacemaker. It seems that he was probably behind the murder of Joseph's parents, although it was done to look like an accident.
The strong points of the book aside from the complex murder plot and surprising twists, is the realistic portrayal of war both at the front and the effects on families left at home. Perry is at her best in describing an attack on a British battleship at sea, on which Joseph has been assigned.
A very good read.
December 16, 2021
This is one of four completed novels about World War One from Ms. Perry. It centers on the English Reavley Family. Joseph is an Army Chaplin, Judith is an ambulance driver; Matthew is an officer in England's Secret Intelligence Service and Hannah is the married sister who keeps house and tends to her children back in Cambridgeshire. All of the family has witnessed horrors in the War so far. It is 1916, and the War seems to be dragging on with insurmountable loss of life. Ms. Perry, in her unique writing style, is quite successful in bringing her characters to life, and to also include historical facts about World War One. "The War to end all wars."
July 9, 2022
I will not wax philosophically about the moral and ethical features of the book and the characters, it is enough to say there a great deal of it.
What strikes me most is the detail of events both in the trenches and on the sea.
We have had a fairly detailed introduction to most members of the Reavley family and now it is Hannah’s turn. She is “keeping the home fires burning” and this book brings out that point of view.
What strikes me most is the detail of events both in the trenches and on the sea.
We have had a fairly detailed introduction to most members of the Reavley family and now it is Hannah’s turn. She is “keeping the home fires burning” and this book brings out that point of view.
August 11, 2017
Audible version -- really like the narrator's voice. This is the third book I've listened to with him. He's a skilled voice actor.
Update: My favorite so far in this series. Author made it difficult to distinguish "who done it" until it was revealed. Even then, I had doubts.
This book made WWI for those who were left at home, very real and told of the emotional difficulties they faced. Apparently, women were not told of the horrors of war in order to spare them. However, this showed their real anguish in being shut out and the isolation they felt because of it.
Update: My favorite so far in this series. Author made it difficult to distinguish "who done it" until it was revealed. Even then, I had doubts.
This book made WWI for those who were left at home, very real and told of the emotional difficulties they faced. Apparently, women were not told of the horrors of war in order to spare them. However, this showed their real anguish in being shut out and the isolation they felt because of it.
November 27, 2019
This series continues to get better and better. This time Perry takes a break from the trenches of Flanders and turns to the war on the home front. After Joseph Reavely, an Army chaplain, is seriously injured (in the first chapter of the book), he is sent home to recuperate. There he finds his sister Hannah barely hanging on, trying to maintain a stiff upper lip. Her husband is commanding a Royal Navy ship and excluding her from the horrors of war; her neighbors are losing husbands, brothers, and sons; women are taking on more and more of the "men's jobs" because there are no men left to take them, and her eldest son can't wait until he's old enough to sign up. Great hope is being placed on a device being developed at the nearby "Establishment" that may turn the tide in the war at sea. But then the lead scientist on the project is found murdered in his garden. Was he killed by his wife? the husband of the woman he'd been having an affair with? or was he the victim of espionage? Joseph investigates the murder while his brother Matthew continues the hunt for the Peacemaker, someone highly placed in British society and politics, who is trying to end the war without victory for either side but as a prelude to setting up a German-British global hegemony. I really liked this a lot. There is a brilliant scene where a young widow comes to see Hannah and talks about how little she really knew her husband. Hannah realizes that if something were to happen to her husband she may feel the same way. Joseph also has to decide what he's going to do. He does not need to return to his regiment in Flanders. He's much older than most of the men he serves with, and he could easily decide to stay home, where he is also needed. The book ends with just a fine climax, which makes the reader very eager for the next book.
November 18, 2017
Writing this review after finishing the whole series. Listens to the audio books, so slower than reading, We are back in Cambridgeshire for this book. We see a bit more of Matthew Reavley and also sister Hannah, who is married to a naval man. There is a thrilling but scary set of scenes in a naval battle, and once again some.murders to be solved. WWI has never been so well described in terms of the suffering in the trenches, on ships and at the homefront.
April 12, 2021
I liked this book a lot, but there were occasional inaccuracies which spoiled it for me. For example, at one point Perry describes the British destroyer Cormorant as being armed with 12 inch guns. Anyone with any knowledge at all of naval history would know that WW1 destroyers were armed with nothing bigger than 4 inch guns. 12 inch guns were for battleships and battlecruisers. I'm surprised that this slip got past Perry's editor.
April 17, 2021
World War I Series
This is the third book in the author's World War I series. Chaplain Joseph Travels has been injured in Ypres and is sent back to England to recover. While he is home there is a murder of a scientist working on a secret project with his father's best friend, Stanley Corcoran. When Joseph starts asking questions about the scientist's death he finds answers that destroy his relationship with his father's friend.
This is the third book in the author's World War I series. Chaplain Joseph Travels has been injured in Ypres and is sent back to England to recover. While he is home there is a murder of a scientist working on a secret project with his father's best friend, Stanley Corcoran. When Joseph starts asking questions about the scientist's death he finds answers that destroy his relationship with his father's friend.
May 8, 2010
The best of the series so far (which isn't saying much), but still bogged down by ridiculous character motivations, far too much internal monologing, and an unrealistic and disappointing solution to the murder mystery.
January 8, 2008
Third in the WWI series. Read them in order. If it had been one big book there would not be so much repetition to bring everyone up to speed. Worth reading even with the cheap serial effect.
November 29, 2022
Part of the WW1 series. Joseph is still my favorite character, but Matthew had his own character development in this one, and Judeth has reached her breaking point.
I accidentally read #4 before #3, so I already knew some of this, but the characters' memory snippets and summaries didn't do it justice.
It hadn't fully dawned on me from reading #4 with whom Matthew had struggled on Archie's ship.
Joseph was still wrestling his own doubts while trying to comfort others. The discussions with Kerr annoyed me some. If he was so inadequate for comforting others - and he was - why didn't Joseph train him better, or explain things to him more?
SPOILER ... I don't understand why the captain didn't go down with the ship. Kind of makes me want to reskim #4 to see if they say why.
"He had abandoned the story of Christ ..." That's a good synopsis of a bunch of things. I've heard it said, and I think it's wise, that "When grief is freshest, words should be fewest." That is, in order to keep from inadvertently hurt a grieving soul. And one counsellor who spoke to my group once said that the only safe thing to say is "My heart goes out to you."
And certainly tangeable, wordless acts of kindness help, too.
But there does come a time when our hope needs to be built on something stronger. No, knowing about eternal life does not stop the sharp pangs of grief, or dull them. But that does not mean they are useless. I have found some comfort in this or that passage of holy writ. Treasures. Beautiful treasures.
"Many a Text is written in a secret ink which must be held to the fire of adversity to make it visible." - Charles Spurgeon in "Sermons of Comfort and Assurance."
Reviewers that complained about this book tended to complain about the level of introspection. That doesn't bother me. In fact, I like characters to reflect a little, to try to understand themselves and others rather than just react to situations around them. That gives a story depth.
But, it did begin to get slightly annoying the number of times in this series that Matthew has a superior call him back from wherever his mind has wandered. I understand his need to think through the implications in his spy work, but I wonder if that would better be put on hold to a more opportune time than a debriefing or a report. It's almost gotten to be a little funny.
A couple reviewers complained about how good these characters are. But, there truly were people this self-sacrificing during WWI and other wars, and people who tried to live with an inner integrity, not just an outer reputation. Choosing not to read about people with integrity is a different matter.
Favorite quotes:
"The concept is as simple and as elegant as mathematics."
Grieving ... "You can talk about [the deceased] if you want to. Or anything else. You can carry it alone if you want to but you don't have to."
"Grief could not be met with prepared speeches; in fact it could not be met at all, only treated with the dignity of being honest."
"It's only work! Work is a challenge! It's what man has been born for - work and love. That's who we are. A life that doesn't challenge you to give all you have is only half a life, unworthy of the possibilities of man."
"The man was confused, and because he did not understand, he perceived himself to be attacked." That happens to me all the time. I ask clarifying questions to understand, or say something upon a little deeper reflection, and people misunderstand and think it's an attack, and I realize they don't understand at all - not me, not the topic at hand, not rational discourse.
"'Or did the devil win after all?'
'I've no idea. But I know whose side I'm on.'" That one reminds me of CS Lewis' Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair." When the witch tried to drug him with incense and make him disbelieve the truth, he stamped out the fire and said he believed in Aslan and other things because it ought to be true even if it wasn't. But of course, later on, they saw Aslan themselves.
"When we're hurt in body and dignity, sometimes we take it out on those closest to us - and they don't know what to do or how to help. She's maybe hurting, too."
". . . There are times when I look at what’s happening, young men crushed and dying, the land poisoned and turned to filth, corruption of what I used to trust utterly, and I’m not sure . . . . But the things that Christ taught are still true, of that I’m absolutely certain. Meet me at the end of the world when we stand at the abyss, I’ll tell Satan to his face just as certainly: Honor is still worth living or dying for; no matter how tired or hurt or frightened you are, face forward and seek out the light, even if it’s gone out and you can’t remember where it was, keep going. It’s always right to care. It’s going to hurt like hell at times, you’ll think it’s beyond bearing, but if you let go of that then you have lost the purpose of existing at all"
I accidentally read #4 before #3, so I already knew some of this, but the characters' memory snippets and summaries didn't do it justice.
It hadn't fully dawned on me from reading #4 with whom Matthew had struggled on Archie's ship.
Joseph was still wrestling his own doubts while trying to comfort others. The discussions with Kerr annoyed me some. If he was so inadequate for comforting others - and he was - why didn't Joseph train him better, or explain things to him more?
SPOILER ... I don't understand why the captain didn't go down with the ship. Kind of makes me want to reskim #4 to see if they say why.
"He had abandoned the story of Christ ..." That's a good synopsis of a bunch of things. I've heard it said, and I think it's wise, that "When grief is freshest, words should be fewest." That is, in order to keep from inadvertently hurt a grieving soul. And one counsellor who spoke to my group once said that the only safe thing to say is "My heart goes out to you."
And certainly tangeable, wordless acts of kindness help, too.
But there does come a time when our hope needs to be built on something stronger. No, knowing about eternal life does not stop the sharp pangs of grief, or dull them. But that does not mean they are useless. I have found some comfort in this or that passage of holy writ. Treasures. Beautiful treasures.
"Many a Text is written in a secret ink which must be held to the fire of adversity to make it visible." - Charles Spurgeon in "Sermons of Comfort and Assurance."
Reviewers that complained about this book tended to complain about the level of introspection. That doesn't bother me. In fact, I like characters to reflect a little, to try to understand themselves and others rather than just react to situations around them. That gives a story depth.
But, it did begin to get slightly annoying the number of times in this series that Matthew has a superior call him back from wherever his mind has wandered. I understand his need to think through the implications in his spy work, but I wonder if that would better be put on hold to a more opportune time than a debriefing or a report. It's almost gotten to be a little funny.
A couple reviewers complained about how good these characters are. But, there truly were people this self-sacrificing during WWI and other wars, and people who tried to live with an inner integrity, not just an outer reputation. Choosing not to read about people with integrity is a different matter.
Favorite quotes:
"The concept is as simple and as elegant as mathematics."
Grieving ... "You can talk about [the deceased] if you want to. Or anything else. You can carry it alone if you want to but you don't have to."
"Grief could not be met with prepared speeches; in fact it could not be met at all, only treated with the dignity of being honest."
"It's only work! Work is a challenge! It's what man has been born for - work and love. That's who we are. A life that doesn't challenge you to give all you have is only half a life, unworthy of the possibilities of man."
"The man was confused, and because he did not understand, he perceived himself to be attacked." That happens to me all the time. I ask clarifying questions to understand, or say something upon a little deeper reflection, and people misunderstand and think it's an attack, and I realize they don't understand at all - not me, not the topic at hand, not rational discourse.
"'Or did the devil win after all?'
'I've no idea. But I know whose side I'm on.'" That one reminds me of CS Lewis' Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair." When the witch tried to drug him with incense and make him disbelieve the truth, he stamped out the fire and said he believed in Aslan and other things because it ought to be true even if it wasn't. But of course, later on, they saw Aslan themselves.
"When we're hurt in body and dignity, sometimes we take it out on those closest to us - and they don't know what to do or how to help. She's maybe hurting, too."
". . . There are times when I look at what’s happening, young men crushed and dying, the land poisoned and turned to filth, corruption of what I used to trust utterly, and I’m not sure . . . . But the things that Christ taught are still true, of that I’m absolutely certain. Meet me at the end of the world when we stand at the abyss, I’ll tell Satan to his face just as certainly: Honor is still worth living or dying for; no matter how tired or hurt or frightened you are, face forward and seek out the light, even if it’s gone out and you can’t remember where it was, keep going. It’s always right to care. It’s going to hurt like hell at times, you’ll think it’s beyond bearing, but if you let go of that then you have lost the purpose of existing at all"
November 13, 2019
My rating 3.5
Angels in the Gloom is an intense saga of love, hate, obsession, and murder that features an honorable English family–brothers Joseph and Matthew Reavley and their sisters, Judith and Hannah.
In March 1916, Joseph, a chaplain at the front, and Judith, an ambulance driver, are fighting not only the Germans but the bitter cold and the appalling casualties at Ypres. Scarcely less at risk, Matthew, an officer in England’s Secret Intelligence Service, fights the war covertly from London. Only Hannah, living with her children in the family home in tranquil Cambridgeshire, seems safe.
Appearances, however, are deceiving. By the time Joseph returns home to Cambridgeshire, rumors of spies and traitors are rampant. And when the savagely brutalized body of a weapons scientist is discovered in a village byway, the fear that haunts the battlefields settles over the town–along with the shadow of the obsessed ideologue who murdered the Reavleys’ parents on the eve of the war. Once again, this icy, anonymous powerbroker, the Peacemaker, is plotting to kill.
Perry’s kaleidoscopic new novel illuminates an entire world, from the hell of the trenches to the London nightclub where a beautiful Irish spy plies her trade; from the sequestered laboratory where a weapon that can end the war is being perfected to the matchless glory of the English countryside in spring. Steeped in history and radiant with truth, Angels in the Gloom is a masterpiece that warms the heart even as it chills the blood.
Although I enjoy the history in these book and greater understanding of WW I, there is much driscription and filler that sometimes makes it slow-going. Also, much of the book focuses on the Revely family and their attempts to find the Peacemaker, placing them in the right locations to tell the history. I will finish the series, but not tout it.
Angels in the Gloom is an intense saga of love, hate, obsession, and murder that features an honorable English family–brothers Joseph and Matthew Reavley and their sisters, Judith and Hannah.
In March 1916, Joseph, a chaplain at the front, and Judith, an ambulance driver, are fighting not only the Germans but the bitter cold and the appalling casualties at Ypres. Scarcely less at risk, Matthew, an officer in England’s Secret Intelligence Service, fights the war covertly from London. Only Hannah, living with her children in the family home in tranquil Cambridgeshire, seems safe.
Appearances, however, are deceiving. By the time Joseph returns home to Cambridgeshire, rumors of spies and traitors are rampant. And when the savagely brutalized body of a weapons scientist is discovered in a village byway, the fear that haunts the battlefields settles over the town–along with the shadow of the obsessed ideologue who murdered the Reavleys’ parents on the eve of the war. Once again, this icy, anonymous powerbroker, the Peacemaker, is plotting to kill.
Perry’s kaleidoscopic new novel illuminates an entire world, from the hell of the trenches to the London nightclub where a beautiful Irish spy plies her trade; from the sequestered laboratory where a weapon that can end the war is being perfected to the matchless glory of the English countryside in spring. Steeped in history and radiant with truth, Angels in the Gloom is a masterpiece that warms the heart even as it chills the blood.
Although I enjoy the history in these book and greater understanding of WW I, there is much driscription and filler that sometimes makes it slow-going. Also, much of the book focuses on the Revely family and their attempts to find the Peacemaker, placing them in the right locations to tell the history. I will finish the series, but not tout it.
September 16, 2019
Rated 4.23
In March 1916, Joseph, a chaplain at the front, and Judith, an ambulance driver, are fighting not only the Germans but the bitter cold and the appalling casualties at Ypres. Scarcely less at risk, Matthew, an officer in England’s Secret Intelligence Service, fights the war covertly from London. Only Hannah, living with her children in the family home in tranquil Cambridgeshire, seems safe.
Appearances, however, are deceiving. By the time Joseph returns home to Cambridgeshire, rumors of spies and traitors are rampant. And when the savagely brutalized body of a weapons scientist is discovered in a village byway, the fear that haunts the battlefields settles over the town–along with the shadow of the obsessed ideologue who murdered the Reavleys’ parents on the eve of the war. Once again, this icy, anonymous powerbroker, the Peacemaker, is plotting to kill.
Perry’s kaleidoscopic new novel illuminates an entire world, from the hell of the trenches to the London nightclub where a beautiful Irish spy plies her trade; from the sequestered laboratory where a weapon that can end the war is being perfected to the matchless glory of the English countryside in spring.
Learning about the difficulties at Ypres and Gallipoli heart wrenching. The Peacemaker story continues to intrigue. I gained more appreciation of the war reporters and the impact their stories had on the home front. Secret experimentation for new sea weapons was a difficult activity but needed to be produced quickly if to help the navy. Who knew that once a person was convicted of treason, you had to wait three weeks for the hanging. I continue to enjoy this series and the learning about World War I while following the Reavely family and their escapades.
In March 1916, Joseph, a chaplain at the front, and Judith, an ambulance driver, are fighting not only the Germans but the bitter cold and the appalling casualties at Ypres. Scarcely less at risk, Matthew, an officer in England’s Secret Intelligence Service, fights the war covertly from London. Only Hannah, living with her children in the family home in tranquil Cambridgeshire, seems safe.
Appearances, however, are deceiving. By the time Joseph returns home to Cambridgeshire, rumors of spies and traitors are rampant. And when the savagely brutalized body of a weapons scientist is discovered in a village byway, the fear that haunts the battlefields settles over the town–along with the shadow of the obsessed ideologue who murdered the Reavleys’ parents on the eve of the war. Once again, this icy, anonymous powerbroker, the Peacemaker, is plotting to kill.
Perry’s kaleidoscopic new novel illuminates an entire world, from the hell of the trenches to the London nightclub where a beautiful Irish spy plies her trade; from the sequestered laboratory where a weapon that can end the war is being perfected to the matchless glory of the English countryside in spring.
Learning about the difficulties at Ypres and Gallipoli heart wrenching. The Peacemaker story continues to intrigue. I gained more appreciation of the war reporters and the impact their stories had on the home front. Secret experimentation for new sea weapons was a difficult activity but needed to be produced quickly if to help the navy. Who knew that once a person was convicted of treason, you had to wait three weeks for the hanging. I continue to enjoy this series and the learning about World War I while following the Reavely family and their escapades.
January 28, 2019
Dans ma jeunesse, j'aimais beaucoup les histoires policières de Charlotte et Thomas Pitt. Surtout parce qu'elles se déroulaient dans le cadre de l'Angleterre victorienne.
Je suis tombée sur ce livre par hasard dans un vide grenier. Je n'ai donc pas lu les tomes précédents. Pour autant, cela n'a pas gêné ma lecture et j'ai rapidement compris les enjeux.
J'ai aimé:
-le cadre historique très développé (peut-être que pour certains, l'histoire peut sembler "lente"). L'histoire se passe pendant la première guerre mondiale et j'ai trouvé passionnant de suivre à la fois les femmes restées dans les villages, les retours des combattants sur le front et les personnes ayant rejoint les services secrets.
je ne suis habituellement pas très "policier" mais le meurtre n'est finalement pas tant que ça au centre des préoccupations
-l'histoire humaine: la jalousie, la trahison, le pardon, l'ambition, la peur, l'incompréhension, la peine...
-d'un point de vue émotionnel les relations entre mari/femme, frère/soeur, espions....
-le mystère qui émane du Pacificateur
-la trame de l'histoire qui nous conduit d'émotion en suspense
-le style de l'auteur qui nous plonge dans les petits détails du quotidien et les pensées de chacun avec beaucoup de justesse.
Je n'ai pas aimé:
rien en particulier! Je suis restée sur ma faim pour certains développements, mais je pense qu'il faudra que je lise les autres tomes pour satisfaire ma curiosité!
Bref, une lecture bien agréable qui m'a donné envie de lire les autres tomes même si ce n'est pas le meilleur livre que j'ai lu de ma vie.
Je suis tombée sur ce livre par hasard dans un vide grenier. Je n'ai donc pas lu les tomes précédents. Pour autant, cela n'a pas gêné ma lecture et j'ai rapidement compris les enjeux.
J'ai aimé:
-le cadre historique très développé (peut-être que pour certains, l'histoire peut sembler "lente"). L'histoire se passe pendant la première guerre mondiale et j'ai trouvé passionnant de suivre à la fois les femmes restées dans les villages, les retours des combattants sur le front et les personnes ayant rejoint les services secrets.
je ne suis habituellement pas très "policier" mais le meurtre n'est finalement pas tant que ça au centre des préoccupations
-l'histoire humaine: la jalousie, la trahison, le pardon, l'ambition, la peur, l'incompréhension, la peine...
-d'un point de vue émotionnel les relations entre mari/femme, frère/soeur, espions....
-le mystère qui émane du Pacificateur
-la trame de l'histoire qui nous conduit d'émotion en suspense
-le style de l'auteur qui nous plonge dans les petits détails du quotidien et les pensées de chacun avec beaucoup de justesse.
Je n'ai pas aimé:
rien en particulier! Je suis restée sur ma faim pour certains développements, mais je pense qu'il faudra que je lise les autres tomes pour satisfaire ma curiosité!
Bref, une lecture bien agréable qui m'a donné envie de lire les autres tomes même si ce n'est pas le meilleur livre que j'ai lu de ma vie.
February 3, 2025
“Joseph’s heart sank. There was an eagerness in the man’s eyes as if the war were somehow magnificent. That was the moment Joseph realised how alien he felt here at home. What could he say to this man without betraying all that was true?”
1916. Joseph returns, wounded, from the Western Front and recuperates at home. His brother Matthew is engaged in development of submarine countermeasures to prevent Britain from being starved of food and munitions from the US, not yet in the war. The mysterious Peacemaker is an enemy of Britain; he killed the brothers’ parents to destroy a treaty document. Matthew meets with an Irish spy: Ireland is still part of the UK but wants independence. The Easter Rising is months away. This is the third volume in a series. I stopped reading at page 51 because I felt it relied too much on events in the previous volumes. The WWI scenes seemed authentic. Maybe it would be more satisfying if one had read and enjoyed the previous volumes.
1916. Joseph returns, wounded, from the Western Front and recuperates at home. His brother Matthew is engaged in development of submarine countermeasures to prevent Britain from being starved of food and munitions from the US, not yet in the war. The mysterious Peacemaker is an enemy of Britain; he killed the brothers’ parents to destroy a treaty document. Matthew meets with an Irish spy: Ireland is still part of the UK but wants independence. The Easter Rising is months away. This is the third volume in a series. I stopped reading at page 51 because I felt it relied too much on events in the previous volumes. The WWI scenes seemed authentic. Maybe it would be more satisfying if one had read and enjoyed the previous volumes.
April 1, 2018
This is the third book in Anne Perry's World War One series, and in this book the author changes things up a bit by having the book taking place mostly in England vice the western front. We also see a bit more of Matthew and learn more about the other sister Hannah in this book.
One one complaint about this book is the actual mystery in the book, I felt it was not that interesting. Now throughout the series each book has a murder mystery which is tied into the overall mystery of the series-who is the Peacekeeper. I just found that this book's murder was not handled very well. If you are more of a mystery/detective fan than historical fiction fan you might be disappointed.
I still liked the book and am moving on to the next book as I am curious to see what happens next in the series.
One one complaint about this book is the actual mystery in the book, I felt it was not that interesting. Now throughout the series each book has a murder mystery which is tied into the overall mystery of the series-who is the Peacekeeper. I just found that this book's murder was not handled very well. If you are more of a mystery/detective fan than historical fiction fan you might be disappointed.
I still liked the book and am moving on to the next book as I am curious to see what happens next in the series.
November 24, 2024
Esta tercera novela de la serie sucede en Cambridgeshire, en la casa familiar de los Reavley, donde Joseph se recupera de sus heridas de guerra.
Sin embargo, el pueblo se ve sacudido por un asesinato, el de un joven científico que está diseñando un dispositivo que podría suponer la victoria naval de los aliados. ¿Estará el asesinato relacionado con el espionaje alemán?
En esta novela Joseph tendrá que lidiar con sus dudas y su miedo a volver al frente. Además, se verá obligado a tratar de resolver el asesinato del científico. Me ha gustado la novela porque también explica cómo fue la guerra naval y la angustia ante los hundimientos de barcos comerciales y militares.
Me está gustando mucho esta serie, así que seguimos con el siguiente. Nota: 8/10.
Sin embargo, el pueblo se ve sacudido por un asesinato, el de un joven científico que está diseñando un dispositivo que podría suponer la victoria naval de los aliados. ¿Estará el asesinato relacionado con el espionaje alemán?
En esta novela Joseph tendrá que lidiar con sus dudas y su miedo a volver al frente. Además, se verá obligado a tratar de resolver el asesinato del científico. Me ha gustado la novela porque también explica cómo fue la guerra naval y la angustia ante los hundimientos de barcos comerciales y militares.
Me está gustando mucho esta serie, así que seguimos con el siguiente. Nota: 8/10.
July 15, 2024
Troisième volet de « la saga des Reavley »
« Les anges des ténèbres » se passe en 1916, la guerre s'éternise, les morts se multiplient et endeuillent les familles du petit village de St Gilles, berceau de la famille Reavley où Joseph, gravement blessé , est en convalescence auprès de sa soeur Hannah.
C'est l'occasion pour Anne Perry de dresser un tableau de la vie à l'arrière et des difficultés croissantes pour les populations civiles . On y suit aussi le travail du contre espionnage , avec Matthew, et la guerre maritime avec le mari d'Hannah en pleine bataille du Jutland.
Même intérêt et mêmes défauts que le tome 2. Des longueurs et répétitions qui nuisent à l’intérêt de l’histoire.
« Les anges des ténèbres » se passe en 1916, la guerre s'éternise, les morts se multiplient et endeuillent les familles du petit village de St Gilles, berceau de la famille Reavley où Joseph, gravement blessé , est en convalescence auprès de sa soeur Hannah.
C'est l'occasion pour Anne Perry de dresser un tableau de la vie à l'arrière et des difficultés croissantes pour les populations civiles . On y suit aussi le travail du contre espionnage , avec Matthew, et la guerre maritime avec le mari d'Hannah en pleine bataille du Jutland.
Même intérêt et mêmes défauts que le tome 2. Des longueurs et répétitions qui nuisent à l’intérêt de l’histoire.
September 8, 2017
4-1/2 stars. Heard this on CD. This is the third book in the World War I series by Anne Perry, although the first for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the story; the reader did a very good job. I've read quite a few of Ms. Perry's Thomas and Charlotte Pitt books and a few of her William Monk books. Her books are always good. As usual, the characters were interesting and well written, and the story well developed. I also learned quite a bit about WWI from this book. I will definitely pick up the other books in the series.
February 7, 2020
This book is by a mystery writer, but it’s really historical fiction, and provides an accurate but devastating view of WWI. In some ways it was depressing, with several of the male characters being unusually emotional and moved by events. Perry writes very well and presents people in a complex but vivid way. Perhaps one of the most moving parts is a main character, Hannah, wanting her husband to share his experiences as a wartime sea captain, so she won’t feel so entirely left out. Not too many women like her, I suspect.
December 8, 2021
This is a very entertaining series with well developed characters and places. This book takes place more in England as Joseph is recovering from injuries. They are still trying to find the person behind the killing of their parents and the attempt to thwart England's entry into the war. All of the books give you a strong feeling of being there whether it be the battlefield, Cambridge, or the English countryside. Excellent for anyone who enjoys historical fiction whether it be a mystery or not.
May 13, 2019
Angels in the gloom... continuing the story how world war one impacted the lives of the Reavley family and their community. It is a story of passion, love, hate, horror, suffering, betrayal, loyalty, murder and death. Although the setting for this story is over 100 years ago at this point, it reaffirms when one looks around at what the current state of affairs is in the world that there is not much new under the sun.
January 10, 2021
This series is more historical fiction than mystery, but is an excellent read. There is a mystery, a death of a scientist working on new invention, radar. The series centers around one family that was introduced in the 1st book. The characters are complex and vivid. Each has a personality and beliefs that draw you in. The story is engrossing and kept turning the pages to see who committed the crime because I loved all the "good" characters.
April 9, 2024
This series definitely. needs to be read in order. The narrative in the third entry spends quite a bit of time developing the characters of the Reavley siblings. It also advances the mystery concerning the deaths of their parents. There is a murder but that is definitely secondary to the rest of the story. Anne Perry also draws a picture of what life was like in England during World War I and what the soldiers endured at the front.
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