Perry, Anne – NO GRAVES AS YET

[LJ Roberts]

NO GRAVES AS YET (Amateur Sleuth-England-1914) - G+ Perry, Anne – 1^st in WWI series
Ballantine Books, 2003-Hardcover

Jospeh Reavley, a Cambridge professor, and his family have their world shattered when their parents are killed in a motor crash. Jospeh’s bother, Matthew, a member of the British secret service, had received a call from their father saying he was coming to London with a document which outlined a plot that would change the future of England and the world. The brothers find that the crash was not an accident and the document is missing. When one of Joseph’s most gifted students is found dead after an impassioned speech to Joseph about England, peace and war, Joseph decides to find out of the deaths are connected.

Conspiracy theories are not my favorite plot device. It is hard for me to identify with the strong feelings expressed by many of the characters in this book, but I do believe people, particularly of the English upper classes, felt them. This is not my favorite Perry, but it is hard to deny that she is a superb writer. Her ability to crease a sense of time and place are unparalleled.