Rating: 
Summary: Anne Perry ... Updated and Better than Ever
Review: Anne Perry has the Victorian mystery down pat - but her books have always fallen short of captivating me. But with this latest book, the first in a series that takes place during World War I, everything changes. Perhaps the change of venue has done her good; perhaps I am more in tune with that period in English history. But for whatever reason, I loved this book. It takes place in the hallowed halls of Cambridge; murder racks the personal lives of one of the professors, Joseph Reavley, as well as the students in residence, as suspicion is cast over all. Joseph's brother has a somewhat minor job in the British Secret Service, and as the crime consumes the daily lives of its characters, so does war loom over all of England.
The crime and the impending war are clearly related, so as war draws closer, so does the importance of solving the murder. No, war will not be held off if the murder is solved - history is used as a back drop here and an important character in itself. But World War I would do more than just cause a few years of chaos and untold casualties .... this is what we know as the Great War - literally the war that changed both the face and character of Europe. World War I forced England into the 20th century, and the England will will emerge is not the same one that entered. There is an overriding sense of loss and recognition that the world is about to change in this book -especially for the students at Cambridge. Solving the crime ties up a loose end - but the real crime is in the stupidity - and inevitability - of war.
This is a book that explores not only the characters' responses to a crime, but the mood of a generation that is about to go to war. This is not history steeped in dates, but an exploration of what world events do to people and the psyche of a country about to experience massive change. At the book's close, characters start to don uniforms, preparing for the next step, which is taking up arms.
There are four more books in the series - and I eagerly await them. Ann Perry has always been a great re-creator of time and place, and I truly believe that talent has been elevated in this latest book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: As a long time fan of Anne Perry and an avid World War I buff, I found this book to be tedious and confusing. Many questions were raised and never answered: Who were the two mysterious plotters?What happened to the original document (or the copy if the one hidden was not the original)? What was Sebastians connection with the two plotters? How did the brilliant Irish rebel leader figure into this mix? And on and on. Too many loose threads!
Rating: 
Summary: a good writer, but a fuzzy plot
Review: As Anne Perry has developed as a writer she has become more interested in social issues and less interested in the characters who are living through them - or (lest we forget) the mysteries that caused her fans to start reading her books in the first place. I was glad to see her starting in a new direction, since Monk and the Pitts are pretty much 'played out' and I haven't bought any of her new ones in a long time. This book is an interesting start but . .
Joseph and Matthew need to be more clearly defined and differentiated. Joseph is mourning everything and everyone so clearly, it makes me wonder if Perry herself is working through a loss. Matthew is a stock character with no identifying features, except for his job. His chapters have no change in tone, except that he is not in agony every five minutes.
I too was surprised not to find a good female lead in the group. Hannah is angry (and less intelligent than her brothers we are told). Judith is rebellious and a handful (we are also told) - but seems not to ever leave the house since she is always there when the brothers wander home. American readers will not resonate with Joseph totally, I think. He blames himself for not knowing things he couldn't possible have known and the reader is waaaayyy ahead of him in solving the mystery(s).
This book is not a keeper, so don't spend a lot of money to read it. But I am happy Perry is trying something new and I will be interested to see if she can pick up the tempo in the next one. If not, she might as well forget about these characters and try something else.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't fulfill its promise.
Review: Honestly, I have never been a big fan of Anne Perry's Victorian mystery series (Pitt, Monk), but I thought this one, set just before the outbreak of the first World War, was going to be different. However, just as I found Charles Todd's recent stand-alone, The Murder Stone, to be highly unsatisfactory, so is this book.This novel starts out with a bang and then peters out gradually over the rest of its course. The protagonists, Joseph and Matthew Reavly, are trying to get to the bottom of some sort of dire conspiracy that will do great harm to England on the eve of World War I. Their father, who discovered the existence of the conspiracy, is murdered, together with his wife, on the same day Archduke Ferdinand and his wife are asassinated in Sarajevo. As the investigation goes on, one of Joseph's prize students at Cambridge is found dead in his room, apparently murdered. Now the two investigations progress (sort of) side by side, with some suspicion that they may be related. Unfortunately, the story gets so bogged down with debates and discussions about the Home Rule issue and whether England will be drawn into a war, and a ton of historical facts and "atmosphere," that the story only hobbles along. On top of everything else, the ending is very open-ended: Do the brothers really know the truth about the conspiracy, their parents' murder, and the death of Sebastian Allard, or don't they? Maybe the story is continued in the next volume. If not, this book ought to get one star instead of two.
Rating:
Summary: Superb beginning to an Intellectual Saga
Review: I am frankly astonished at the reviews of this fine book appearing on this site. No Graves as Yet is a beautifully crafted and entirely convincing portrayal of the intellectual climate of England at the beginning of the Great War and serves as the entry portal to what promises to be a subtle and evocative examination of the moral issues that faced England in 1914-18. The mystery is secondary to the evaluation of the question of what issues justify war, and the picture drawn of Cambridge in the summer of 1914 is the necessary predicate for the broader picture that will, presumably, be sketched in the remainder of the series.
If the Reavely characters seem a bit callow in this novel, it is because their characters, assumptions and world views have not yet been tested. This story, involving the seemingly accidental death of their parents, begins the process of testing the assumptions by which Edwardian England lived and which were shattered by the experiences of the war.
While I think this novel is beautifully written and the characters a good deal subtler than other reviewers, by all means reading this novel should be followed immediately by reading its sequel Shoulder the Sky, which carries the story into the war through May, 1915 and gives a better feel of the author's overall plan for the series.
I recommend both books most highly.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I eagerly anticipated Anne Perry's new series set during World War I, but this muddled, ill-conceived mystery was a major disappointment. Perry's mysteries revolve around her characters as much as the plot, so the Reavleys are a surprisingly dull and unsympathetic bunch. These alleged Cambridge intellectuals use bad grammar and address each other in mawkish speeches which are ludicrous coming from stiff upper-lip 1914 Britons. The real problem with No Graves as Yet is that the author failed to do enough research to truly bring this period of history to life. She seems unaware that Cambridge was a center of social and intellectual ferment and misses the opportunity to enliven her narrative and enlighten her readers with cameo appearances by historical figures such as Rupert Brooke. There's a lot of maundering about war and peace in No Graves as Yet, but Perry fails to portray the intense patriotism of the British people, which led even the most radical Socialists to join the army in 1914. The betrayal of that patriotism is the story of World War I and it's especially relevant to today's world. It's a shame that Perry chose to narrowly focus on her flimsy characters and murder plot instead of putting more history into this historical mystery.
Rating:
Summary: No Graves As Yet
Review: I enjoy the Pitt and Monk mysteries and looked forward to a new series by Perry. This book disappointed me. The characters were one-dimensional, the plot predictable, the mystery not much of one. Don't bother with this one.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Beginning
Review: I have read most of Anne Perry's mysteries. Not being a sci fi fan, I haven't tried those. I had grown tired of Pitt and Monk--perhaps one can only take SO many mysteries and the dynamics between the detectives and their spouses seemed repetitious.
However, I thoroughly enjoyed her new series! Contrary to the other reviewers, I felt that she was painting a long-term picture that I didn't expect WOULD be resolved in one novel. As always, her descriptions are sumptuous and memorable, her characters complex (yes, even the females!) and the various stories kept me reading on and on. Although there were several questions left hanging at the end of the book, it was clear to me that this was the beginning of a story, not an ending. I am looking forward to Christmas when I hope that someone will give me the next in the series!
Rating:
Summary: Great New Series
Review: I really enjoyed this first book in the new series. I have long enjoyed Ms. Perry's books and am in awe of the details that she uses to bring you right into a time and place you could never hope to see otherwise. These new characters draw you into their story and Ms. Perry deftly weaves espionage, fear and bravery into a well plotted novel of WWI.
Rating:
Summary: Verbose and rather boring
Review: I struggled through this novel hoping it would improve, and towards the end - it did somewhat, but it still put me to sleep several times! Being the first in a new series by Perry I was prepared to make allowences, but in the end I was disappointed with her new WW1 direction. Perhaps "Shoulder the Sky" will be better.
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