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Home / Series / World War I

Series

World War I

Anne Perry’s World War I sequence follows the Reavley family from the summer of 1914 to the armistice of 1918. Joseph serves as an army chaplain on the Western Front, Judith becomes an ambulance driver, Matthew works in British intelligence and Hannah experiences the war through naval service and the home front.

Each novel pairs a murder investigation with the family’s pursuit of the conspirator known as the Peacemaker, whose political scheme threatens Britain’s war effort. The five-book arc moves from the July Crisis through trench warfare and the final offensives, concentrating on censorship, grief, faith and the pressure of loyalty during industrialised war.

Reading order

Books in this series (5 books)

No Graves as Yet cover

#1 – No Graves as Yet

Anne Perry

Cambridge, June 1914. Joseph Reavley returns home after his parents are killed in a motor accident, and his intelligence-officer brother Matthew reveals that their father had discovered a document capable of changing Britain’s foreign policy. The paper has vanished, raising the possibility that the deaths were…

Shoulder the Sky cover

#2 – Shoulder the Sky

Anne Perry

Western Front, 1915. Army chaplain Joseph Reavley finds war correspondent Eldon Prentice dead in no-man’s-land and realises that he was killed by a British soldier rather than German fire. Prentice had been gathering evidence about command failures and the realities concealed from civilians at home. Judith…

Angels in the Gloom cover

#3 – Angels in the Gloom

Anne Perry

England and the Western Front, 1916. Joseph Reavley returns home wounded and becomes involved in a murder whose evidence points towards espionage and sabotage. His recovery brings the hidden work of the home front into contact with the suffering he has witnessed among soldiers. Matthew’s pursuit…

At Some Disputed Barricade cover

#4 – At Some Disputed Barricade

Anne Perry

Western Front, 1917. A deeply unpopular officer is murdered by men from his own unit, and Joseph Reavley must discover which soldier acted while understanding the conditions that drove the group towards violence. Discipline, exhaustion and loyalty make the truth dangerous to both the accused and…

We Shall Not Sleep cover

#5 – We Shall Not Sleep

Anne Perry

Western Front, 1918. With German defeat approaching, Joseph and Judith face increasing violence behind the lines, including the rape and murder of a nurse. Matthew arrives with news that the Peacemaker’s German counterpart is prepared to expose the British conspirator if he can be brought safely…