From Publishers Weekly
This absorbing mystery/spy thriller, set in tranquil Cambridge just before the onset of the Great War, marks a powerful start to bestseller Perry's much anticipated new series. In a lush and deceptively peaceful opening scene, college professor and chaplain Joseph Reavley is interrupted while watching a cricket game by his intelligence officer brother, Matthew, who reports the sudden death of their parents in a car crash. This horrifying news sets off a long but compelling investigation by the brothers that takes them across verdant summertime England, looking for a secret document that their father was trying to deliver to Matthew at the time of his death. Against a backdrop of ominous news from the continent, Perry artfully weaves connections between pacifist students at Cambridge, one of whom is also murdered, and German agents who may be planning "a conspiracy to ruin England and everything we stand for." The intrigue is further complicated by jilted lovers and jealous spouses at the university, all with grudges against an alleged blackmailer in their midst who may also be privy to exam cribbing and other illicit goings-on. Perry's title, a quotation from G.K. Chesterton, is a portent of the carnage that soon awaits the youth of England, yet by the final resolution of this gripping case, many graves have regrettably already been filled in Cambridge's serene churchyards.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Matthew and Joseph Reavley's parents are killed in a car accident on the same day the Austrian Archduke of Serbia is assassinated. Matthew is an intelligence officer; his father was driving to London to show him a document he believed was part of a conspiracy that would disgrace England. Days later, Joseph's favorite student is found murdered in his Cambridge dormitory room. The brothers join forces to investigate the two murders. Michael Page's reading adroitly captures the quiet atmosphere of Cambridge and the British countryside in 1914 alongside the climate of fear instilled in the students by the unsolved murder and the threat of coming war. Page's cadence and tone lend an excitement and grace to the story that improves upon the original plot. A.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
“SUSPENSEFUL, OFTEN HEARTBREAKING AND RIVETING . . . This is Perry’s probing, brooding landscape of the soul,
which she masters and makes her own.”
–Providence Journal

“Perry’s melancholy evocation of the ‘eternal afternoon’ that would soon turn to night all over England is lovely.”
–The New York Times Book Review

“[A] beautifully constructed book, the start of a new series of five novels about England’s favorite obsession, World War I.”
–Chicago Tribune


Review
PRAISE FOR ANNE PERRY AND HER VICTORIAN NOVELS

?Intelligently written and historically fascinating.?
?The Wall Street Journal

?You can count on a Perry tale to be superior.?
?The San Diego Union-Tribune

?[A] master of crime fiction who rarely fails to deliver a strong story and a colorful cast of characters.?
?The Baltimore Sun

The Reavley Chronicles


From the Hardcover edition.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
This novel kicks off a new suspense series by bestselling author Anne Perry, who puts to effective use her talent for detailing the fine historical minutiae but moves her period setting from Victorian London to Cambridge on the eve of World War I.

When peace-loving professor and chaplain Joseph Reavley and his intelligence officer brother, Matthew, investigate the sudden deaths of their parents, they discover that their father had been in possession of a document implicating the highest echelons of British society in a terrible act of treason. Obviously, with the country on the brink of war, this document threatens the security of Europe.

As the pacifist professor goes head-to-head with his soldier brother, Perry adds an extra twist to an already engaging, action-filled plot. An intriguing political thriller and a grounded whodunit peppered with jealous lovers, blackmail, and underhanded university dealings, No Graves as Yet weaves several story threads into a breathtaking climax. Here is a fascinating, triumphant first installment in what will undoubtedly become another enduring mystery series from Anne Perry. Tom Piccirilli

FROM THE PUBLISHER

On a sunny afternoon in late June, Cambridge professor Joseph Reavley is summoned from a student cricket match to learn that his parents have died in an automobile crash. Joseph's brother, Matthew, as officer in the Intelligence Service, reveals that their father had been en route to London to turn over to him a mysterious secret document - allegedly with the power to disgrace England forever and destroy the civilized world. A paper so damning that Joseph and Matthew dared mention it only to their restless younger sister. Now it has vanished.

What has happened to this explosive document, if indeed it ever existed? How had it fallen into the hands of their father, a quiet countryman? Not even Matthew, with his Intelligence connections, can answer these questions. And Joseph is soon burdened with a second tragedy: the shocking murder of his most gifted student, handsome Sebastian Allard, loved and admired by everyone. Or so it appeared.

Meanwhile, England's seamless peace is cracking - as the distance between the murder of an Austrian archduke by a Serbian anarchist and the death of a brilliant university student by a bullet to the head becomes shorter with each day.

SYNOPSIS

On a sunny afternoon in late June 1914, Cambridge professor Joseph Reavley learns that his parents have died in an automobile crash. Joseph’s brother, an officer in the Intelligence Service, reveals that their father had been en route to London with a mysterious secret document– allegedly possessing the power to disgrace England and destroy the civilized world. Now, that explosive paper has vanished, and Joseph is left to wonder: How had it fallen into the hands of his father, a quiet countryman? But Joseph is soon burdened with a second tragedy: the shocking murder of his most gifted student, who was loved and admired by everyone. Or so it appeared. And as England’s seamless peace begins to crack, the distance between the murder of an Austrian archduke and the death of a brilliant student grows shorter every day.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This absorbing mystery/spy thriller, set in tranquil Cambridge just before the onset of the Great War, marks a powerful start to bestseller Perry's much anticipated new series. In a lush and deceptively peaceful opening scene, college professor and chaplain Joseph Reavley is interrupted while watching a cricket game by his intelligence officer brother, Matthew, who reports the sudden death of their parents in a car crash. This horrifying news sets off a long but compelling investigation by the brothers that takes them across verdant summertime England, looking for a secret document that their father was trying to deliver to Matthew at the time of his death. Against a backdrop of ominous news from the continent, Perry artfully weaves connections between pacifist students at Cambridge, one of whom is also murdered, and German agents who may be planning "a conspiracy to ruin England and everything we stand for." The intrigue is further complicated by jilted lovers and jealous spouses at the university, all with grudges against an alleged blackmailer in their midst who may also be privy to exam cribbing and other illicit goings-on. Perry's title, a quotation from G.K. Chesterton, is a portent of the carnage that soon awaits the youth of England, yet by the final resolution of this gripping case, many graves have regrettably already been filled in Cambridge's serene churchyards. (Sept. 1) Forecast: For Perry fans concerned that her two long-running Victorian series have been losing steam, this fresh beginning, backed by a 12-city author tour, will renew their faith. Expect stronger than usual sales. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

This is the debut novel in Perry's projected five-book series about a British family during World War I. The family in question includes brothers Matthew and Joseph Reavley and sisters Judith and Hannah, whose parents are killed in a car accident when the book opens. Reavley pere had been on his way to deliver a document that purports to be of national importance. Matthew, a trusted employee in the Intelligence Service, can't quite believe that the document could really threaten Britain's honor. Meanwhile, Joseph, an ordained minister and teacher of classical languages at Cambridge, struggles with the senseless murder of his brilliant prot g . Set during the idyllic summer of 1914, No Graves as Yet portrays a world about to be torn apart by war. Fans of Perry's two Victorian mystery series featuring William Monk and Thomas Pitt will appreciate her deft touch with language, her intricate unfolding of events, and her clear examination of the foibles of human beings. Highly recommended for most fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/03.]-Laurel Bliss, Yale Arts Lib. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews