Angels in the Gloom (World War One Series) [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Anne Perry (Author), Michael Page (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005 | Series: World War One Series (Book 3)

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 of the Battle of Somme. Scarcely less at risk, Matthew, an officer in England’s Secret Intelligence Service, fights the war covertly from London. Only Hannah, living with her young children in the old family home in tranquil Cambridgeshire, seems safe. Appearances, however, are deceiving. By the time Joseph returns home, rumors of spies and traitors are rampant in Cambridgeshire. And when the body of a savagely murdered 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 four siblings’ 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 a 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. Angels in the Gloom is a masterpiece, steeped in history and radiant with truth. It warms the heart even as it chills the blood.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This powerful and intense third novel in Perry's WWI series (after 2004's Shoulder the Sky) continues the Reavley family's anguished search for the "Peacemaker," a shadowy figure responsible for their parents' murders two years earlier, and now intent on Anglo-German world domination as a means toward world peace. After Chaplain Joseph Reavley is badly wounded in Flanders attempting to rescue fellow Brits under fire, he returns home to bucolic St. Giles for rehabilitation, but finds the village consumed by issues raised by the war. Perry's deeply held antiwar feelings are again apparent in this moving story in which "the searing scarlet of grief" destroys families of loved ones lost in the service, and the local vicar questions fundamental beliefs in the wake of mounting casualties. When Theo Blaine, a scientist working on a secret weapon to end the war, is mysteriously slain, the town is torn apart by fears of a spy in their midst. Joseph's brother, Matthew, an intelligence expert, must work with seductive Irish double agent Detta Hannassey to determine the extent of Germany's knowledge of Britain's war strategies, despite his revulsion for her duplicity. A climactic U-boat hunt and naval battle conclude this stirring work.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The third entry in Perry's World War I series moves from the horror of the trenches to the English countryside, where chaplain Joseph Reavley, wounded at the front, has returned to recuperate under his sister's Hannah's care. Still fresh is his grief for their parents, both killed by the mysterious Peacemaker, who, in the guise of seeking an end to the conflict, is sabotaging Britain's war effort. The murder of a scientist whose work might have ensured Allied success leads Joseph (and his brother, Matthew, who works for British intelligence) on a twisted trail that they hope will lead to the Peacemaker. As in previous books in this series and in her Victorian detective series, Perry creates a meticulously detailed backdrop, whether home front or frontlines, while leaving plenty of room for her characters to contemplate issues of honor, loyalty, and love: Will Joseph return to the front or minister to the bereft at home? Will Matthew's growing affection for Irish double agent Detta Hannassey interfere with his mission? The characters, familiar now after two books, grow stronger and richer here, as Perry illuminates the emotional and physical character of war and asks the inevitable question, At what cost peace? Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio Unabridged; Unabridged edition (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159355057X
• ISBN-13: 978-1593550578
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,087,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Perry, Anne

More About the Author

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best yet, November 6, 2005

By 

Tosca "bookaholic" (Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angels in the Gloom: A Novel (World War One Novels) (Hardcover)

I was a little surprised at the reviewer who thought that the quality of this series was not up to the Pitt and Wolf series. My opinion is that it's quite the opposite. I have enjoyed Perry's earlier works but considered them a little lightweight. This WWI series is anything but. I think the author wrestles admirably with some timeless issues - war, is it ever justified, at what cost? does God exist? if he/she does, what difference does it make? etc. I love the characters and have gotten great benefit out of the general philosophical debates. True, the 'mysteries' in this series are not terribly compelling (who is the Peacemaker? Who killed the scientist?), but that is such a tangential part of the series that I would not fault her for that. I am very much looking forward to the next installment. I think this represents the author's best effort yet.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arguably Perry's most ambitious work, October 28, 2005

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angels in the Gloom: A Novel (World War One Novels) (Hardcover)

Anne Perry continues even at this late date to mystify for all the right reasons. Not content to rest on the laurels of her two historical mystery series --- one featuring William Monk, the other concerning Charlotte and Thomas Pitt --- she introduced a third that has become known as the World War I novels. ANGELS IN THE GLOOM, the third of this fine series after NO GRAVES AS YET and SHOULDER THE SKY, continues the saga of the Reavley family, or specifically the Reavley siblings ---Joseph, Matthew, Judith and Hannah --- all of whom are involved in primary or secondary roles in the British military effort during the early days of World War I.

While these tales are primarily mysteries, Perry delves into war and romance as well. Indeed, Perry's powers of description are fully revealed in ANGELS IN THE GLOOM, as her descriptions of war on land and sea are so realistic and riveting that they almost overshadow the plotlines they support. The primary mystery in this series continues to revolve around a powerful, shadowy figure known as The Peacemaker, who is determined that the hostilities will end quickly, even if it means the ultimate subjugation of Great Britain to Germany. His machinations have already caused the death of the Reavleys' parents, giving them dual reasons --- revenge and patriotism --- for bringing his actions to an end.

In the meantime Joseph, on leave to home after sustaining grievous wounds on the front lines while pursuing his duties as a chaplain, finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery when Theo Blaine is found brutally murdered in his own backyard. Blaine had been instrumental in the creation and development of a new, top-secret weapon that is certain to turn the tide of the war in Britain's favor, and his death prior to the completion of the project is potentially a lethal blow not only to the weapon but also to the war effort. There is no lack of suspects for the murder --- everyone from a clandestine German spy to Blaine's own wife is under suspicion --- and Joseph soon finds that his role of priestly confessor makes him privy to a number of village secrets that he would rather not know. Joseph is also torn as to whether his duty lies in ministering to the needs of the village citizens reeling from their personal wartime losses, or whether he should resume his post on the front.

Meanwhile, Matthew pursues his own espionage, working uneasily with an attractive double agent to whom he is feeling an unwelcome but undeniable attraction, even as he knows that her ties to the enemy doom any involvement he might otherwise entertain. Hannah, Matthew and Joseph's sister, maintains a somewhat passive role, caring for Joseph as he recovers from his wounds while at the same time tending the home fires as her husband Archie is involved in Britain's naval effort.

If anyone in the family receives short shrift in ANGELS IN THE GLOOM, it is Judith, still performing the dangerous but important work of driving an ambulance in the thick of combat on the European front. Rather, the focus is on David, who finds that the fate of a family friend depends entirely on him, and Matthew, who in the heat of battle discovers at long last the identity of The Peacemaker and has the opportunity to avenge the wrong and heartbreak done to his family.

The World War I series is arguably Perry's most ambitious work, painted upon a broad canvas that encompasses wartime England, the European front, and the war-ravaged Atlantic where England's maritime supremacy is challenged and rises to meet its penultimate test. While The Peacemaker plot, which has been the thread connecting the first three novels of this series, is ultimately resolved in ANGELS IN THE GLOOM, Perry could certainly take the series in a number of other directions. If her fans have any say in the matter, her World War I series undoubtedly will live on.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent addition to series, February 20, 2006

By 

Anne M. Hunter "Anne Hunter" (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Angels in the Gloom: A Novel (World War One Novels) (Hardcover)

We get to know Hannah and Archie better, and have an excellent

murder mystery, along with a great sea battle. I couldn't put

the book down, and am distressed that I'll have to wait (a year?)

for the next one.