Fans of Anne Perry know her as an amazingly prolific mystery writer. Anne Perry specializes in historical murder mystery novels. The best selling murder mystery writer has four successful series published. Her mysteries are set in England, usually in the Victorian era.
"At Some Disputed Barricade" is the fourth book of her World War I mystery series. The books in the series include: No Graves as Yet, Angels in the Gloom, Shoulder in the Sky and At Some Disputed Barricade.
The murder mystery follows four grown siblings, as they experience the effects of World War I, with an interconnecting storyline. The siblings are Hannah, Judith, Joseph and Matthew. Hannah is a homemaker and is barely mentioned in this book. Matthew is involved in intelligence work in the city. Joseph is an educated man, who is serving as chaplain the front lines, Judith is an ambulance driver behind the front lines.
Most of the storyline in this murder mystery takes place behind the front lines of a battlefield, at some disputed barricade.
The stories of the siblings intertwine, as they struggle to find justice in the world. Their parents had been murdered in the first book of the series. They have reason to believe that a person called "The Peacemaker" is responsible for the death of their parents. They don't know who this shadowy figure is, but know he is highly placed in influential circles. Peacemaker is on a mission to end the war, even sabotaging his own countrymen to do so. Matthew is in intelligence, diligently looking to discover the identity of the saboteur.
Meanwhile, on the front lines, the incompetent son of a general is given command of the mililtlary regiment that Joseph is a chaplain with. The pompous officer is found dead, leading to a murder investigation that Joseph is put in charge of. The general is desperate to see justice for the murder of his son. Joseph is assigned the responsibility of learning what really happened and of defending the innocent.
The story is gritty, and full of dark and sinister characters. The murder myster is solved, but the bigger mystery of the identity The Peacemaker is left be solved in future books.
Anne Perry writes about characters who have dark, hidden,. secret inner motives. She has astute insight into the motivations of the criminal mind and is a superb story teller. The story lines are captivating. Picking up an Anne Perry book is like visiting old friends. The characters become fleshed out over time, as the protagonist's stories are gradually revealed while they solve crimes. The main characters change and evolve over time, just as people do in real life.
The historical era is meticulously researched, so that the reader feels that they have stepped back into another time and place. Anne Perry uses great descriptive detail as she paints a word picture that transports the reader to a different era.
Anne Perry is best known for her Victorian era mysteries. Her Victorian series featuring William Monk has fourteen published books. Her series featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt consists of 24 published works. She also has a series of Christmas novels with four published books.
Each series is best experience by starting from the first book of the series and following the storyline from start to finish.
Resources:
"At Some Disputed Barricade" by Anne Perry, published by Ballantine Books
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