Angels in the Gloom, Anne Perry
The Book
The Reavley siblings are still after The Peacemaker in this third book of Anne Perry's WWI series. Oldest son, Dr. Rev. Joseph Reavley has been injured while carrying a soldier back behind the line of war. His arm is severely injured, but skilled surgeons manage to save it. He is rushed home, hurting, and put in a hospital outside of his hometown. A few days later, with casualties mounting he's sent home to St. Giles to recover. His sister Hannah is there, holding down the family home, while husband, Archie, is at sea, commanding the Cormorant.
Once home, Joseph get reacquainted with one his father's friends, Shanley Corcoran, the head of a scientific unit dedicated to bringing about the next big thing in naval warfare. They are oh-so-close to a breakthrough when a brilliant young researcher, Theo Blaine is murdered. The local vicar is in over his head, so John agrees to go and comfort the widow.
At Lizzie Blaine's John realizes this might be a domestic tragedy, as neither Lizzie nor Theo were faithful to their marriage vows. Inspector Perth, the same man in charge of solving Joseph's student Sebastian's murder, certainly believes jealousy could be the motive. But Perth confides to John, he thinks it might have been something else and he might not be able to solve the murder if there's a national security angle. Perth asks Joseph to bring in his brother Matthew.
Matthew, is busy chasing The Peacemaker and cannot be spared. He is being chased by Bernadetta Hannassey, the daughter of Irish independence fighter, Patrick Hannassey. They both know the other is a spy, so the game is to only let the truths they want out and believe the other is lying. As the game winds on, Matthew becomes convinced the Peacemaker is Patrick Hannassey.
When Corcoran's promised breakthrough fails, Matthew's boss decides to use the failure to flush out The Peacemaker. Matthew is assigned to Archie's ship. While they are at sea, the ship comes under attack, and Patrick goes to disable the equipment. Matthew follows, to catch The Peacemaker once and for all, but the ship is sinking fast. Will Archie and Matthew return home to St. Giles where they belong? And will Matthew figure out Patrick was The Peacemaker's patsy?
My Thoughts
Two more books to go in this series. I have many sympathies with The Peacemaker, even if his identity is the central, over arching mystery of this book. One by one, Perry has been eliminating the suspects who might be The Peacemaker. They were: John Reavley best friend, Shanley Corcoran; John Reavley's counterpart from Germany Count van Haart or his good friend Lord Granville; Joseph Reavley's mentor, Dr. Aiden Thyer, and Matthew Reavley's boss, Sheldon Thorne.
The Count and Corcoran have been eliminated as of this book, leaving Thorne, Thyer, and Lord Granville. Of these, Granville seems the most likely. He's receded enough in the narrative of the last couple of books to make his seeming elimination in book one, a red herring. Thorne seems too obvious and Thyer likely doesn't have enough access. We will know in two books.
How Much My Library Card Saved Mer
This hardcover large print edition came from my own library. It seems to be in nearly unread condition. There were no markings nor damage in the book when I got it. On the large print there is no indication as to how much the book originally cost. And I don't know if this is one of the "library only" editions, meaning the hardcover large prints were not widely distributed to bookstores. That happens, as libraries perfer hardcovers for their longevity. But since it was the only book I picked up, I do know how much my library card is credited with saving me. $31.95, and that's the number I will use.
I picked it up Feburary 3, 2026 and just over a week later the library shut down for a month to replace the carpets. Fun times. As a result, I have not been able to order books. It's a good thing I have a stack at home to read. But it's been a pain in the tushie for the library to be shut down all of these weeks. My understanding is the carpeting was finished on Monday, March 2, but they still needed a week to air out the building because of how toxic the glue was. What's worse, because they had not anticipated shutting down, I will now struggle to get all of the books I need in order to keep this blog from going uninterrupted. So, if I miss a week, dear readers, I'm sorry.
This Book $31.95
Library Items Reviewed This Year $128.89
Private Books
This Book $00.00
Total of Private Books $52.75
Total of All Items Reviewed This Year $193.64
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