The Book
In this final book in her WWI series, Anne Perry takes us all the way to 11am on November 11, 1918, the end of The Great War. The Reavleys finally unmask the The Peacemaker. The book begins with Matthew Reavley getting a communication from The Peacemaker's German counterpart. This man, Manfred von Schenckendorff, is crossing in Ypres, where Matthew's brother Joseph is stationed because Matthew can travel there better. The goal is simple, get Schenckendorff out of Belgium and to London before the ceasefire so The Peacemaker cannot get his terms for the peace.
But once across the lines, Schenckendorff's evacation is seriously complicated when one of the nurses is found murdered. Nobody is allowed to leave. Two military police officers are dispatched to determine the culprit. Neither Schenkendorff nor Matthew are allowed to leave the encampment.
Meanwhile, the brave reporter Roger Mason, is struggling with his feelings for Judith. When he finds out about the murder he crosses through the battles until he gets to the front where Judith is serving. With rumors running rampant, he is afraid Judith was murdered. Judith meanwhile, is also struggling with her feelings for Mason. She knows he's in league with The Peacemaker and believes whole heartedly Mason is a traitor. She doesn't know how to fight both the attraction with her conviction.
And then Matthew is blamed for the nurse's death. Now the Reavleys must find out who killed the nurse or else they will never be able to stop The Peacemaker. And much to Joseph's horror, Lizzie Blaine, the widow of Theo Blaine has been sexually assaulted (off stage) and is now pregnant. Lizzie, in love with Joseph is afraid he will reject her, Joseph is only afraid he will not do his best by both Lizzie and her child.
Once Mason finds out the stakes, he readily agrees to help unmask The Peacemaker in order to finally have a just peace. Even if it means he is tried and executed for treason. Judith admires him for it and wishes she could do more. Matthew is cleared only to have the police accuse Schenckendorff. This is all the proof the Reavleys need to know The Peacemaker still has allies and is still manipulating things behind the scenes.
And The Peacemaker is.....(insert drumroll) Dermot Sandwell, the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
My Thoughts
Well, it took me until Book 4 to be certain it was Sandwell, but I did get there by the end of the last book, or about 80% of the way through the story arc. The worst/best part of the story arc is the dramatic irony. In this set of novels, Perry masters what subsequent generations forget, the past was once the present, with a set of fluid outcomes just as there are today. Each choice matters.
Perry's work shines the brightest when she sets up a moral dilemma in the center of the story. And while she does have a set of moral principles challenging her protagonists, I guess those of us on the other side of history from her protagonists can't help but root for The Peacemaker. We know the peace accords for WWI will be unjust, leading to the rise of Hitler. Given the horrible destruction of WWII, it is hard not to argue that The Peacemaker was correct and it would've said millions of lives.
For a series set in and shaped by WWI, no pages have been given to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. In fact, one could say it was the decline of the Ottoman Empire that set WWI in motion. WWI ended at least three empires, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. It dealt serious blows to French and English rule, but those loses would not compound for another twenty years. And one could argue that the current turmoil in the Middle East can be directly linked the causes and results of WWI. For an author worried about morality, there are no pages to be spared for the Muslims among the fighting and the universality of WWI. I think the series is lesser because of it.
How Much My Library Card Saved Me
This book came to me from McHenry Public Library. The library checkout card holder in the back of the book indicates this book entered their collection in May of 2007. The book was released in January of 2007. What this tells me as a former trustee is the following: Library budgets in my county run on a fiscal of July-June. Many directors underfund their collections during the "normal" budgeting process in order to have a cushion in case there is an emergency. When you get near the end of your fiscal year, the unspent portion of the budget gets freed up in waves, and librarians are allowed to spend on whatever they want to add to the collection. McHenry Public Library is fairly small, and at this time, relatively rural. I'll bet, given how popular Anne Perry's mysteries were, a librarian wanted to have a complete collection and this book was added as the first wave of money was freed for the remaining fiscal year. It's a guess, but that's how I know it worked in several of the libraries around here while I was serving.
This book is in really good condition for being nearly 20 years old. The spine is still aligned properly, the pages are free of markings and there are no dogears. The cover looks to be in really good condition. This book looks be read regularly enough to keep it in the collection, but not so frequently that it's falling apart. Nice.
The cover says it originally cost $21.95 so that's the number I will use.
This Book $21.95
Library Items Reviewed This Year $238.78
Private Books
This Book $0.00
Total of Private Books $55.75
Total of All Items Reviewed This Year $306.53
I am now a published author. You can pick up a *FREE COPY* of my novella The Big Intersection here.
The Book
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