SHOULDER THE SKY 1915

Anne Perry takes a break from her bestselling mystery series about William and Hester Monk of Victorian England for a mystery set in the trenches and on the home front of WWI. The characterizations are finely wrought, and the depiction of trench life is gripping. The mystery, which uncovers a murderous high-placed traitor called "The Peacemaker," is over the top, but Michael Page's well-tuned narration keeps one listening with pleasure despite the author's flights of fancy. Who needs a believable story when you have an engaging narrator like Page? The subtle tension of his voice during the trench scenes and the lightening of tone away from the battlefield are terrific, the pacing is expert, and the vocal characterizations, from Oxford don to Yorkshire farmhand-soldier to smarmy, exploitive journalist, are perfect. A thoroughly satisfying listen. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 05]