The Vanishing of Dr Winter

Posie Parker Mystery #4

by L.B. Hathaway

Can the past really come back to haunt you?Cambridge, Christmas 1922

Posie Parker has cleared a space in her hectic schedule to try to unravel a tragedy in her own family. But Posie’s past is hiding around every turn in the old University town, and she finds herself taking on a new case which is positively teeming with ghosts, shadows and secrets, where nothing is quite what it seems.

In a quest to find out what happened to Dr William Winter, a brilliant Cambridge doctor who disappeared five years previously, Posie is forced to confront her own painful memories of the Great War.

But just how safe is it really to go digging up the past?

And will Posie get to spend Christmas this year with anything other than Mr Minks, the office cat and a lonely heart for company?

This is a classic Golden Age of Crime mystery which will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey. 'The Vanishing of Dr Winter' is the fourth book in the delightfully classic Posie Parker Mystery Series, although the novel can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story in its own right.

If you love an action-packed historical cozy crime with a feisty protagonist, download a sample or buy 'The Vanishing of Dr Winter' now.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Christmas, Historical

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2016

About the author

Cambridge-educated, British-born L.B. Hathaway writes historical fiction. She worked as a lawyer at Lincoln’s Inn in London for almost a decade before becoming a full-time writer. She brings her love of detective novels set in the Golden Age of Crime and an obsession with English history to her own writing.

The Posie Parker series of cosy crime novels span the 1920s. They each combine a core central mystery, an exploration of the reckless glamour of the age and a feisty protagonist who you would love to have as your best friend.

Her other interests, in no particular order, are: very fast downhill skiing, theatre-going, drinking strong tea, Tudor history, exploring castles and generally trying to cram as much into life as possible.

Reviews

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars -English Ebook 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Mystery, murder, a female detective around World war I and the twenties. I liked it and want to read more by this author. 🦋🌷⭐️🌹

[Voirrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to learn more of Posie's background and the plot was interesting.

But oh how Ms Hathaway annoys me with her assumptions about life in the 1920s - in the first couple of pages we have Posie buying chocolates by the kilo - when the shift from pounds and ounces only began, slowly, in the 1970s and 1980s, and chocolates were still being sold by the ounce in many places until it became mandatory for it, along with other foodstuffs sold loose, to be sold in grams in 2000.

Oh - and a ring where Posie describes the central sapphire as being the size of a penny - which in the 1920s, pre decimalisation, would have made it over an inch in diameter - actually 31mm, I know as I have just taken 30 seconds to look it up. And something tells me the writer was thinking of a current 1p piece - not even the first 1p piece which was between the two....

I don't think I can cope with any more of the series as the mistakes pull me out of the story over and over again.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a moving exploration of the many effects of the Great War on those who had served as doctors and nurses near the front lines. It’s not at all graphic but it explores trauma realistically and how that trauma affected people post-war. The ending is so brilliant. Wow, I did not see it coming, and I teared up. I think the ending brings the suffering from the war home especially brilliantly but with a hopeful note. I’m not sure Posie herself picks up on the hopeful note as much as I, the reader, did. But I can understand that from her perspective. Posie has some revelations from her own past too, and I enjoyed that thread in the story very much.

[Tanya Marlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of this cosy crime series, set in the 1920s. This one was a little different to the others -a missing person rather than a murder, and lots of flashbacks to the First World War. For me it was really interesting to think about how the First World War would have impacted the mood of the 1920s, and it was another great Posie Parker story, this time set in Cambridge. I love love love this series – check them all out – they’re so reasonably priced.

[MR PAUL FOSS · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story and generally very readable but I do wish Ms Hathaway's research stretched to slang. It is quite alarming to be presented suddenly with 21st century slang in a book set in a period nearly a hundred years ago. For example the slang usage of 'gutted' had a totally different meaning then - it meant you had no money.

The are several such inconsistencies.

No-one would send telegrams written as literature - they were expensive so any word not absolutely essential would be deleted. See telegraphese or telegramese

Classes of post - first and second - didn't arrive until late twentieth century. Until then it was all first class.

[Linda hindle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frustration

Read 4 books now . Won't be reading any more. Why posie has to keep saying " sure as bread is bread " at least once a chapter. Very irritating. Also why she calls everybody 'sir'
Even the baddies. Why do the stories always seem to be set in winter. Very disappointing

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the mystery and the historical fiction, once again Hathaway put my back up with the introduction of a touch of the supernatural.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars, I really enjoyed the interweaving of storylines and the connecting of them. I thought it was interesting that an entire year passed between the last book

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this cozy mystery to be the best of the Posey Parker books so far! My only problem is the author continues to make ‘fat women’ seem ugly and insignificant. This really bothers me.

[Sarah Zama · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vanishing of Dr Winter by L.B. Hathaway is the fourth instalment in the Posie Parker mystery series but it works perfectly also on its own. There is a sense of a bigger picture, since the cast of clearly recurring characters all have a history, which is moving and will probably bring some development in future instalments. Posie herself has an ongoing search for the truth about the mysterious sadness of her brother Richard before he left Cambringe for WWI. But all in all this one instalment dealing with Posie’s past on the French front sustains itself perfectly.

The story follows two different plots, the one about this one novel, regarding the disappearance of dr Winter during the war, and a separate one regarding Richard’s mysterious last years in Cambridge before he too left for war, where he lost his life. These are both interesting plots, though I think that Richard’s is a bit more involving, maybe because it’s more personal to Posie.
Dr Winter’s plot is straightforward enough and it presents a couple of repeated ideas that made the events a bit more predictable. But I still enjoyed both threads.

Richard’s thread then offers a supernatural twist at the end that I really never saw coming in a story that – though starting with discussion of ghosts – never seemed to go down that way. Still it didn’t jerk me because the overall atmosphere of the story was very ethereal, with a great working into the mood of that particular British winter atmosphere of rain and darkness and mist. I really like that, and I think it set out the possibility of a supernatural twist even if the story was not supernatural at all.

Overall, it was a very nice Christmas read. I found the recurring cast endearing. I think I’ll read more if I’ll have the chance.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another series that I am reading out of order but I did learn I already own book 1 so there is hope for me yet.

This is simply a fabulous book, not necessarily because of the mystery but because of the history. Set 4 years after the end of the "Great War" Posie Parker (Rosemary) is a PI working in London. When she travels to Oxford for a memorial service she encounters a woman who she served with at a casualty station in France in December of 1917. The woman has a case, and perhaps a ghost. Posie reluctantly accepts the case and starts investigating.

The book contains flash backs to life during wartime. It also slaps you in the face with the reality of the massive number of war dead and the ramifications of their deaths. In hind sight the amount of familial reaction seems excessive but it could be realistic. Posie lost her brother in the war and her father never recovered from the shock.

This was wonderful and the author shares her research in the appendix.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Posie is a delightful character and I love the series both for her and the settings, 1920s London. This one takes place near Christmas 1922, and has flashbacks to the great War during which the story has roots.

[Rachael Stoldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful read! I’m so glad there are so many so I can keep going. They make wonderful audio books. I listen while him doing chores or walking.

[Jodi Kauble · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[LadyS · Rating 1 out of 5]

The fourth Posie Parker mystery was mediocre at best, especially when compared to #3. Nevertheless, I don't regret reading this as i continue my cozy mystery tour

[Amanda Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is better but..

.. the irritation is still there because once again historical facts are being moved to suit the author.. they actually don't have any impact on the story so it appears that it's some kind of inbuilt issue she has with sticking to the facts. Unfortunately this then causes misinformation within the general public who will state it as fact because "I read it somewhere." As a living historian I spend much of my time trying to unpick these false beliefs.. there were no dogs on ambulance crews in the great war.. they started during WWII.

It gives nothing to the story to include it, it takes nothing away to miss it out.. in fact it ads to a novel when an era is captured accurately. So far every book has had issues like this and it doesn't significantly affect any of the stories.. so it appears to be a willful ignorance of the effects of misrepresenting an era.

It's not the made up ship, it's not the made up restaurant or hostel it's the altering the dates of significant events or actions.. she might as well have written a Tudor mystery with fingerprint evidence..

[Michelle Hartman · Rating 1 out of 5]

A fast moving cozy hardly worth the money that trade sizes require. Alas, the loss of paperbacks really makes you look at the worth of a book. The plot and setting were good, the writing itself leaves a lot to be desired. First, the alterative names Posie Parker, Felicity Fyne, are reminiscent of Stan Lee's, Peter Parker and Reed Richards. A comic book trick in an adult novel seems to stick out.

Second, the protagonist had a very limited vocabulary, using words like golly, which were too young for the character, and not very professional. And her "bread is bread" remark became redundant by the end of the book. In general, the writing was prosaic, with the same adjectives being used in two sentences in a row, and whole paragraphs with every sentence starting with the same word. Many words were jarring, and seemed out of sync with the times. For example near the end, Posie tells the blackmailer to stop "hassling" her victims. The word form hassling did not come into common usage until the 1940's according to Webster's.

There was never any real danger, and events seemed to fall synchronistically together. In summation the book was trite, and a waste of money.

[Ann Morrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but odd jarring notes

I have read and enjoyed the first four books in this series and overall I have found them to be interesting and factually correct, however there are these little jarring notes that jump out and grate.
I was always brought up with the saying ' as sure as eggs is eggs' and have never heard 'as sure as bread was bread' in any context before - perhaps it's an obscure regional thing. Other things that jarred was a character buying half a kilo of sweets which would never have happened in 1921 /22, and neither would anyone have mused that something was worth 62 pence they would have said 12 shillings and sixpence or possibly 5 shillings and tuppence if they meant old pennies. It's just seems like carelessness and spoils the flow of the story. I do like the explanations of places and values at the end which add to the story and puts it in context with the history of the time.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and a half stars. I really enjoyed this view into Posie Parkers past. The interplay between the Great War and its survivors and its victims, and the aftermath of the war was well done. Looking forward to the next in the series!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent addition to the Posie Parker series!
A lot of background information we didn't have before, including Posie's war years, and many twists and turns!
Highly recommend!

[Anna Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book.Really enjoyed this story.Srsly this would be a great TV show/movie !

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,35 stars- English Ebook

This is the fourth Posie Parker book. After breaking up with Len in the second book, and being alone in the office for the part of the third when she was in London, Len is back as a partner in their detective agency. Do now he’s married and has a baby he’s devoted to. They also have a full-time secretary-receptionist named Prudence, who’s something of a piece of work but useful enough to be worth her pay.

Posie is called in by an old acquaintance, though they’d been more enemies than friends when they worked together in a medical group during the Great War. Felicity Fyne had been the senior nurse for the group, and Posie had been an ambulance driver. Both had been lucky enough to be away from the medical tent when a German heavy shell hit it squarely and killed everyone else in the group. But Felicity had been at Cambridge for the funeral of Dr. Rolly, who had also been part of the group but had been assigned elsewhere before the disaster, and was sure she’d seen Dr. Winter, whom she’d been married to a couple of months before the disaster. And he was supposed to have been killed, although admittedly there weren’t enough remains left to be sure all the bodies had been properly identified. Guess everyone didn’t wear dog-tags then the way they did in Hitler’s War. At least, US soldiers did. So anyhow, Felicity wants Posie to see if she can find out whether she’d seen a ghost or if Dr. Winter had survived.

And so begins a very complicated tale. I enjoy this series; the prose is decent, the plots are complex, and I like the character of Posie and the other characters.

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical mystery is a well-written story with delightful characters. Posie Parker is a nurse during World War I. While on duty in Europe, she meets an interesting group of co-workers, including Dr Winter who is engaged to a nice girl. Suddenly, the doctor breaks off his engagement and rushes into marriage with a stunning nurse, Felicity, working with him.

There is an explosion, killing almost the entire medical team, but Posie is safe. She finds herself in the 1920s working now as a private detective. Felicity surprises her and hires her. Supposedly, Dr Winter was killed in the explosion, but Felicity swears she saw him recently. Also, she’s being blackmailed. She wants Posie to look into the supposed death of the doctor and to find out who is demanding money from her.

This sets the clever Posie on the trail. She doesn’t particularly like Felicity, and she wasn’t crazy about the doctor, but she’s a professional and gets to work.

Her adventures in England have Posie asking many questions as confusion builds, but her encounters are enlightening. At times, her life is in grave danger, and readers will wonder how she will get out of certain situations. Characters are easy to like or dislike in this tale, and details of place and time add much to the story. This is a good story with surprises that will keep a reader guessing.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in 1922, but for Posie Parker the case she was investigating plus other sundry connected events of personal nature, were rooted in the past... vital events and people she encountered during the Great War in Arras, France when (for a few eventful harrowing traumatic and tragic months in the midst of a war) she was a volunteer Red Cross ambulance driver. This had something to do with the proper identification of the casualties of war... lost or even forged records and 'mis~identities' (if there is even such a word) for those who wanted to disappear and/or start anew elsewhere incognito vis~á~vis the emotional trauma and lack of closure of loved ones who were looking for them. Written in last century's language as well as being Contemporary in some contexts for readability (as stated in her Author's Note) ergo, I can not complain, it was a fast interesting and engrossing read... even poignantly heart~warming as in the case of Harry Eden... I would read her books given the chance BUT I prefer stories set during the 18th century and/or those set in medieval times.

P.S. ~ Rosemary 'Posie' Parker is one relatable, endearing, smart and strong character... I Congratulate the author for bringing her into the world of Cozy Mysteries.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

As this tale of World War I tragedy and stolen identities plays out, Posie finds herself being required to play judge and jury for several people from her own past. During the war, Posie worked for some months as a Red Cross ambulance driver attached to a mobile field hospital near Arras. By the time the hostel is hit by a shell, however, she is home nursing her own father, who is crushed by the death of her brother Richard, his only son. So when Posie's colleagues are all presumably killed in the bombing, she mourns, but does not question the reports. Now, five years later, three people from that past reappear. One is a blackmailer and two are living under false identities. Two are drawing War Department survivors' checks. When one of the three hires Posie to discover if her husband is actually still alive, Posie must decide what to tell her client and how to untangle the web of misunderstandings and desperation caused by the circumstances of war and its aftermath. Cambridge and its environs are the setting for much of this tale.

[Cathy G · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the heck is going on, I loved this book. Posie is wondering what is going on with her relationship with Aleric. She is out doing some Christmas shopping when a face from the past is back to haunt her, and not in a happy way. A past acquaintance needs her help and is not very nice about it. Felicity Fyne was the head sister when Posie was driving ambulance during the Great War. Felicity believes she has seen a ghost, to be exact the ghost of her dead husband. Now she is being blackmailed for taking a widows pension because this person said Dr. Winter is still alive. She wants Posie to find him. It is believed the Dr. William Winter was killed in a bombing during the war, was he really? Although Posie did not like Felicity or the Dr, her curiosity is on high alert. Along with this issue, she also got a letter saying her brother Richard left something behind before he was killed in the war too.
Now she has two puzzles to solve. One will be a real eye opener and quite sad at the same time. Regarding the other issue well there will many revelations.

[Bobbiann Markle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting; I like WWI stories and I was glad to see that Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth (an excellent memoir) was suggested for further reading.

But such a strange lack of editing! A page-long telegram and another somewhat chatty one; court-marshalled (should be court-martialled); "sure as bread is bread" about three times in chapter 4 and several times thereafter; at sunrise "the sun burned angrily at it's very centre": how can the sun be at the centre of the sky at sunrise?; the oxymoron "almost exactly" is used a couple times; gunnels instead of gunwales (although I realize this spelling is becoming more accepted); an 8- or 9-year-old child calls Posy a "funny lady" for no apparent reason--this seems rather rude; Inspector Oats assumes the blackmailer is a "she" although Posy didn't say so; two people begin sentences with "Mnnn" on the same page but never again in the whole book; Posy's father, Dr. Winters' mother, and Helena's mother all have strokes or something upon hearing terrible news; and I have no idea what is silver-lacked holly and mistletoe.

[moxieBK · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Vanishing of Dr. Winter (Posie Parker Mystery # 4)— L.B. Hathaway/Narrator: Clare Wille (dated chapters of 4 titled parts + titled Epilogue) March 21, 2023

While her relationship becomes strained with Alaric, Posie is approached by a former nemesis from the Great War; she swears she has seen her dead husband, or was it a ghost?

This is a great story in that it fills in the background of Posie and her work in the Great War and of the tings that happened that forever changed her life.

She also is on a quest to find out what happened to her dear brother who was killed on a mission.

Wonderful backstory and development of Posie’s character. I really enjoyed this story.

I listened to this a 2.0 speed and the wonderful Clare Wille’s narrative voice was not distorted at all. There was a little bit or paranormal in this story. I will be interested to see if this continues going forward.

Five stars.

[E. C. Ecchor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m of a mixed mind on this one. It wasn’t terribly written, but… Posie seems a bit of an idiot even though she’s also clever, the story was a bit too predictable despite being wild (how many dead/ghost/fake identities can one book have???), and… I don’t know. It didn’t rub me quite right.

I’ve gone back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, but I landed on 4 because it was a decent fun little romp and delivered more or less on my expectations for it. I think it’ll fit for those interested in a 1920s “holiday” cozy mystery that isn’t heavily Christmas themed.

There’s a lot of post-WWI, flashbacks, and mentions of people serving in the war, largely as nurses, which was an interesting aspect that I enjoyed.

I don’t think I’ll seek out any more of these, but if I come across one I probably wouldn’t just pass on it.

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty neat historical crime novel with a female lead set around WWI with solid reflections on the personal cost of the war on people's lives. BUT wtf is up with all the fat shaming and references to women's weight sprinkled all through the book? Also she finds out that the mother of her dead brother's son is in an abusive relationship where her husband hits her and doesn't even have a conversation with the woman (who has money of her own and is wealthy btw) about getting away from the a-hole who hits her let alone tries to do something about it? Whaaat? Isn't the whole point of a historical crime novel written nowadays to have female characters that are less flat than the ones written at the beginning of 20th century?