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Laurence Bartram #1
The Return of Captain John Emmett
1920. The Great War has been over for two years, and it has left a very different world from the Edwardian certainties of 1914.
Following the death of his wife and baby and his experiences on the Western Front, Laurence Bartram has become something of a recluse. Yet death and the aftermath of the conflict continue to cast a pall over peacetime England, and when a young woman he once knew persuades him to look into events that apparently led her brother, John Emmett, to kill himself, Laurence is forced to revisit the darkest parts of the war. As Laurence unravels the connections between Captain Emmett's suicide, a group of war poets, a bitter regimental feud and a hidden love affair, more disquieting deaths are exposed. Even at the moment Laurence begins to live again, it dawns on him that nothing is as it seems, and that even those closest to him have their secrets . . .
Following the death of his wife and baby and his experiences on the Western Front, Laurence Bartram has become something of a recluse. Yet death and the aftermath of the conflict continue to cast a pall over peacetime England, and when a young woman he once knew persuades him to look into events that apparently led her brother, John Emmett, to kill himself, Laurence is forced to revisit the darkest parts of the war. As Laurence unravels the connections between Captain Emmett's suicide, a group of war poets, a bitter regimental feud and a hidden love affair, more disquieting deaths are exposed. Even at the moment Laurence begins to live again, it dawns on him that nothing is as it seems, and that even those closest to him have their secrets . . .
442 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2010
208 people are currently reading
2974 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Speller
15 books121 followersElizabeth Speller is a poet and author of four non-fiction books including a biography of Emperor Hadrian, companion guides to Rome and to Athens, and a memoir, Sunlight on the Garden. She has contributed to publications as varied as the Financial Times, Big Issue and Vogue and produced the libretto for a requiem for Linda McCartney, Farewell, composed by Michael Berkeley (OUP). She currently has a Royal Literary Fund Fellowship at Warwick and divides her life between Gloucestershire and Greece. She was a prize-winner in both the Ledbury and Bridport poetry competitions in 2008, and her poem, 'Finistere' was shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize in 2009. More profitably she is also a ghost blogger.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 556 reviews
February 6, 2024
When Captain John Emmett returns home to England from serving in World War I he is a changed man. This happens to many returning soldiers...especially to those who volunteer thinking that it will be an "adventure" and something like the revered poems about battle. But shellshock is real and so are the atrocities seen or experienced. Emmett is a man with a damaged psyche.
Mary, John's sister, implores a friend from childhood-Laurence Bastram-to find out what happened to John in France. Little does Mary know that Laurence deals with his own demons related to the war. He's not a private detective; Laurence just wants to help a desperate sister put her mind at ease. Laurence agrees and begins to follow the threads of John's life since he knew him as a youngster in school together.
This was a good story that pulled you in and kept you wondering where the mysterious path would lead. I never suspected the major twist in this story. However, the book could have benefited from a little bit more editing in my view. But I did enjoy it and rounded my rating from 3.5 stars to 4.
NOTE: I would be remiss if I didn't share my "kudos" to Gershwyn/Goodreads. For some reason, there was a glitch when I tried to rate and review this book on Feb 4th..thus the delay in posting until today. With Gershwyn's speedy attention and fine work this issue was quickly resolved. Thank you, Gershwyn!!:)
Mary, John's sister, implores a friend from childhood-Laurence Bastram-to find out what happened to John in France. Little does Mary know that Laurence deals with his own demons related to the war. He's not a private detective; Laurence just wants to help a desperate sister put her mind at ease. Laurence agrees and begins to follow the threads of John's life since he knew him as a youngster in school together.
This was a good story that pulled you in and kept you wondering where the mysterious path would lead. I never suspected the major twist in this story. However, the book could have benefited from a little bit more editing in my view. But I did enjoy it and rounded my rating from 3.5 stars to 4.
NOTE: I would be remiss if I didn't share my "kudos" to Gershwyn/Goodreads. For some reason, there was a glitch when I tried to rate and review this book on Feb 4th..thus the delay in posting until today. With Gershwyn's speedy attention and fine work this issue was quickly resolved. Thank you, Gershwyn!!:)
May 4, 2012
This book feels so much of the time about which it is written, the years immediately after World War I, in an England trying to deal with the terrible loss of so many young men as well as the wounding and continuing suffering of so many others. The story involves the circumstances surrounding the death of a troubled war veteran who had been hospitalized with a question of "nerves". Why would he have killed himself? The family wants to know. They turn to another former soldier, himself with mental scars, to help find answers.
The novel unwinds a lengthy story of relationships, loyalties, coincidences, injuries, all told in a manner that feels as if it was written at the time. I recommend it for those who relish a story that is told slowly in detail, where there is no rush to the ending but an obvious pleasure in the exposition. It is a mystery, yes, but it is more a post war novel of England.
Addendum: After reading the afterword by the author I have to compliment her bibliography with titles related to World War I, shell shock, poets of that war, post war tribunals. I find that period and the historical fiction around it very compelling. I believe I will delve into some of her sources that hopefully are available in the U.S.
The novel unwinds a lengthy story of relationships, loyalties, coincidences, injuries, all told in a manner that feels as if it was written at the time. I recommend it for those who relish a story that is told slowly in detail, where there is no rush to the ending but an obvious pleasure in the exposition. It is a mystery, yes, but it is more a post war novel of England.
Addendum: After reading the afterword by the author I have to compliment her bibliography with titles related to World War I, shell shock, poets of that war, post war tribunals. I find that period and the historical fiction around it very compelling. I believe I will delve into some of her sources that hopefully are available in the U.S.
July 13, 2011
Ah...The Return of Captain John Emmett...it's a little bit Maisie Dobbs a little bit Ian Rutledge, a little bit Regeneration triliogy with a dash of the for God and country innocence and awakening of R.F. Delderfield. It has an intriguing start followed by weak plotting but I still enjoyed it very much. It's not trashy at all so it doesn't count as guilty pleasure but I am a bit stymied by how much I liked it given what a pedestrian novel it is.
Captain Emmett has managed to survive World War One. He left to fight a brilliant scholar, friend to the downtrodden, loving to his family and loyal to England young man. Four years later he was a moody, occasionally violent lost soul. In an effort to help him recover from the catch-all diagnosis of being shell shocked his mother and sister place him in one of many institutions now overrun with soldiers needing help. It doesn't work. Emmett seems to be getting better and then...
Then I stop giving away storyline info because this a mystery and discover is all. Suffice to say that sister asks for help from an old school chum of Emmett's, things get complicated, things get dangerous and things get sorted out. It's a mystery. It follows the same patterns that mysteries follow.
So why did I like this book? You know I'm going to go with atmosphere, characterizations and back-story. The novel begins after the war and travels back forth from happier times to the trenches to 1920. The author, Elizabeth Speller, hits the right notes for each of those three distinct moments in time. Each is so different from the other and each carries their own highs and lows.
Right from the start Speller gives us enough believable background on the main characters lives prior to the war to whet your appetite but not enough to make the novel's (pretty mild) revelations pointless. There's a little happy, a lot of promise and then terrible losses as the war begins for these characters as there was for everyone in 1914 and after. Their appeal and my sympathy married up to make this read very enjoyable.
While The Return of Captain John Emmett is just published here in the U.S. it already has a sequel out in Great Britain. If the Captain does well enough over here for the publisher to bring out the sequel as well will I read it? Yes, I will.
Captain Emmett has managed to survive World War One. He left to fight a brilliant scholar, friend to the downtrodden, loving to his family and loyal to England young man. Four years later he was a moody, occasionally violent lost soul. In an effort to help him recover from the catch-all diagnosis of being shell shocked his mother and sister place him in one of many institutions now overrun with soldiers needing help. It doesn't work. Emmett seems to be getting better and then...
Then I stop giving away storyline info because this a mystery and discover is all. Suffice to say that sister asks for help from an old school chum of Emmett's, things get complicated, things get dangerous and things get sorted out. It's a mystery. It follows the same patterns that mysteries follow.
So why did I like this book? You know I'm going to go with atmosphere, characterizations and back-story. The novel begins after the war and travels back forth from happier times to the trenches to 1920. The author, Elizabeth Speller, hits the right notes for each of those three distinct moments in time. Each is so different from the other and each carries their own highs and lows.
Right from the start Speller gives us enough believable background on the main characters lives prior to the war to whet your appetite but not enough to make the novel's (pretty mild) revelations pointless. There's a little happy, a lot of promise and then terrible losses as the war begins for these characters as there was for everyone in 1914 and after. Their appeal and my sympathy married up to make this read very enjoyable.
While The Return of Captain John Emmett is just published here in the U.S. it already has a sequel out in Great Britain. If the Captain does well enough over here for the publisher to bring out the sequel as well will I read it? Yes, I will.
December 4, 2010
“In years to come, Laurence Bartram would look back and think that the event that really changed his life was not the war or the attack at Rosières, nor even the loss of his wife, but the return of Captain John Emmett …”
Laurence Bartram is one of many whose lives were changed forever by the Great War. He endured the horrors of the Western Front, but he lost his wife in childbirth.
After the war he had no need to work and no purpose. He became reclusive, staying at home, writing a book that he knew he would never finish.
But then he received a letter from somebody that he remembered well, even though he hadn’t seen her for years: Mary, the sister of his school-friend, John Emmett.
Why, she wonders, did her brother survive the war only to kill himself?
Can Lawrence, the only friend her brother ever brought home from school, help her to understand?
Laurence is drawn to Mary and he accepts her commission. It leads him into a complex mystery, and involving – without giving too much away – the nursing home where Emmett was a patient, a group of war poets, and a horrific wartime incident.
The mystery is clever and well structured, but it is rather too reliant on coincidences. And one or two things felt rather contrived. But I could forgive this book those failings. The important things are in it favour.
The story revealed was so powerful, and had so much to say about the strengths and weaknesses of humanity, the burden of knowledge, the horrors of war, and the iniquities of the class system.
Elizabeth Speller’s write beautifully and is a fine storyteller. She has clearly done her research and, through the testimony of her characters, time, place and emotions come to life so vividly.
Those characters, lightly sketched, have faded from my mind, but their stories and their emotions have stayed with me.
And those stories and emotions speak not just for those characters but for a generation.
This is a wonderful debut novel, and Elizabeth Speller is definitely an author to watch.
Laurence Bartram is one of many whose lives were changed forever by the Great War. He endured the horrors of the Western Front, but he lost his wife in childbirth.
After the war he had no need to work and no purpose. He became reclusive, staying at home, writing a book that he knew he would never finish.
But then he received a letter from somebody that he remembered well, even though he hadn’t seen her for years: Mary, the sister of his school-friend, John Emmett.
Why, she wonders, did her brother survive the war only to kill himself?
Can Lawrence, the only friend her brother ever brought home from school, help her to understand?
Laurence is drawn to Mary and he accepts her commission. It leads him into a complex mystery, and involving – without giving too much away – the nursing home where Emmett was a patient, a group of war poets, and a horrific wartime incident.
The mystery is clever and well structured, but it is rather too reliant on coincidences. And one or two things felt rather contrived. But I could forgive this book those failings. The important things are in it favour.
The story revealed was so powerful, and had so much to say about the strengths and weaknesses of humanity, the burden of knowledge, the horrors of war, and the iniquities of the class system.
Elizabeth Speller’s write beautifully and is a fine storyteller. She has clearly done her research and, through the testimony of her characters, time, place and emotions come to life so vividly.
Those characters, lightly sketched, have faded from my mind, but their stories and their emotions have stayed with me.
And those stories and emotions speak not just for those characters but for a generation.
This is a wonderful debut novel, and Elizabeth Speller is definitely an author to watch.
Read
October 18, 2011This enjoyable read is now fading from my memory and I fear I’ll no longer be able to do it justice in a review. It’s not flawless in terms of plot - there are, I think, just too many threads woven into the mystery, and certainly too many coincidental meetings and connections—especially the climactic appearance of the One Who Dunnit at exactly the right (or wrong?) moment. And then there seemed to be an editorial error as he greeted the protagonist not by his own name but by someone else’s!
But I thought that the time and setting and construction, and indeed the tone of the narrative, were beautifully executed. It felt like a 1920s novel to me - it also felt like a man’s novel, which of course it’s meant to be. I liked it that I didn’t figure out it was going to be a mystery until I was about 100 pages into it. I loved all the evocative trysts - the punting outing, the Vale of the White Horse, Mary appearing in the rain or in a tea room or on a railway platform - and the way the references to “modern” culture and inventions were effortlessly woven into the narrative as if they were (as they should be) part of the fabric of the protagonist’s life.
And although there is some disagreement in my book group on this particular topic, I thought that the issue of shell shock and the descriptions of trench warfare were very well handled - OK, it wasn’t Regeneration or All Quiet on the Western Front , but then, our hero wasn’t actually in an institution or the trenches during the narrative.
I also feel that, because it was a book group book and I had a deadline, I read it too fast. I lost track of the dozen or so different key dead characters, half of whom were going by different names, and quite a few of the living ones as well. And I didn’t get to wallow in the period detail as much as I’d have liked.
May 6, 2022
3.5 ⭐ = Quite Good.
At the beginning, I would have perhaps rated this as two stars. This certainly improved as I read further.
A very unusual storyline and I haven't read anything similar before.
Not a book that I think you can pick up and put down easily as quite complex at times(many names). I needed to immerse myself for half an hour at least, each time I read.
Maybe this could have been condensed a little. A fairly lengthy read.
At the beginning, I would have perhaps rated this as two stars. This certainly improved as I read further.
A very unusual storyline and I haven't read anything similar before.
Not a book that I think you can pick up and put down easily as quite complex at times(many names). I needed to immerse myself for half an hour at least, each time I read.
Maybe this could have been condensed a little. A fairly lengthy read.
July 23, 2014
Excellent historical fiction with a mystery tinge; taking place several years after the end of the Great War and dealing with the effects on it on various characters, both survivors and families of dead soldiers.
The storyline seems simple: Laurence Bartram who returned whole physically but crushed mentally from the war, though not because of the events he participated in but because of tragedy home, is approached by the young sister of his best school friend John Emmett who took a semi-orphan Laurence (his much older sister living in India with her family, Laurence was left in care of a distant aunt and public schools after the the death of his parents) to his home on vacations and for which he remained always grateful; later their paths diverged in college so Laurence has no clue that John returned whole physically but crushed mentally from the war because of some things he witnessed and did (or could not do) and later after going to a mental care institution to avoid jail due to some violent acts, committed suicide while leaving 3 strange bequests.
Mary the younger sister never understood John who always seemed estranged from her and her mother, so she turns to Laurence to try and help make sense of John's end.
And so it starts and as expected there are a lot of secrets and twists that are uncovered and I have to say that I could not put down this book until I finished it, so engrossing it was.
While not yet at the level of Iain Pears or Kate Morton in complexity - to which this book deserves comparison nonetheless - the author did a superb job in her world building - or atmospheric recreation if you wish - and constructed some memorable characters, most notably the dead man himself, John Emmett who is the linchpin of the story.
Excellent and highly recommended, while a pretty big positive surprise for me
The storyline seems simple: Laurence Bartram who returned whole physically but crushed mentally from the war, though not because of the events he participated in but because of tragedy home, is approached by the young sister of his best school friend John Emmett who took a semi-orphan Laurence (his much older sister living in India with her family, Laurence was left in care of a distant aunt and public schools after the the death of his parents) to his home on vacations and for which he remained always grateful; later their paths diverged in college so Laurence has no clue that John returned whole physically but crushed mentally from the war because of some things he witnessed and did (or could not do) and later after going to a mental care institution to avoid jail due to some violent acts, committed suicide while leaving 3 strange bequests.
Mary the younger sister never understood John who always seemed estranged from her and her mother, so she turns to Laurence to try and help make sense of John's end.
And so it starts and as expected there are a lot of secrets and twists that are uncovered and I have to say that I could not put down this book until I finished it, so engrossing it was.
While not yet at the level of Iain Pears or Kate Morton in complexity - to which this book deserves comparison nonetheless - the author did a superb job in her world building - or atmospheric recreation if you wish - and constructed some memorable characters, most notably the dead man himself, John Emmett who is the linchpin of the story.
Excellent and highly recommended, while a pretty big positive surprise for me
October 14, 2021
Mixed reactions.
A fine story, a strong premise, and a well-raveled mystery (though not, I suspect, fully plotted out by Speller in advance of writing - not all details align). My principle complaint is the passive protagonist - the story seems to happen around him, at times to advance in spite of him, thanks to every other character in the book having inner drive and motivation and ultimately being more interesting than "our hero." The side characters carry the show, while the main character is sort of just vaguely there, gumshoeing because he literally hasn't got anything better to do, feels vaguely beholden to the bereaved family, and entertains vague hopes of involving himself romantically with the dead man's sister. Historical setting felt solid; thematic subject is, unfortunately, still timely. Nicely written, yet only half-compelling.
A fine story, a strong premise, and a well-raveled mystery (though not, I suspect, fully plotted out by Speller in advance of writing - not all details align). My principle complaint is the passive protagonist - the story seems to happen around him, at times to advance in spite of him, thanks to every other character in the book having inner drive and motivation and ultimately being more interesting than "our hero." The side characters carry the show, while the main character is sort of just vaguely there, gumshoeing because he literally hasn't got anything better to do, feels vaguely beholden to the bereaved family, and entertains vague hopes of involving himself romantically with the dead man's sister. Historical setting felt solid; thematic subject is, unfortunately, still timely. Nicely written, yet only half-compelling.
May 10, 2011
I really enjoyed reading this book, and it was heading for four stars until I got to chapter 36, when it abruptly dropped at least half a star. "The new Birdsong -- only better" claims a quote from The Independent on the cover. Ridiculous. Of course they address many of the same themes, but this book is completely different from Birdsong and can't sensibly be compared with it.
But it won't put me off reading more of Elizabeth Speller's work. She's an excellent writer with a talent for vivid scene-setting, and I loved her memoir The Sunlight on the Garden. I think she's destined for success. So I'll be putting The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton on my wishlist.
But it won't put me off reading more of Elizabeth Speller's work. She's an excellent writer with a talent for vivid scene-setting, and I loved her memoir The Sunlight on the Garden. I think she's destined for success. So I'll be putting The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton on my wishlist.
March 27, 2017
In the aftermath of WWI, Mary Emmett asks Laurence Bartram to investigate the apparent suicide of her brother John. Impelled by an old attraction towards Mary, and the boredom of his current life, Laurence finds himself delving deeply into a series of unexplained incidents during the war and the conduct of those running a home for soldiers affected by the stress of combat. In doing this, he uncovers hidden secrets and becomes aware of how little he knew about the man who was once his school friend.
This is a compelling mystery where the horrors of the war and its aftermath underpin the actions and motives of all the main characters. There is a sense of loss, that everyone has been damaged in some way by the conflict, whether or not they are combatants. The characters are skilfully and sympathetically developed, and the tragic events that unfold are truly horrifying, yet completely realistic and understandable. The plot unfolds at a steady pace, although the denouement takes place rather soon, and there are enough twists to keep the reader engrossed to the end.
This is a compelling mystery where the horrors of the war and its aftermath underpin the actions and motives of all the main characters. There is a sense of loss, that everyone has been damaged in some way by the conflict, whether or not they are combatants. The characters are skilfully and sympathetically developed, and the tragic events that unfold are truly horrifying, yet completely realistic and understandable. The plot unfolds at a steady pace, although the denouement takes place rather soon, and there are enough twists to keep the reader engrossed to the end.
January 23, 2013
Having listed this book initially as two-star, I have since degraded it to one. The only reason I finished it was because of my determination to get through my book challenge.
There were parts that I liked, Speller has a lovely way of recreating the world as it was left after the devastation of the first world war and I loved learning about things that I hadn't known had happened during the war, however I still feel like I don't quite know what the book was about.
First of all, something that is very important to me as a literature student is for a book to read fluently with no grammar/spelling or punctuation mistakes. When you're living with your characters in a world outside your own, mistakes or difficulties in the text bring you violently back into the real world. Whilst there were no major errors, the use of ''he should of'' instead of ''should have'' got on my nerves increasingly throughout the novel. Although this was in speech, so could be put down to the accent of the character, it wasn't consistent, ''of'' and ''have'' being used interchangeably.
Second of all, the way that some sentences were worded meant that I repeatedly had to re-read parts before understanding what they said. I know that in English our use of ''his'' is rather ambiguous, with ''he kissed his wife'' implying two very different scenarios for example, but the text just wasn't clear enough about certain things to the extent that I often wasn't sure who was talking until something was said that linked back to the character. Additionally, having said that I loved learning things about the war, there was a certain degree of assumption that the reader would know certain terminology or recall certain events, which were mentioned all too often with no explanation of what they meant or what significance they held.
Finally, I just didn't feel gripped by the story. I wasn't on the edge of my seat. I expected a huge twist, for the murder mystery to not be a murder, or for the least expected character to emerge as the villain. However, it was rather disappointing when the antagonist was finally revealed. It didn't come as a shock. Granted, it wasn't someone that I had suspected, but it was such a weak part of the story that I was happy to get to the end and didn't even bother to read the epilogue or afterword.
I think it was nicely written, but not feeling any connection to any of the characters held me back from really getting involved in the story. Having read a crime novel immediately after that had me turning pages in anticipation and excitement, I had to come back and grade this novel even lower because it just didn't arouse any emotion from me.
There were parts that I liked, Speller has a lovely way of recreating the world as it was left after the devastation of the first world war and I loved learning about things that I hadn't known had happened during the war, however I still feel like I don't quite know what the book was about.
First of all, something that is very important to me as a literature student is for a book to read fluently with no grammar/spelling or punctuation mistakes. When you're living with your characters in a world outside your own, mistakes or difficulties in the text bring you violently back into the real world. Whilst there were no major errors, the use of ''he should of'' instead of ''should have'' got on my nerves increasingly throughout the novel. Although this was in speech, so could be put down to the accent of the character, it wasn't consistent, ''of'' and ''have'' being used interchangeably.
Second of all, the way that some sentences were worded meant that I repeatedly had to re-read parts before understanding what they said. I know that in English our use of ''his'' is rather ambiguous, with ''he kissed his wife'' implying two very different scenarios for example, but the text just wasn't clear enough about certain things to the extent that I often wasn't sure who was talking until something was said that linked back to the character. Additionally, having said that I loved learning things about the war, there was a certain degree of assumption that the reader would know certain terminology or recall certain events, which were mentioned all too often with no explanation of what they meant or what significance they held.
Finally, I just didn't feel gripped by the story. I wasn't on the edge of my seat. I expected a huge twist, for the murder mystery to not be a murder, or for the least expected character to emerge as the villain. However, it was rather disappointing when the antagonist was finally revealed. It didn't come as a shock. Granted, it wasn't someone that I had suspected, but it was such a weak part of the story that I was happy to get to the end and didn't even bother to read the epilogue or afterword.
I think it was nicely written, but not feeling any connection to any of the characters held me back from really getting involved in the story. Having read a crime novel immediately after that had me turning pages in anticipation and excitement, I had to come back and grade this novel even lower because it just didn't arouse any emotion from me.
June 17, 2011
"The Return of Captain John Emmett" is an excellent mystery, the twists and turns and surprising revelations come thick and fast. The sort of book which can keep you reading far into the night, and regret having to go to work. However, excellent mystery that this is, it is more than just another historical mystery. The novel also faithfully explores the realities of the aftermath of war, the effect upon a country and it's people.
As Laurence Bartram delves into the life and particularly the war of Captain John Emmett, he hears the shocking stories of many other men. He meets their relatives, and in some cases is reminded of the poetry that they left behind. Laurence's quest to discover the truth about John's death - leads him around the country - and into the homes of a range of people all of whom have been touched by the war to end all wars. The stories of the battlefield, of executions, and family secrets are beautifully told. WW1 is so long ago - and maybe we think we know the story of it - trenches, massive losses, poets and shell shock. Yet Elizabeth speller has taken those things we think we know about so well , and written about them in a way that makes them instantly familiar and yet still new, poignant and relevant to us now. Human beings are not so very different 100 years on, we know what it is to lose someone and what it is to be afraid. I am slightly haunted by the fictional Hart, and the real officers his story is based upon.
There is a great sense of time and place in this novel, great characterisation and a well plotted mystery. I am already looking forward to the next book.
August 19, 2012
C2010. FWFTB: 1920, war, investigate, sister, letter. Whoah – this was an enthralling read. From the first page, I was drawn in and hardly came up for air until I finished the book. I usually stay away from books about the Great War, as along with many many others, relatives of mine were not to survive this ‘war to end all wars’ or, if they did, it influenced the rest of their lifetimes. Echoes of this war are heard and shadows seen almost every day thanks to the memorials that grace every village without fail. So many names. Ms Speller has a wonderfully varied bio on her website – the most interesting being a “ghost blogger”.I have to go 100% with the blurb from the Financial Times – “A gripping first novel – A remarkable piece of storytelling.”
The front cover contains the phrase – “ The new Birdsong – only better.” This book stands proudly on its own and does not need this comparison to sell. This is SO highly recommended. FCN: Laurence Bartram, John Emmett, Charles Carfax, Mary Emmett, Tresham Brabourne.
“In this war every man’s life had been on the line. Batmen and bandsmen had fixed their bayonets alongside their comrades. There was no escape.”
The front cover contains the phrase – “ The new Birdsong – only better.” This book stands proudly on its own and does not need this comparison to sell. This is SO highly recommended. FCN: Laurence Bartram, John Emmett, Charles Carfax, Mary Emmett, Tresham Brabourne.
“In this war every man’s life had been on the line. Batmen and bandsmen had fixed their bayonets alongside their comrades. There was no escape.”
September 4, 2011
Well - what to say. Would i recommend this book? I wanted to know what happened next; it is about shell shock and the mental torment of soldiers in the Great War, a subject I am very interested in. But I can only give it 3 stars because, quite honestly, it was ultimately predictable and unsatisfying to a certain degree - caused I think by lengthy explanations of events and motives by characters other than the lead that made it a little plodding in places.
It was as if the author let her characters do all the talking, not to offer a finely drawn picture of them but to blur the edges and draw attention away from some dodgy plotting. Coincidences abound - at the end there is a classic 'oh and I just remembered' moment that resolved a worrying loose end and actually I had little sympathy with anyone involved.
Still, these criticisms have been leveled at authors of many a bestseller and it is a proper page turner.
It was as if the author let her characters do all the talking, not to offer a finely drawn picture of them but to blur the edges and draw attention away from some dodgy plotting. Coincidences abound - at the end there is a classic 'oh and I just remembered' moment that resolved a worrying loose end and actually I had little sympathy with anyone involved.
Still, these criticisms have been leveled at authors of many a bestseller and it is a proper page turner.
July 21, 2011
Honestly, I looked forward reading this one because I thought this was going to my sort of book. Man returns from the First World War to investigate the death of a friend from his youth. And I have to admit I thought the book cover was superb and that added to the anticipation.
Well, this book started out interestingly enough, and - overall - it’s well written; but ultimately I thought it was quite slow and dull, and I had to make a huge effort to go through all the flashbacks, which of course are vital to the story. Eventually, I understood the lack of pace because it suited the era and, true, I kind of enjoyed the depiction of life in post war Britain and the lasting effects that WW1 had on both soldiers and civilians; but the mystery aspects of the story were too drawn-out and complex for me to fully enjoy.
Well, this book started out interestingly enough, and - overall - it’s well written; but ultimately I thought it was quite slow and dull, and I had to make a huge effort to go through all the flashbacks, which of course are vital to the story. Eventually, I understood the lack of pace because it suited the era and, true, I kind of enjoyed the depiction of life in post war Britain and the lasting effects that WW1 had on both soldiers and civilians; but the mystery aspects of the story were too drawn-out and complex for me to fully enjoy.
August 29, 2016
I confess to an affection for the melancholy mood of post-WWI and a gnawing feeling that if only I learn enough about it, that war will become more comprehensible and less senseless. Speller's crawling but enticing mystery, investigated by the world-weary but somewhat innocent Laurence with the help of his friend Charles, is most interesting in capturing the mood of those who survived the war with various visible and invisible hurts. Captain John Emmett's sister Mary, longing to understand her brother's death by suicide, sets Laurence off to learn more of his onetime schoolmate but the mystery is really so intertwined with the horrors and social messiness of war it might as well just be the backdrop to a sociological study. Lots of less than startling revelations with the discoveries suffused with sadness and understanding rather than feeling prurient. Good.
January 14, 2016
Jaktože na tuhle knížku nikdo nepěje ódy, není na ni všude reklama a neóchají nad její četbou obrýlené slečny? Nevím, asi jen špatný marketing. Návrat kapitána Johna Emmetta mě totiž opravdu hodně bavil, respektive – napínal mě jako strunu, a to přesto, že to nebyla severská detektivka, no považte!
Elizabeth Spellerová napsala výborný mysteriózní příběh o pátrání po příčině smrti jedno pána, které vede k (přičině) smrti dalších pánů, a všichni dohromady se účastnili první světové války. Nenudila jsem se ani trochu, i když po dočtení mám přecejen dojem, že se to dalo tak o čtvrtinu zkrátit, ale nevadí. Hlavní je, že jsem se dozvěděla, jak to dopadlo, nesnáším otevřené konce!
PS: Myslím, že i překlad je zdařený.
Elizabeth Spellerová napsala výborný mysteriózní příběh o pátrání po příčině smrti jedno pána, které vede k (přičině) smrti dalších pánů, a všichni dohromady se účastnili první světové války. Nenudila jsem se ani trochu, i když po dočtení mám přecejen dojem, že se to dalo tak o čtvrtinu zkrátit, ale nevadí. Hlavní je, že jsem se dozvěděla, jak to dopadlo, nesnáším otevřené konce!
PS: Myslím, že i překlad je zdařený.
December 6, 2017
The setting and the plot were very good, though this was not really a detective story - facts seem to find the main character, rather than the other way around. But I loved the characters and felt the post-war background was very convincing. I believe this might be the first in a series so I must investigate - I'd very much like to spend another book or so with Bartram and Charles.
October 7, 2014
I found this book to be very enjoyable and very well researched, and I particularly liked Elizabeth Speller's writing style. Though perhaps a litttle slow-moving at times, especially in the opening section, the eventual mystery is intriguing, thought provoking and extremely moving. The characters are well developed, notably that of the main character, Laurence Bartram, but also others such as Mary Emmett and Charles Carfax.
The story is set in London, three years after the end of the Great War, when people were still striving the bring their lives back to normal in the face of so much grief and loss. Many of the questionable issues and events that occurred during the war itself are raised throughout the story, including the lack of understanding of shell shock and the mandatory requirement of men to participate in firing squads to execute comrades charged with what was seen as cowardice or desertion. We are also presented with an excellent view of the medical and nursing staff who worked tirelessly to save the lives of the more-often-than-not mortally wounded men in the trenches.
Laurence Bartram is one of the many people whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the Great War. As the story opens he is struggling with his lonely existence, having lost his wife and child. He now lives alone in a small flat, trying to fill his days by writing a book about London churches. He has little contact with anyone other that his old school friend, Charles Carfax. Like Laurence, Charles also served as an officer (generally a privilege of the upper class) in France. But, unlike Laurence, Charles is a cheerful, pragmatic person, who seems to have come through the war relatively unscathed. Yet, without Charles, Laurence would have been a very lonely man indeed.
Laurence's life takes on a new meaning when he receives a letter from the sister of another of his old school friends. Mary Emmett writes to ask for Laurence's help in discovering why, after surviving the war and seeming to recover well in a nursing home, her brother, Captain John Emmett, killed himself.
And so begins Laurence's quest to discover exactly what happened to John Emmett during his years in France and the few years after, to make him so desperatey lose the will to live. For Laurence, having had no contact with John since school days, the task at first seems almost impossible. He simply remembers John as being a youth with very strong feelings and principles about so many issues, about which he not afraid to speak his mind: 'John had been different when so mnay of them were so ordinary.' But, helped by Charles (who seems to know everything about everything and everybody!)John's movements and actions are slowly unravelled.
The mystery itself is intriguing and complex, with plot twists that kept me guessing. Yes, it does move slowly at times, but not enough to make me lose interest. For anyone wanting to learn more about life in the trenches the book is a must. The descriptions certainly open our eyes to the sacrifices of the thousands of men who lost their lives and now rest 'in some corner of a foreign field . . .'
The story is set in London, three years after the end of the Great War, when people were still striving the bring their lives back to normal in the face of so much grief and loss. Many of the questionable issues and events that occurred during the war itself are raised throughout the story, including the lack of understanding of shell shock and the mandatory requirement of men to participate in firing squads to execute comrades charged with what was seen as cowardice or desertion. We are also presented with an excellent view of the medical and nursing staff who worked tirelessly to save the lives of the more-often-than-not mortally wounded men in the trenches.
Laurence Bartram is one of the many people whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the Great War. As the story opens he is struggling with his lonely existence, having lost his wife and child. He now lives alone in a small flat, trying to fill his days by writing a book about London churches. He has little contact with anyone other that his old school friend, Charles Carfax. Like Laurence, Charles also served as an officer (generally a privilege of the upper class) in France. But, unlike Laurence, Charles is a cheerful, pragmatic person, who seems to have come through the war relatively unscathed. Yet, without Charles, Laurence would have been a very lonely man indeed.
Laurence's life takes on a new meaning when he receives a letter from the sister of another of his old school friends. Mary Emmett writes to ask for Laurence's help in discovering why, after surviving the war and seeming to recover well in a nursing home, her brother, Captain John Emmett, killed himself.
And so begins Laurence's quest to discover exactly what happened to John Emmett during his years in France and the few years after, to make him so desperatey lose the will to live. For Laurence, having had no contact with John since school days, the task at first seems almost impossible. He simply remembers John as being a youth with very strong feelings and principles about so many issues, about which he not afraid to speak his mind: 'John had been different when so mnay of them were so ordinary.' But, helped by Charles (who seems to know everything about everything and everybody!)John's movements and actions are slowly unravelled.
The mystery itself is intriguing and complex, with plot twists that kept me guessing. Yes, it does move slowly at times, but not enough to make me lose interest. For anyone wanting to learn more about life in the trenches the book is a must. The descriptions certainly open our eyes to the sacrifices of the thousands of men who lost their lives and now rest 'in some corner of a foreign field . . .'
January 19, 2014
A satisfying read with a solid ending:
I was a bit dubious when I picked up this book. According to The Independent, this novel is ‘the new ‘Birdsong’ - only better’. And I really enjoyed ‘Birdsong’ so felt this gave Speller’s book high expectations. Suffice to say, it took me a while to get into the pace of the novel and I found myself only really beginning to enjoy the mystery after I had read the first one hundred pages.
This is a good mystery that does not drown in historical fact. Whilst the mystery focuses on the First World War, there are plenty of elements to the novel that make this an enjoyable read. I did find it quite comical that Laurence seems to get so much information from his friend, Charles, and felt that at times, the whole process could be sped up if Laurence simply continued to interview his friend! But, it is as if Speller realised this and introduced more characters into the mix who seemingly could provide more ambiguous clues to the mystery surrounding John Emmett’s apparent suicide.
Whilst I did find the investigations a little exhausting, I couldn’t help but suspect each character that Laurence met in his quest for the truth. The scenes with Chilvers and son I found rather chilling, imagining the treatment carried out at the veterans hospital. Disappointingly, this did just become a product of my over-active imagination and I wonder whether Speller could have expanded this part of the plot a little more to add further substance to the story.
So, is this book like ‘Birdsong’? Personally, I don’t think so. Few flashbacks in first person mean that readers are relying on character versions of events which fuel the mystery that Laurence is investigating. Whilst it provides an insight into WWI, I think Speller’s offering demonstrates the wide-spread effect one event can have on so many people. Overall, I think that this is a good read with a satisfying ending that answers all of your questions.
I was a bit dubious when I picked up this book. According to The Independent, this novel is ‘the new ‘Birdsong’ - only better’. And I really enjoyed ‘Birdsong’ so felt this gave Speller’s book high expectations. Suffice to say, it took me a while to get into the pace of the novel and I found myself only really beginning to enjoy the mystery after I had read the first one hundred pages.
This is a good mystery that does not drown in historical fact. Whilst the mystery focuses on the First World War, there are plenty of elements to the novel that make this an enjoyable read. I did find it quite comical that Laurence seems to get so much information from his friend, Charles, and felt that at times, the whole process could be sped up if Laurence simply continued to interview his friend! But, it is as if Speller realised this and introduced more characters into the mix who seemingly could provide more ambiguous clues to the mystery surrounding John Emmett’s apparent suicide.
Whilst I did find the investigations a little exhausting, I couldn’t help but suspect each character that Laurence met in his quest for the truth. The scenes with Chilvers and son I found rather chilling, imagining the treatment carried out at the veterans hospital. Disappointingly, this did just become a product of my over-active imagination and I wonder whether Speller could have expanded this part of the plot a little more to add further substance to the story.
So, is this book like ‘Birdsong’? Personally, I don’t think so. Few flashbacks in first person mean that readers are relying on character versions of events which fuel the mystery that Laurence is investigating. Whilst it provides an insight into WWI, I think Speller’s offering demonstrates the wide-spread effect one event can have on so many people. Overall, I think that this is a good read with a satisfying ending that answers all of your questions.
May 28, 2019
I confess, I read some of the other reviews for this book and was prepared to be disappointed, but I think it's a great book. The mystery is only one of a large number of plot threads and certainly is not the best I have encountered. Captain Laurence Bartram has returned to England after serving 4 years in France during WWI. He has returned to an empty house, wife and child dead in childbirth. After selling nearly all his possessions he lives in a small flat on the proceeds and his military pension. He displays symptoms of depression. He receives a letter from the sister of a school acquaintance John Emmett, asking him to visit. His (casual) friend has committed suicide and his sister wants Laurence to find out why, and to look into unusual bequests he has made. Thus begins a journey into post war England, a world vastly changed from only four years earlier. We get glimpses into the treatment of shell shock (PTSD), the difficulty of even sound ex-soldiers in finding work, nursing home abuses, and other post war problems. Gradually Laurence comes to the idea that his friends death centers around the trial, arbitrary conviction, and execution of a young Lieutenant in the British army. Three British officers and 300 common soldiers were actually executed during the war, out of 3080 who were convicted of capital offences. I enjoyed the book less as a mystery and more as a look into the lives, customs and mores of English society in the period in and around WWI. Laurence, as he investigates, makes his own journey back to some form of normalcy. It moves a bit slowly (that's OK with me) and juggles a lot of subplots, but I think overall does so successfully.
January 1, 2012
I really wanted to like this book, and some of it I did. Speller's evocation of the world during and after WW1 was really quite strong. She seems to understand well how people are damaged by war, and the ways people try and sometimes fail to cope with the horrors they experience. It reminded me of The Postmistress in that way. (Both strong in history but weaker in fiction.)
Her main character, though, was a bit dim. He did have a sparky friend in Charles and some finely drawn new acquaintances in the Bolithos and even Mary, Emmett's sister. On the whole though, the mystery took too long to get going--it could have been about 100 pages shorter, and the who who dunnit was a bit of a late addition. I generally don't like my villains to appear late in books. It's as if the author couldn't quite bear the others to be bad guys. (There were a few bad guys, yes, but not murderers.)
Anyway, I was thinking from the jacket copy that this might be a series, but finally, I think not. Ah well, it was a recommendation from a friend whose taste is often similar to mine.
Her main character, though, was a bit dim. He did have a sparky friend in Charles and some finely drawn new acquaintances in the Bolithos and even Mary, Emmett's sister. On the whole though, the mystery took too long to get going--it could have been about 100 pages shorter, and the who who dunnit was a bit of a late addition. I generally don't like my villains to appear late in books. It's as if the author couldn't quite bear the others to be bad guys. (There were a few bad guys, yes, but not murderers.)
Anyway, I was thinking from the jacket copy that this might be a series, but finally, I think not. Ah well, it was a recommendation from a friend whose taste is often similar to mine.
June 26, 2018
I quickly became engrossed in this pitch-perfect tale of shell-shock, accountability and retribution in the aftermath of WWI. The central character, Laurence Bartram, is vividly drawn and sympathetic and the other characters sharply observed through his eyes. After following the thread through many twists and turns and a veritable tankful of red herrings, the denouement came rather abruptly - or so I thought - it's only right at the end that you realise the real denouement is much more subtle, with all the loose ends finally tied. Superb writing.
August 19, 2021
Beautifully written complex mystery. Lots of suspicious characters. Our hero Laurence Bartram is an officer returned from the Great War bearing its psychic scars. He is called upon by Mary Emmett the sister of his long ago schoolmate John. Did John really die by suicide and why?
A longish book at 440 pages I had trouble sometimes remembering characters from earlier in the book when they showed up many chapters later but it eventually came together. Perhaps I should have got the ebook instead.
Anyway I recommend this one. One of the most satisfying novels I’ve read in quite a while.
A longish book at 440 pages I had trouble sometimes remembering characters from earlier in the book when they showed up many chapters later but it eventually came together. Perhaps I should have got the ebook instead.
Anyway I recommend this one. One of the most satisfying novels I’ve read in quite a while.
September 29, 2011
Several years after the end of the Great War, Laurence finds himself involved in a mystery. Asked by his childhood friends sister he attempts to investigate the supposed suicide of John Emmett. This is a very well written first novel, showing the atrocities and secrets of war as well as the effects of war on it's soldiers and those left at home.
October 31, 2014
Beautifully written historical fiction with a mystery twist. 1920's London and this author writes so well your on The Strand walking with the characters in the book. She does a excellent job of describing the horrors of The Great War and the damaged people thereafter. I just now realized this is Book #1...yeah more of this great author to come.
July 11, 2012
To read my review go to my blog at:
http://maryslibrary.typepad.com/my_we...
September 27, 2021
Wow - lots to unpack in this book. It's a well-woven tale of war, survivors' guilt, loss, revenge, military justice, and so much more, all set from the perspective of a lonely veteran who finds himself in the awkward position of amateur detective.
Lawrence Bertram is a WWI veteran who recently become a widower and bereft parent when his wife and son died in childbirth. He's just going through the motions in life without any purpose, or does the world yet properly understand PTSD.
Mary Emmett contacts him out of the blue for assistance with learning why her brother and Lawrence's childhood friend, Captain John Emmett, committed suicide. This is where the cover blurb does a poor job. I really thought the "apparent" meant there was some doubt as to whether Captain Emmett was dead, so I read the book under the assumption that there was a glimmer of hope that he was alive. I would have enjoyed the book better had this been clear.
It doesn't take long for Lawrence to realize there are some other murders related to his friend's "suicide", though no one's made the connection because the murders look like accidents or are cold cases. Captain Emmett also left some mysterious requests in his will.
I really enjoyed Lawrence's fish-out-of-water perspective as he relies on sleuthing tools and skills available to him in this time period (hint: not much) and has to figure things out on his own, often making cold calls and knocking on random doors.
The book does well with a sense of melancholy that permeates most of the story, further emphasizing the horrors of war and long-term impact while still being pro-military and pro-veteran.
What did not work for me was the big reveal, which comes completely out of nowhere. This won't be a story where the reader can guess what happened. Lawrence's friend, Charles, turns out to be an important character, if not a true sidekick, but I kept forgetting he existed. Charles is almost a wizard with his ability to be in the right place at the right time.
I also found a number of unresolved plot points very, very frustrating, namely:
These kicked the book from a 4 star to a 3 star.
One piece that was a nice surprise was the treatment of love. There's a suggestion of a romance, something joyful to come out of all of this grief, and yet it doesn't go the way you might expect. I want to Lawrence to find happiness but was genuinely touched at .
Lawrence Bertram is a WWI veteran who recently become a widower and bereft parent when his wife and son died in childbirth. He's just going through the motions in life without any purpose, or does the world yet properly understand PTSD.
Mary Emmett contacts him out of the blue for assistance with learning why her brother and Lawrence's childhood friend, Captain John Emmett, committed suicide. This is where the cover blurb does a poor job. I really thought the "apparent" meant there was some doubt as to whether Captain Emmett was dead, so I read the book under the assumption that there was a glimmer of hope that he was alive. I would have enjoyed the book better had this been clear.
It doesn't take long for Lawrence to realize there are some other murders related to his friend's "suicide", though no one's made the connection because the murders look like accidents or are cold cases. Captain Emmett also left some mysterious requests in his will.
I really enjoyed Lawrence's fish-out-of-water perspective as he relies on sleuthing tools and skills available to him in this time period (hint: not much) and has to figure things out on his own, often making cold calls and knocking on random doors.
The book does well with a sense of melancholy that permeates most of the story, further emphasizing the horrors of war and long-term impact while still being pro-military and pro-veteran.
What did not work for me was the big reveal, which comes completely out of nowhere. This won't be a story where the reader can guess what happened. Lawrence's friend, Charles, turns out to be an important character, if not a true sidekick, but I kept forgetting he existed. Charles is almost a wizard with his ability to be in the right place at the right time.
I also found a number of unresolved plot points very, very frustrating, namely:
These kicked the book from a 4 star to a 3 star.
One piece that was a nice surprise was the treatment of love. There's a suggestion of a romance, something joyful to come out of all of this grief, and yet it doesn't go the way you might expect. I want to Lawrence to find happiness but was genuinely touched at .
October 31, 2022
This was oddly disappointing. It went from a solid four-star historical mystery to 2-3 stars in the last 10%. I rounded up because of the believability of the characters and the strong feel for the period the author conveys. My biggest gripe, though, is that she violates a cardinal rule of mysteries with the murderer being someone only introduced very near the end of the book. The motive was sound so this could have been avoided by plotting him in earlier, but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a kind of, "what the hell?" feeling. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2011
The end of World War I was a traumatic time for Britain, even though they won. Hundreds of thousands of men died, and more than a million came back wounded. Family dynamics changed, the roles of women changed, everyone who survived sought ways to carry on and cope with a world that had changed around them. At the same time, the Golden Age in mystery fiction began.
Elizabeth Speller brings all of these elements together in her debut novel, The Return of Captain John Emmett. It's a wonderful story that sheds light on the engimatic title character, the narrator who searches for the truth about Capt. Emmett's last days, the changes in British society and what happens when people think they're doing favors by not telling the truth.
Laurence Bartram is one young officer trying to put his life back together after the year. His wife and newborn son died while he was off fighting. Back in London, he's trying to write a book but is as diffident about it as he is about everything else. He learns of the suicide of a former school mate, John Emmett, who returned from the war a broken man. John's sister wants to know more about John's final days, so she enlists Laurie's help. Since he's so obviously at loose ends, and wants to be a decent chap, he agrees to see what he can find out.
His search takes him to a home for such broken soldiers, as well as a few people who were left small legacies by Captain Emmett. What bound him to them? What made him feel he should do something? Their stories show the range of sorry situations in which people found themselves -- one man confined to a wheelchair, a former nurse still caring for the wounded, a soldier still working for his officer trying to forget a shameful episode and a journalist who tried to record the horror that was happening.
Eventually Laurie discovers a small group of men ordered to take part in a disgraceful act have been dying after the war. Are they are odd accidents? Or are they being murdered? And, if they have been killed, who did it?
Laurie, with the help of another old friend, Charles, sets off on a classic amateur detective's journey. What they uncover are the kinds of secrets that the characters have kept from those they care about the most, hoping to spare them the harsh realities of war. As is usual when secrets are kept, the unforeseen complications cause their own kind of pain. But true to human nature, Speller's characters don't come to this realization and decide to be truthful after the revelations. They continue protecting those they love. Many of them are trapped in a past when people just did what they were called upon to do, and kept stiff upper lips instead of unburdening themselves on others.
Nothing, however, is kept from one major character. Perhaps it's no coincidence that this character also appears to be one of those most likely to have absorbed war's tragedies and who appears to not be haunted by the past. The other major character who appears in best shape seems to be one of those who has absorbed everything all along and can carry on, the way the other characters have fooled themselves into thinking they could do.
Speller's use of the historical record serves her story well. Among other sources, she uses the work of Dr. W.H.R. Rivers, who inspired greatness in Pat Barker's haunting Regeneration trilogy. The lost poets also receive homage, as does the much slower pace of those days in which motorcars were owned only by the rich. Agatha Christie and the tropes of Golden Age detective fiction feature. Those who are reading this novel as a traditional whodunit may not be happy after the great drawing room scene, but anyone who knows their Dorothy L. Sayers knows this story arc is within tradition.
But Laurie Bartram's search for the truth about John Emmett's last days is more than a whodunit. It's also a whydunit about some of the things that men who thought they were putting honor first did in the name of nation and loyalty during war. And it's a howdunit about ways in which people can heal after their lives are torn apart by a nation's trauam, or in which they can try to soldier on.
Elizabeth Speller brings all of these elements together in her debut novel, The Return of Captain John Emmett. It's a wonderful story that sheds light on the engimatic title character, the narrator who searches for the truth about Capt. Emmett's last days, the changes in British society and what happens when people think they're doing favors by not telling the truth.
Laurence Bartram is one young officer trying to put his life back together after the year. His wife and newborn son died while he was off fighting. Back in London, he's trying to write a book but is as diffident about it as he is about everything else. He learns of the suicide of a former school mate, John Emmett, who returned from the war a broken man. John's sister wants to know more about John's final days, so she enlists Laurie's help. Since he's so obviously at loose ends, and wants to be a decent chap, he agrees to see what he can find out.
His search takes him to a home for such broken soldiers, as well as a few people who were left small legacies by Captain Emmett. What bound him to them? What made him feel he should do something? Their stories show the range of sorry situations in which people found themselves -- one man confined to a wheelchair, a former nurse still caring for the wounded, a soldier still working for his officer trying to forget a shameful episode and a journalist who tried to record the horror that was happening.
Eventually Laurie discovers a small group of men ordered to take part in a disgraceful act have been dying after the war. Are they are odd accidents? Or are they being murdered? And, if they have been killed, who did it?
Laurie, with the help of another old friend, Charles, sets off on a classic amateur detective's journey. What they uncover are the kinds of secrets that the characters have kept from those they care about the most, hoping to spare them the harsh realities of war. As is usual when secrets are kept, the unforeseen complications cause their own kind of pain. But true to human nature, Speller's characters don't come to this realization and decide to be truthful after the revelations. They continue protecting those they love. Many of them are trapped in a past when people just did what they were called upon to do, and kept stiff upper lips instead of unburdening themselves on others.
Nothing, however, is kept from one major character. Perhaps it's no coincidence that this character also appears to be one of those most likely to have absorbed war's tragedies and who appears to not be haunted by the past. The other major character who appears in best shape seems to be one of those who has absorbed everything all along and can carry on, the way the other characters have fooled themselves into thinking they could do.
Speller's use of the historical record serves her story well. Among other sources, she uses the work of Dr. W.H.R. Rivers, who inspired greatness in Pat Barker's haunting Regeneration trilogy. The lost poets also receive homage, as does the much slower pace of those days in which motorcars were owned only by the rich. Agatha Christie and the tropes of Golden Age detective fiction feature. Those who are reading this novel as a traditional whodunit may not be happy after the great drawing room scene, but anyone who knows their Dorothy L. Sayers knows this story arc is within tradition.
But Laurie Bartram's search for the truth about John Emmett's last days is more than a whodunit. It's also a whydunit about some of the things that men who thought they were putting honor first did in the name of nation and loyalty during war. And it's a howdunit about ways in which people can heal after their lives are torn apart by a nation's trauam, or in which they can try to soldier on.
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