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Elizabeth Speller

A man investigates the deaths of his fellow veterans in this “haunting and beautifully written” novel of post–World War I England (C.S. Harris, author of the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries).

London, 1920. In the aftermath of the Great War and a devastating family tragedy, Laurence Bartram has turned his back on the world. But with a well-timed letter, an old flame manages to draw him back in. Mary Emmett’s brother, John—like Laurence, an officer during the war—has apparently killed himself while in the care of a remote veterans’ hospital, and Mary needs to know why.

Aided by his friend—a dauntless gentleman with detective skills cadged from mystery novels—Laurence begins asking difficult questions. What connects a group of war poets, a bitter feud within John’s regiment, and a hidden love affair? Was his friend’s death really a suicide, or the missing piece in a puzzling series of murders? As veterans tied to John continue to turn up dead, and Laurence is forced to face the darkest corners of his own war experiences, his own survival may depend on uncovering the truth.

At once a compelling mystery and an elegant literary debut, The Return of Captain John Emmett blends psychological depth with suspenseful storytelling that calls to mind the golden age of British crime fiction, “full of jolting revelations and quiet insights” (The Wall Street Journal).

“A captivating wartime whodunit. ” —The Boston Globe

Mariner Books

The Laurence Bartram Mysteries

The Return of Captain John Emmett: A Mystery

“Combines a Ruth Rendell–like psychological realism, an Agatha Christie-like plot and a Dickensian feel for life’s roulette … Pulse-pounding” (The Wall Street Journal).

When Great War veteran Laurence Bartram arrives in Easton Deadall, he is struck by the beauty of the crumbling manor, the venerable church, and the memorial to the village’s soldiers. But despite this idyllic setting, Easton Deadall remains haunted by tragedy. In 1911, five-year-old Kitty Easton disappeared from her bed and has not been seen since.

While Laurence is visiting, a young maid vanishes in a sinister echo of Kitty’s disappearance. And when a body is discovered in the manor’s ancient church, Laurence is drawn into the grounds’ forgotten places, where deadly secrets lie in wait.

“Speller’s follow-up to her acclaimed debut, The Return of Captain John Emmett, is a well-crafted mystery with intriguing historical details and measured pacing that creates suspense. Fans of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series and readers who enjoy well-drawn characters in historicals will add this to their wish list. ” —Library Journal

“Leisurely and absorbing … a series to be savoured. ” —The Guardian

The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton