May 9, 2011
Londoner Laurence Bartram, three years after coming home from WWI a shell of his former self, starts to reawaken at the outset of this moving mystery debut from British classics scholar Speller (Following Hadrian). The young widower begins probing the apparent suicide of fellow veteran John Emmettâwhom he remembers most vividly as a fearless schoolboyâprimarily as an excuse to see Emmett's fetching sister, Mary. But as Bartram and his intrepid friend, Charles Carfax, uncover Emmett's role in the execution of a "boy officer" court-martialed for desertionâas well as discover how many others involved have subsequently met with suspicious endsâthe investigation becomes compelling in its own right. It also spurs Bartram to finally confront some hard truths about himself. Though Speller eventually falters with an overreliance on coincidence, for the most part she delivers an elegant, engrossing read.