The Return of Captain John Emmett
A Laurence Bartram Mystery by Elizabeth Speller
Review: Elizabeth Speller opens her debut novel with a reversed occurrence after the conclusion of a war. Instead of a soldier being lost, the family of Laurence Bartram is gone instead. His wife and son have died while he was on the battlefield. The tragedy of so many families experienced during the Great War had happened to him.
This only adds to his already sad family history and to make matters worse a friend commits suicide. He becomes driven to find what the real answers are to this situation. In his detective journey he discovers that there are other deaths and wonders if this is not a murder compounded by circumstance.
By reconnecting with the family of John Emmett he discovers a winding tale that eventually makes himself deal with his own sad story.
Though this book is long to read, the inclusion of letters and good dialog makes it an comfortable read. There is little surprise during the unfolding of a story that returns to the beginning.
Laurence has gone full circle with his life and discovers a way to carry on.
Elizabeth Speller has written a story using dialog and written letters that allows the reader to feel as if they could be included in the journey.
Special thanks to Lynne Gordon for contributing her review of The Return of Captain John Emmett.
Acknowledgment: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt provided an ARC of The Return of Captain John Emmett for this review.
Review Copyright © 2011 — Lynne Gordon — All Rights Reserved
Reprinted with Permission
Location(s) referenced in The Return of Captain John Emmett: London, England
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The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0-547-51169-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-51169-6
Publication Date: July 2011
List Price: $26.00
Synopsis (from the publisher): 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 Charles—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 Emmett’s regiment, and a hidden love affair? Was Emmett’s death really a suicide, or the missing piece in a puzzling series of murders? As veterans tied to Emmett 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.