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A review by thereclamationproject
The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller
4.0
For the past couple of years I've come to enjoy the interwar period a great deal. This is due largely in part to Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series and Charles Todd's Inspector Rutledge series. And although I have no idea if Elizabeth Speller plans to make a series out of her newest novel, I would be all for it.
Speller's novel, The Return of Captain John Emmett, has Laurence Bartram, a veteran of the war and living in London, involved in trying to find out what happened to his old school mate, John Emmett. Bartram is asked by Emmett's sister Mary, to find out why her brother killed himself in a forest near the hospital he was staying at.
"In years to come, Laurence Bartram would look back and think that the event that really changed everything was not the war, nor the attack at Rosieres, nor even the loss of his wife, but the return of John Emmett into his life."
Laurence is reluctant to even begin his journey because he hadn't been friendly with Emmett since their years at school together. However, Laurence is stalled emotionally and professionally, so he begins asking questions.
The investigation leads Laurence into the complicated life of John Emmett during and immediately after the war. Emmett was involved in the execution of a fellow soldier who deserted the Army during the war and his life quickly unravels from there, ending with a stay in a mental hospital.
Laurence himself has dealt with some difficult demons, especially his experiences during the war, but also the death of his wife and child in childbirth. At times Laurence is the typical reluctant hero, but it's his internal conflict, which we don't know much about, but can sense, is really what pulls the reader in.
What I appreciate about Speller's novel is that it doesn't linger over the shell shock many soldiers experienced after the war. Though this is a crucial experience of the post World War I world, I've read too many novels that deal with this topic. Speller's investigation into the other side effects of war, regret, anger, shame and perseverance, made her characters more intriguing and engaging. And like any good mystery novel, I thought I had figured out what happened, only to have it turned upside down.
This is a great novel about a sad time in our history and I hope to follow along with Laurence on some future investigations.
*eBook/ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Speller's novel, The Return of Captain John Emmett, has Laurence Bartram, a veteran of the war and living in London, involved in trying to find out what happened to his old school mate, John Emmett. Bartram is asked by Emmett's sister Mary, to find out why her brother killed himself in a forest near the hospital he was staying at.
"In years to come, Laurence Bartram would look back and think that the event that really changed everything was not the war, nor the attack at Rosieres, nor even the loss of his wife, but the return of John Emmett into his life."
Laurence is reluctant to even begin his journey because he hadn't been friendly with Emmett since their years at school together. However, Laurence is stalled emotionally and professionally, so he begins asking questions.
The investigation leads Laurence into the complicated life of John Emmett during and immediately after the war. Emmett was involved in the execution of a fellow soldier who deserted the Army during the war and his life quickly unravels from there, ending with a stay in a mental hospital.
Laurence himself has dealt with some difficult demons, especially his experiences during the war, but also the death of his wife and child in childbirth. At times Laurence is the typical reluctant hero, but it's his internal conflict, which we don't know much about, but can sense, is really what pulls the reader in.
What I appreciate about Speller's novel is that it doesn't linger over the shell shock many soldiers experienced after the war. Though this is a crucial experience of the post World War I world, I've read too many novels that deal with this topic. Speller's investigation into the other side effects of war, regret, anger, shame and perseverance, made her characters more intriguing and engaging. And like any good mystery novel, I thought I had figured out what happened, only to have it turned upside down.
This is a great novel about a sad time in our history and I hope to follow along with Laurence on some future investigations.
*eBook/ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt