The Strange Fate Of Kitty Easton

After my last read, I needed to choose something from my virtual bookshelf that I was fairly certain to enjoy, and this was just the ticket. The Strange Fate Of Kitty Easton is the sequel to The Return Of Captain John Emmett , in which we are introduced to former infantry officer Laurence Bartram, who is called upon to solve the mystery of a man's death in the aftermath of WW1. I read the first book at the end of last year and enjoyed it, and was looking forward to picking up the story of the main character again.

The Strange Fate Of Kitty Easton takes place in 1924, four years after the first book, and once again Laurence Bartram becomes embroiled in mysteries- this time linked to the estate that he is invited to visit. There are puzzles galore, all connected to the Easton family, who have seen a series of tragedies in their lives. Elizabeth Speller's writing is definitely not fast-paced, and with both books I found that it took me a little while to adjust myself to the pace of the story. The Easton family mysteries are interesting, and cleverly interlinked, but what I enjoyed most about the book was the historical setting of the story, with the aftermath of WW1 still clearly so affecting in a variety of ways. I am fascinated by this period of history and yet only know a very limited amount about it, so I really welcomed  reading a fictional account of a visit to the Empire Exhibition, and considering the impact of whole villages enlisting for regiments together. Laurence Bartram is a really interesting character with his own demons to battle, and these are beautifully woven into the story too. 

I really hope that there will be more Laurence Bartram stories, because they are so well-crafted and a delight to read.

*****

Three more to try

The true story of the disappearance of Saville Kent is cleverly referenced in The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton and is a fascinating read. 

I confess, I haven't read Wake by Anna Hope yet, but I have heard brilliant reviews of it, and have just added it to my wish-list. It focuses on the same era as Kitty Easton, and bears similarity in its take on the impact of the Great War on life afterwards.

Very different in style and mood to the other books mentioned here, but still set in the aftermath of the Great War, the Daisy Dalrymple mystery series sees the heroine and amateur sleuth stumble across a huge number of murders. Murder on the Flying Scotsman is the fourth in the series, and I think, the best of those that I have read so far. The impact of the war on Daisy's life is often mentioned, despite the light-hearted nature of many of the stories, so it isn't an entirely frivolous choice on my part.

As ever, please let me know your thoughts, or if you have read any other books in a similar vein that you would recommend. I am racing through my current read, so I'll be back again soon!