VERDICT World War I history buffs will enjoy this mystery, as will fans of period pieces set in London. There are many references to British writers and poets that the average American reader may not be familiar with, and the myriad names of officers and soldiers may be confusing. An absorbing mystery set in postwar London, Spellers literary debut is brimming with historical details of the period and doesnt shy away from wars atrocities. He is as intrigued by Mary herself as he is by her letter, and his investigations uncover a series of crimes and help Laurence confront his own horrendous memories of the war. 'Laurence Bartram is a young widower grappling not only with the loss of his young wife and infant son but also with a return to normalcy after his service in World War I when he receives a letter from Mary Emmett, the sister of a boyhood friend, asking him to look into her brothers supposed suicide. Because the family seems unwilling to do anything' she decides that she will investigate.

Then Bess learns that there′s another brother' incarcerated in a lunatic asylum since the age of 14 when he was accused of brutally murdering a housemaid.īess rightly guesses that the dying soldier′s last words had something to do with the fourth brother. Oddly' neither Jonathan' his mother' nor his younger brother admit to knowing what the message means. She travels to the village in Kent where the Grahams live and passes on to Jonathan his brother′s plea. Later' when her ship is sunk by a mine and she′s sidelined by a broken arm' Bess returns home to England' determined to fulfill her promise. There' serving on a hospital ship' she makes a promise to a dying young lieutenant to take a message to his brother' Jonathan Graham: Tell Jonathan that I lied. The daughter of a distinguished soldier' Bess Crawford follows in his footsteps and signs up to go overseas as a nurse during the Great War' helping to deal with the many wounded.

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd