The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton

Laurence Bartram is a church expert. In this role, he travels to Easton Deadall Hall at the request of his Great War pal, the architect William Bolitho, who has been hired to do a bit of restoration on the old chapel, and has discovered remarkable geometric patterns set into the floor. Before proceeding, William wants Laurence to see what he can make of it. While at Easton, Laurence is drawn into the family's tragic history: the only heir, 5-year-old, Kitty, disappeared one night before the war, never to be found. The patriarch was killed in the Great War, at the head of his men - which amounted to nearly every man from their small village. Laurence soon learns to accept nothing at face value, a lesson worth repeating when a body is found inside the ancient church whose secrets he has come to study.

Part Agatha Christie, part Downton Abbey, Elizabeth Speller's The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton is a pleasure to read. The story and characters are very much a product not only of its time - veterans of the Great War struggling to move forward - but of the very specific location Speller has chosen for Easton Hall - the low rises around Avebury. (Though neither here nor there as it relates to this book, what I remember of Avebury is the vast number of sheep ambling among the stones and the attention required, therefore, not to step in their excrement.) The story is well-constructed, the characters interesting, the resolution satisfactory. I ask little else of my mysteries; I enjoyed this one tremendously.