“The Vanishing of Dr. Winter” - L. B. Hathaway

(Posie Parker book 4)

🚑 This novel takes us back to the western front in 1917 where Posey served as an ambulance driver, and gives readers our first concrete narrative of Posie’s life during the Great War. Hathaway alternates between this time period and the present, post-war time periods.

🚑 Ghosts form the basis of this mystery - but they’re not of the supernatural variety.  Hathaway focuses TVDW around the idea of identity; specifically the opportunities presented by WWI for personal reinvention. The chaos and inaccurate record-keeping during the war, was a tragedy for most, but a blessing for some few.

🚑 I enjoyed TVDW because it gave us a snapshot of the war years from Posie’s POV. I also enjoyed the parallel mystery concerning Posie’s brother Richard’s time at Cambridge. I’ll post a few more odds and ends below, but this was an engaging read, and I’d recommend it for fans of Golden Age mysteries.

🚑 Posie’s interaction with a gunman left me unsettled, and honestly, irritated.  I didn’t feel that the real villain in this story got their just desserts. 

🚑 As in many Agatha Christie mysteries, early 20th century British marital laws form a significant plot point.