Death of an Unsung Hero

In Arlen’s satisfying fourth mystery set in early-20th-century England (after 2017’s A Death by Any Other Name), Clementine Talbot, the Countess of Montfort, embarks on a controversial new venture in 1916—a hospital at her family’s Haversham Hall dedicated to treating soldiers who have returned from France with mental scars, overseen by her loyal servant, Mrs. Jackson. The phenomenon of shell shock is still not widely accepted, and Clementine encounters resistance from those who view the apparently fit men as cowards. When one of their charges, Capt. Sir Evelyn Bray, who received numerous accolades for his bravery under fire, is bludgeoned to death while working in the kitchen garden, suspicion quickly falls on another patient. Clementine and Mrs. Jackson must solve the case before the other patients suffer further psychological damage as a result of the added stress. The surprising solution will reward careful readers. The way Arlen integrates the traumas of WWI into a golden age whodunit plot will please Charles Todd fans. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Mar.)