Take a world where ghosts are very much real and, along with mediums and spiritualists, can have an impact on the world around them. Run that forward to World War I, where British soldiers have been compelled to, after they die, report back in one last time:

“The Germans were flanking us at Delville Wood when I died.”

Quite a first sentence that.

So when our main character gets report from a ghost close to heart heart–and not only that, reporting that he was murdered–well, of course we kick off a story that’s one part war story, one part murder mystery, and one part supernatural adventure.

On one hand, it’s a fun book. There aren’t any huge surprises and it does tend a bit more towards ‘historical’ rather than the alternate history. The ghosts are big when it comes to war intelligence, but I feel like they could have done so much more with this–which they’re, I suppose, starting to realize towards the end of the book. The realistic bits–trench warfare and the spycraft of the time–are if anything more interesting than the

On the other, it’s … a bit depressing. It’s a book dealing with death from teh very first page. And once a ghost has reported in, all that’s left for them is the next big mystery. Tha’t just how this book works. So there never really is a chance for a particularly happy ending. A fulfilling one, perhaps. But never happy.

One amusing note: Because it’s historical, there are a few cameos. I caught Tolkien, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Houdini. The latter is particularly amusing, given that in real life, he’s famous as an anti-spiritualist.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It’s interesting seeing the mix of history and fantasy–similar to Mary Robinette Kowal’s other series I’ve read: The Calculating Stars.

Onward!