That good historical fiction needs storytelling fine-tuning as well as a solid foundation in historical fact is a rule advanced by this overwhelmingly compelling novel originally published in France, where it is set during World War I. As that seemingly unwinnable conflict rages only a few miles away from one particular small town (“while we led our narrow little lives in warmth and peace,” says the narrator), disaster of a more individual nature strikes at the town’s peace of mind: three nearly simultaneous deaths—the murder of a child, the suicide of the lovely young schoolteacher, and the death in childbirth of the wife of the narrator, who is a local policeman. In retrospect, the policeman pieces together, as if striving to complete a picture puzzle, the details of the murder, which then place the other deaths within an understood context. Ostensibly a murder mystery, this novel soars above such a restrictive definition. It is an impeccable visit to times past: small-town European life before World War I shook the world modern and, in the process, shook it loose. As riveting as the story line is, the setting, ambience, and lovely language (“Not a house, really, just a few planks blackened by the rain, held together thanks to some daily miracle”) partner to flavor this novel with punch and spice.