Ive never been a great reader of books with a Below Stairs setting, but this one rather hit the spot, as Ive been as addicted as so many others to Downton Abbey and the rejuvenated Upstairs, Downstairs. It is an engaging and absorbing read, full of good things (and some minor irritants). Even though it belongs to this arguably over-populated genre, I devoured it over a weekend, for after a bit of a shaky start it bowled me along and I just had to know what happened. It is not just a romantic ...saga, but gradually uncovers a mysterious death suicide, of course .. or if theres anything else to it, only Grace is still alive to tell us.

It starts with an intriguing premise. The narrator, Grace, is in her late nineties, a distinguished archaeologist, who started life in service as a housemaid at the great house of Riverton. Original, eh? Implausible, but original. She is visited by the producer of a film based on the mysterious events at Riverton in the 20s leading to the death of a promising poet, witnessed by the two daughters of the family. It was a terrific scandal, that resonates to the present day, and the perfect mystery around which to create a film. Skilfully, Kate Morton has her narrator heroine then fill in the family background and the convergence of the characters to that time and place. Cue variations on Gosford Park, Downton Abbey etc. etc, but the family at Riverton is rivetingly dysfunctional, and the plot has so many twists and turns, that I was rushed along past all the usual cliches of the genre.

Frustratingly, the novel waves at the reader then whisks away the very unusual situation of an uneducated girl who went into service at 14, left it after a stark tragedy that broke up the family, bucketed around till she got married and divorced, had a daughter, and a grandson (a novelist with a secret sorrow, who was also too intriguing to be let go as quickly as he was), studied archaeology in her fifties and had a distinguished career. Thats where Grace stepped out of central casting and sounded really interesting to me. Theres a whole other novel there I kept wanting to grab at it as it shot past me.

This is a book that arguably tries to do too much, on the face of it, but by sheer exuberance of story-telling gets away with it. The main story line has got everything but the kitchen sink end of the Victorian era, Edwardian twilight, decadent family upstairs, faithful retainers below; dubious parentage and illicit love; the collapse of the certainties of upper class life at the First World War; a white feather, a Lads brigade going to war from the local town, many deaths and much shell shock; a war poet. Parvenu money rescues blue blood by marriage; emancipated young women shock their elders; Vile Bodies style wild parties take place in the 20s. Kate Morton lists her influences and there they all are, alongside the works of social history: Gosford Park, Remains of the Day and Upstairs, Downstairs all name-checked, along with Evelyn Waugh, Nancy Mitford and Daphne du Maurier. If you love all these, and I do, you may well love this book too.

But I HATED the ending. Wild horses wont make me give it away its a terrific twist, the seeds of which are sown very early on but I really loathed how it turned out. No spoilers, but if youve read it, do come and comment: just say Youre wrong its a tremendous ending, or even, conceivably You are so right its a ghastly ending! Id really love to know how other readers found it. Meanwhile, dont let me put you off theres so much to enjoy in this novel.