Caroline Todd

(2009) Very good introduction to another WWI character, Bess Crawford who is a nurse who is on board the hospital ship Britannic taking care of a wounded soldier who dies as the ship is sunk by the Nazis. She is drawn into a family scandal and tries to determine who had killed a servant many years ago. These novels by the Todds are such a pleasure to read.KIRKUS:World War I nurse keeps a burdensome promise.Relinquishing for the moment Inspector Ian Rutledge (A Matter of Justice, 2008, etc.), the Todd writing partnership presents Bess Crawford, invalided home when the hospital ship she nursed on is shot out from under her. She's bent on relaying a dying message¥matters must be set rightÂ¥from favored patient Arthur Graham to his brother Jonathan. Another matter, however, takes precedence for the Graham family: Peregrine, the Graham brother confined in an asylum since he was barely a teenager for murdering Lily the housemaid, is near death from pneumonia and needs nursing care. Providing it, Bess is struck by how rational Peregrine seems. Meanwhile, another village patient, a traumatized war victim who has fallen under her care, commits suicideÂ¥or does he? When Peregrine regains his strength, he takes Bess on the run to help him recover his memory of Lily's death. A visit to the village rector reveals several other fatal calamities over the years that cast suspicion on other Graham family members: clubfooted Timothy, Mrs. Graham and, to Bess's dismay, the late Arthur himself. A gruesome denouement lays bare all the family secrets and misalliances and releases Bess from her deathbed vow to Arthur.Will readers miss Inspector Rutledge? You bet. But anyone who cares to loll in early-20th century English villages and mores and follow a plucky heroine as she confronts the stupidity of war will find solace in this old-fashioned mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2009ISBN: 978-0-06-179176-5Page Count: 336Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollinsReview Posted Online: May 20, 2010Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2009… (altro)

Excellent! It took many pages to set the purpose of this book but they were well worth it. Bess is at once a very competent woman, a very compassionate woman, a very curious woman, and, most of all, a very determined woman. Alas, the conclusion is very much like a battle between Wyatt Earp and the Clantons. Still, all balances out. The author's descriptions of the countryside put one right in the middle, albeit shivering. The description of flowers is even better. One is not certain of Bess' feelings at the end. There can't be satisfaction but maybe there might be acceptance.… (altro)