Caroline ToddRecensioni

(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 right¥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 suicide¥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

Excellent period piece about a nurse involved with a dysfunctional family, all because of her promise to deliver a dying soldier's last words to his brother.
I felt this could've been a bit shorter, and at times there were sentences that were long and confusing (all reminders to keep my own work easy to read), but overall I"m glad I ran across it. Great English atmosphere.

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.½

I did enjoy it, well some of it, sortof, but I don't really want to read more of these

I have previously read book seven in the series; A Pattern of Lies a little while ago and I just absolutely loved that book. And, of course, I wanted to read the series from the beginning and lucky me; I own the first book as an eBook.

Bess Crawford works as a nurse during WW1 and is home now after being onboard a hospital ship that sunk. She survived with a broken arm and since she can't work decides to travel to Kent to visit the mother and sibling of a dying soldier last word; "Tell Jonathan that I lied. I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right." But the strange thing is that neither the mother nor the brothers admit knowing what the message is about. But then Bess learns that there is another brother, incarcerated in a lunatic asylum…

I think this series is starting to be one of my favorites. Now I have only read two books, but I feel that the WW1 milieu and the characters are truly well-done. Bess Crawford is not an amateur sleuth, she is a nurse and the mystery she happens to stumble on isn't something she had planned to solve. She just happens to be the one that starts it all, the one that sets everything in motion. And, that is one thing I really love about this book, Bess feels like a solid character with her feet steady on the ground. There is no romance luring left and right on the book. No sweetheart. I mean I'm not against romance in books, but mostly I want it to have a smaller place in the story.

I found the first book in the series quite good. The mystery of the message and the brother everyone is trying to forget was really good and I was gripped by the whole story.

I think one of the reasons I find this series so appealing is that it does remind me of Laurie. R. King's series about Mary Russell. I stated the same thing in A Pattern of Lies and I feel it still. I believe if you like of Laurie. R. King's series about Mary Russell you will like this series too.

This was kind of a slow burn (not in plot -- it jumps right into the sinking of the Britannica hospital ship) but to get to the central mystery. I found it profoundly believable, with really engaging characters in an extremely well-presented version of WWI. I loved how it wasn't centered entirely in London, or Britain, for that matter. I loved the peek behind the scenes of real lives of nurses. There was also something really seductive about the writing -- it haunts me and I keep wanting to go back and spend more time with Bess. Manages to keep the balance between the Stiff-upper-lip attitude and the underlying humanity that attitude protects. Very well done period mystery -- really enjoyed it.

I liked this beginning of a series - British mystery, set a hundred years ago.

This wasn't a bad story - just not an outstanding one. Taking place during World War 1, we really do not get a strong sense of time or place. The story opens with the sinking of a hospital ship but the description seems detached and flat and I struggled to figure out how that scene informs the rest of the book. I might try the next one in the series, but this one left me flat.

Sometimes when browsing on my Kindle there are offerings suggested that if you enjoyed a particular author then you may enjoy one of these authors which led me to the author of Charles Todd. I was further interested in learning "Charles Todd is the pen name used by the mother-and-son writing team, Caroline Todd and Charles Todd."

I'm not sure who the individuals are that compose the suggestions on Kindle but my gratitude continues for their flawless record in assisting this reader to find similar authors that I might not have discovered independently and adding to my favorite authors list.

I thoroughly enjoyed this opening novel of Bess Crawford, a nurse during WWI and look forward to reading more of this series.

Really enjoyed this book.

Bess is appealing, particularly in the opening chapters, and the setting is well sketched. I enjoyed the gender reverse gothic angle with the spooky asylum and lying relatives and all.

But.
As it goes on these characters don't resemble any humans I've ever encountered.

1916 Nurse Bess Crawford is sent home injured after the her hospital ship she was sailing on was sank. There she finally decides it time to honour the last wishes of Arthur Graham and pass on his message to his brother Johnathan.
A good mystery with characters that are likable, and that you can care about. An enjoyable read.

Apparently the author Charles Todd is actually two people, a mother-and-son writing team. I have no idea how two people write a book but if this one is any example this pair have a good way to handle it. I really enjoyed this book which is set during World War I and has an army nurse as the main character.

Bess Crawford has been nursing soldiers since World War I began. In 1916 she is serving aboard HMHS Britannic which has been picking up the wounded from Greek Macedonia, Palestine and Mesopotamia and ferrying them back to Britain. In November while travelling to pick up more wounded the ship hit a mine and sank in less than an hour. Most of the people aboard were saved, including Bess Crawford. However during the chaos her arm was broken and she was badly shaken up. On her previous trip she had made a promise to a dying lieutenant, Arthur Graham, that she would personally pass on this message to the soldier's brother, Jonathan: "Tell my brother Jonathan that I lied. I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right." Realizing that she could have died without fulfilling her promise Bess is determined to go see Jonathan Graham to deliver the message. Jonathan, also a soldier, is home recovering from a wound and he invites her to come to the family home in Kent. In truth, Bess felt rather more than a nurse's concern for Arthur and if he had survived she might have been going to his family home as his fiancee. So she is invested in seeing that Arthur's wish to have it put right (whatever it is) is carried out and she is less than happy about how Jonathan and his mother receive the message. The Grahams ask her to stay for the weekend and while she is doing so a message comes that the eldest Graham son, Peregrine, is dying of pneumonia and the asylum where he lives cannot look after him. Bess offers to nurse Peregrine about whom there is considerable mystery; Mrs. Graham says that Peregrine has been incarcerated in a mental asylum after killing a young girl when he was very young himself. Bess manages to nurse Peregrine to recovery and he is soon returned to the asylum. That is not the last Bess sees of Peregrine though. A short while later Peregrine escaped from the asylum and makes his way to London where he goes to the address of the flat that Bess shares with several other army nurses. When Bess goes to the flat to stay overnight before she heads back to her mother and father she encounters Peregrine. He convinces her to help him discover the truth of the crime he supposedly committed which he has never been able to recall in any detail. If he is a murderer then Bess is putting herself at great risk but she undertakes to help him because she thinks this is the matter that Arthur mentioned as he was dying that must be put right. It is her Duty to the Dead.

This was a well-written and fascinating mystery that kept my attention right to the end.½

I am so glad I happened to START with the first book in the series! And soooo many more have been written beyond this one. The characters and story were so appealing in this sort of historical fiction book all wrapped up in a mystery.

I like the premise: a WWI British nurse who pursues truth out of a need to do right. Many scenes are satisfying and I will read more in the series, but the mystery itself did not have a compelling or plausible solution.½

This is the first of twelve books in the Bess Crawford Mystery Series. Bess is a nurse working on a hospital ship during WWI when it hits a mine and sinks. After recuperating from injuries at her parents home in London, Bess honors her promise to a dying soldier and delivers a message to his brother at the family home. By doing so Bess becomes involved with a family embroiled in secrets and a shameful past.

This wasn't a book I could really like, the plot was too convoluted and there were too many unlikely events. I have the next in the series on the shelf and I'll read it, hopefully I'll like it better.

This is one of Charles Todd's Bess Crawford mystery series books and I have to admit to being hooked. I've never been much of a mystery reader but the Bess Crawford character just drew me in, plus the World War I Britain setting and the whole book being about her trying to deliver and then unravel the parting wish of a dying soldier she nursed. I did think the ending got a bit convoluted, so be warned on that front. But I was so hooked by then that I didn't really care. I'll be reading other Charles Todd mystery books in the upcoming months, I'm sure of it.

Great read. Loved it.

Audiobook narrated by Rosalyn Landor. A brilliantly done beginning novel in the Bess Crawford mystery series.

World War One English soldier Arthur Graham’s dying wish triggers a series of events that reveals a terrible family secret.

He tells his nurse, Bess Crawford, to pass on a message to one of his three brothers, Jonathan: “I lied. I did it for mother’s sake. It has to be set right”. Arthur’s weakened state hasn’t weakened the strong spirit of his warm and infectious personality. Bess breaks the nurse/patient rules of professional distance and is starting to fall in love with him. So, when he entrusts her with his message, she feels obligated to pass it on.

It’s not until Bess is injured when the hospital ship, Britannic, is hit that she acts on Arthur’s wishes. Bess’s father is a colonel and he reinforces she has a duty to comply with the dead man’s wishes.

She goes to Kent to the Graham family and passes on the message. She finds out Arthur’s half-brother Peregrine, is in an asylum for murdering a woman when he was a child. When Peregrine escapes from the asylum the pace and revelations quicken. Bess pieces together the puzzle and “sets right” a shocking injustice.

Bess overcomes many obstacles, not the least the social mores of the World War One. Class differences were clear and that a “respectable” family could commit terrible crimes isn’t thought possible. Charles Todd – a pseudonym for mother and son writing team Charles and Caroline Todd – portrays the era’s social mores and atmosphere in a way that makes you feel you are there.

Class distinction in England in the nineteen tens was clear and it was unheard of for a “respectable” family to do anything wrong. Bess’s overcomes the societal belief of the inappropriateness of a nurse asking difficult questions. But she is still beholden to the mistaken belief a “respectable” family like the Grahams was respectable.

Each time evidence she uncovers points to the Graham’s ghastliness and complicity in a terrible crime, she finds reasons to disbelieve it.

The portrayal war’s horror and how it destroys soldiers is powerful. The scenes showing the torment of a minor character, Ted Booker, are memorable and elicit sympathy for soldiers’ plight.

I enjoyed this suspenseful mystery reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier.

This is the first in a series of Bess Crawford novels set during World War One. I am looking forward to reading more.

It is interesting to track the characters when an author writes several books using the same characters. This is an early Bess Crawford work and, compared to later volumes, the characters are less well defined or used. Bess herself is less competent but her compassion is less manageable. The story itself is far less well outlined. That said, it was great to read the early work. Bess is a formidable character with remarkable determination.½

A duty to the dead is the first Bess Crawford mystery by the writing duo of Caroline and Charles Todd, mother and son. Bess is a nurse in World War I and is back in Britain after her hospital ship, Britannic, hits a mine and sinks in the Aegean Sea. Luckily most were rescued and Bess is sent to England to recuperate from her broken arm and other injuries. While she is there, she goes to see the brother of a patient who died in order to give him a message. It seems a wrong needs to be set right. Of course, all is not as simple as it seems and Bess is one determined young lady.

At first, it seemed that there were similarities to Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, the first volume appearing in 2003, six years before this novel. However, this prooved not to be the case as each woman solved mysteries in an entirely different way, Maisie using psychological training and observation while Bess has a need for the truth of the situation. Maisie comes from the lower classes and has raised herself through sheer determination while Bess is the daughter of an army officer who served in India. Maisie's stories take place in post war Britain while, for Bess, the war is still going on.

This book should appeal to those who enjoy reading about the Great War as well as mystery fans.

Note: The HMHS Britannic did indeed sink in November of 1916. Thirty people were killed and 1035 survived.½

It is exceedingly slow with long passages that I believe is an attempt to provide background for a character that has never seen print and paper before. I also believe that Bess's behavior was unbelievable considering that it was 1916 and she was a woman. Complete strangers were willing to be interrogated by a young single woman about circumstances that were clearly none of her concern ?... I don't think so. It is however the first book in the series and this is NOT 1916 so I know that reader were forgiving and embraced the series since there has been 10 years worth of books in this series since this one. I did enjoy the story so 4 stars.

A Duty to the Dead
4 Stars

On leave after being injured during the sinking of the hospital ship Britannic, nurse Bess Crawford takes the opportunity to fulfill the dying wish of a young soldier under her care. Traveling to Kent, she encounters the Graham family and their many secrets including the existence of unwanted sibling incarcerated in a lunatic asylum. As Bess delves deeper into the meaning of Arthur Graham’s message, she uncovers an horrific crime and a travesty of justice that may have far reaching consequences for her personally.

Compelling characters and an interesting mystery albeit a little drawn out at the end.

The setting of Britain during the Great War is absorbing, especially the descriptions of English “stiff upper lip” and the varied reactions to the traumas suffered by the returning soldiers whether physical or mental. There are moments where it is necessary to remember the time period and not judge people’s harshness and cruelty according to 21st century moral and social principles.

The mystery builds slowly but surely as Bess uncovers one clue after another. While the evidence of Peregrine’s innocence and his stepmother’s appalling mistreatment of him is glaringly obvious, the identity of the villain remains in question almost till the end. The climax is exciting although the resolution could have been written more compactly. Moreover, it is disappointing that Timothy escapes the justice he so richly deserves by committing suicide.

Bess is a spirited and engaging heroine. The only questionable aspect of her personality is her intense affection for Arthur Graham, which has little if any basis in reality, and tends to skew her judgement.

All in all, an entertaining listen and my first book narrated by Rosalyn Landor whose performance was excellent.

Reads like an Americanized English WWI novel with a mediocre mystery. I might be mistaken, but several things in the story seemed to be there for modern convenience than any nod to the historical setting. I didn't like the first-person narrative.

An example of a nitpick: yes, we understand that Bess is stubborn and doesn't always do what her father says, but where the heck did she get the money to buy the automobile behind her father's back?

In general, the sense of the money value of things seemed out of whack, even for wartime. Or maybe especially for wartime. Admittedly, this is just an impression, since I have no expertise in the matter.