I'm quite thankful for this collection of short stories because it gave me a chance to finally read something by Charles Todd. I own the first book in both the Bess Crawford and the Ian Rutledge series, but I have not read any one of them yet. I also have the latest Bess Crawford book A Pattern of Lies so this gave me an opportunity to read about both Crawford and Rutledge and see if I find the stories and the characters to my liking. And, I did. Yes, these stories are not so long, but they are well written and interesting and left me with a feeling of needing more and of course since this is me we are talking about a need for both characters to actually meet since both series takes place during the same period. Another thing, perhaps it's the period, but reading Bess Crawford made me thinking about Laurie R. Kings series about Mary Russell. Something about Bess made me think about her. Can be that they both took care of wounded people during WW1 or something. But I think readers of the Mary Russell series would like Charles Todd's books as well.

Now on to the stories. There were two stories each about Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge.

Bess Crawford finds a dead body on a beach in “The Girl on the Beach” and she and the local police try to find out who the dead girl is and who took her life. I liked the story. I got introduced to Bess and I instantly liked her and felt that I wanted to know more about her. 3.5 stars

In the Maharani's Pearls, we got to meet Bess and her parents in India. Bess is told by a fortuneteller that someone she cares for is in danger. I liked this because we got a story about Bess when she was younger and it gave an interesting glimpse into her childhood in India. 3 stars

A young gets kidnapped in The Kidnapping: and Ian Rutledge must figure out why anyone would kidnap her and who's behind it. Since it's a very short story isn't it really time to get to know Ian Rutledge that well, but he seems to be a capable policeman. 3 stars

In Cold Comfort must Ian Rutledge figure out why two brothers want a man dead while fighting in the First World War. This story was really good, it started a bit slow, but, in the end, it was my favorite story in this collection. 4 stars

The collection also contained the first two chapters of the new book A pattern of Lies and I usually try not to read chapters of a book, but I did it this time since this was a blog tour and also since I do have the book so I knew I could continue with reading A pattern of Lies if I wanted to. And, I wanted to, but that is another story...

I received this copy from the publisher through NetGalley return for an honest review! Thank you! ( )

I'm quite thankful for this collection of short stories because it gave me a chance to finally read something by Charles Todd. I own the first book in both the Bess Crawford and the Ian Rutledge series, but I have not read any one of them yet. I also have the latest Bess Crawford book A Pattern of Lies so this gave me an opportunity to read about both Crawford and Rutledge and see if I find the stories and the characters to my liking. And, I did. Yes, these stories are not so long, but they are well written and interesting and left me with a feeling of needing more and of course since this is me we are talking about a need for both characters to actually meet since both series takes place during the same period. Another thing, perhaps it's the period, but reading Bess Crawford made me thinking about Laurie R. Kings series about Mary Russell. Something about Bess made me think about her. Can be that they both took care of wounded people during WW1 or something. But I think readers of the Mary Russell series would like Charles Todd's books as well.

Now on to the stories. There were two stories each about Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge.

Bess Crawford finds a dead body on a beach in “The Girl on the Beach” and she and the local police try to find out who the dead girl is and who took her life. I liked the story. I got introduced to Bess and I instantly liked her and felt that I wanted to know more about her. 3.5 stars

In the Maharani's Pearls, we got to meet Bess and her parents in India. Bess is told by a fortuneteller that someone she cares for is in danger. I liked this because we got a story about Bess when she was younger and it gave an interesting glimpse into her childhood in India. 3 stars

A young gets kidnapped in The Kidnapping: and Ian Rutledge must figure out why anyone would kidnap her and who's behind it. Since it's a very short story isn't it really time to get to know Ian Rutledge that well, but he seems to be a capable policeman. 3 stars

In Cold Comfort must Ian Rutledge figure out why two brothers want a man dead while fighting in the First World War. This story was really good, it started a bit slow, but, in the end, it was my favorite story in this collection. 4 stars

The collection also contained the first two chapters of the new book A pattern of Lies and I usually try not to read chapters of a book, but I did it this time since this was a blog tour and also since I do have the book so I knew I could continue with reading A pattern of Lies if I wanted to. And, I wanted to, but that is another story...

I received this copy from the publisher through NetGalley return for an honest review! Thank you! ( )

A good introduction into these two good series, set in the same period but quite diverse in their choice of protagonists. ( )

This author — actually a mother-son writing team — has two ongoing series, both set in the time period during and immediately following World War I. This book contains two short stories from each series, featuring military nurse Bess Crawford and Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, respectively. I read the first full-length Bess Crawford novel a few years ago, and thought it was fine but not compelling enough to continue the series. On the other hand, I've read and enjoyed every one of the novels featuring Ian Rutledge, finding him a much more compelling character. None of these short stories changed either of those opinions.

The Kidnapping — It's 1920, and Inspector Rutledge is drawn into investigating a kidnapping that has just happened: A man is returning from a dinner party with his young daughter when they are set upon by a trio of strangers, who attack the father and take the little girl with them. The entire case, from crime to capture, happens in the space of a single evening.

The Girl on the Beach — World War I is underway, and nurse Crawford is on a short leave in Sussex when she stumbles on the body of a young woman on the beach. The local police don't appreciate having a mere nurse, and a woman at that, offering her deductive reasoning skills, but she ends up solving the case anyway. Whatever.

Cold Comfort — Lieutenant Rutledge is supervising the placement of explosives in a tunnel under German lines at the front when he's confronted with vague evidence that two of the men under his charge may be trying the kill one of their fellow soldiers. When a demolition attempt goes awry and nearly blows Rutledge and Private Williams sky-high, he's determined to get to the bottom of it before it's too late.

The Maharani's Pearls — The prequel of all prequels. Bess is 10 years old, living with her parents in India, where her father is some kind of muckety-muck in the British colonial force. A plot to overthrow the Maharajah can only be thwarted because nosy Bess is where she shouldn't be and passes along information to her father and his batman, who don't seem to hesitate at all before initiating a military action solely on the word of a precocious 10-year-old. Double whatever.

There's also a two-chapter excerpt from a full-length Bess Crawford novel, [A Pattern of Lies], which I read to see if maybe my initials impressions of the character and the series had been mistaken. Nope. The main problem, I think, is that Bess is just a very boring character, with no personal quirks to make her stand out or to make readers identify with her. The books aren't bad, but they are to me very boring, which is something a mystery series should never be.

In contrast, Rutledge is a clearly drawn character with a compelling personal story and interior dialogue that caught my attention from the first book. Even so, these two shorts are pretty standard and don't do much to advance any understanding of the character for me. I don't mind having read them, but you won't have missed much if you choose to skip them. ( )