From the brilliantly imaginative New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd comes an unforgettable new character in an exceptional new series
England, 1916. Independent-minded Bess Crawford’s upbringing is far different from that of the usual upper-middle-class British gentlewoman. Growing up in India, she learned the importance of responsibility, honor, and duty from her officer father. At … duty from her officer father. At the outbreak of World War I, she followed in his footsteps and volunteered for the nursing corps, serving from the battlefields of France to the doomed hospital ship Britannic.
On one voyage, Bess grows fond of the young, gravely wounded Lieutenant Arthur Graham. Something rests heavily on his conscience, and to give him a little peace as he dies, she promises to deliver a message to his brother. It is some months before she can carry out this duty, and when she’s next in England, she herself is recovering from a wound.
When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother’s last wishes with surprising indifference. Neither his mother nor his brother Timothy seems to think it has any significance. Unsettled by this, Bess is about to take her leave when sudden tragedy envelops her. She quickly discovers that fulfilling this duty to the dead has thrust her into a maelstrom of intrigue and murder that will endanger her own life and test her courage as not even war has.
more
love the whole series
Bess Crawford novels are historically accurate and she is a strong woman with a sense of honor. All her stories are interesting and she is not perfect but a real hero in all of her stories.
I found this book a little disappointing since it had been compared to the Maisie Dobbs books. There were some serious gaps in logic.
This book, indeed the entire series is a joy for anyone interested in WWI. The impact of three war is exploited through the eyes of a nurse who Brings intelligence, compassion and decidedly British life experience to her description of the war, both the front, the administration of the war, the differing experiences as determined by class and the …
Gives a view of WWI that we don’t often get. What it was like to some degree for those taking care of the wounded on the front lines. Add in a mystery and these books are a good read. Best read in order, but can be read as stand alones.
Good story and a main character to sympathize with and admire.
I’be always enjoyed reading about WWI nurses. Although this is fiction the caracters are enjoyable.
This whole series is great. I like the Bess Crawford character and I enjoy the WWI setting.
Good characters and plot, and I like this authors writing and story development.
Fabulous WWI series with medical and historical facts woven into characters who make you miss them when you’re reading. I am eating up the entire series. Rapidly.
Found this mother and son team of authors by accident and I am hooked!! Please check out author Charles Todd. He is author of the Bess Crawford mysteries and the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries. They are a mother and son writing team. You won’t be sorry!!
A Duty to the Dead is a World War I-era mystery, starring Bess Crawford as Hercule Poirot. Bess is a nurse on the hospital ship Britannic when the ship hits a mine and she breaks her arm in the ensuing chaos. Forced to return to Britain and await new orders, Bess has the time to carry a dying message to the family of one of her most beloved …
I really enjoyed this book and will look for others by this author
When a writer friend recommended this series that was 1) a mystery series 2) set in World War I 3) featuring a battlefront nurse 4) who had grown up in India with her British Army father, it hit so many of my “hot buttons” as a reader I was predisposed to love it if the writing was even passable. And the writing is not just passable, it’s …
excellent series
Love the characters in this series
I have enjoyed all the books I have read–a lot of them–by Charles Todd. I have learned about the tragedies men and women suffered in WWI as I have read them.
All Charles Todd books are great!
I have read all the books in this series. Can wait for him to write more. The plots are complex and interesting. I like the WWI setting.
very thought provoking.