A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery

Description

While attempting to help a woman in distress, World War I battlefield nurse Bess Crawford learns a bitter truth, that no good deed goes unpunished. Returning to her London flat from the front lines in France for a well-earned Christmas leave, Bess Crawford comes upon a bruised and shivering woman huddled in the doorway. Propelled by pity, Bess takes her in. Yet despite the ill effects of a concussion suffered during a quarrel with her husband that erupted into violence, the woman decides to return home, and asks Bess to travel with her to Sussex. At Vixen Hill, Bess discovers a family in mourning for an elder son who has died of war wounds, and a husband tormented by jealousy and his own guilty conscience. But when a troubled houseguest meets an untimely death, Bess finds herself the prime suspect, and on the trail of a vicious killer that leads back to war-torn France toward a startling revelation that will place her life in dire jeopardy.

Charles and Caroline Todd are a mother-and-son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. Together, they have written nearly thirty mysteries, including the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford series.

"Makes fine work of the brooding atmosphere." -- New York Times Book Review on A Bitter Truth "Outstanding." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) on A Bitter Truth "Bess is a very strong series lead, the historical setting is as well developed here as it is in the Rutledge books, and the mysteries are just as elegantly constructed. Readers who have yet to sample the Crawford series should be strongly encouraged to do so." -- Booklist on A Bitter Truth "Few writers surpass Todd in depicting the insanity of war." -- Kirkus Reviews on A Bitter Truth "Todd brings World War I England and France to life with an intriguing plot and an intrepid sleuth." -- Library Journal on A Bitter Truth "A thoughtful mystery with an excellent plot, well-drawn characters and wonderful atmosphere." -- Associated Press on A Bitter Truth "A well-envisaged plot, a deep sense of time and place and characters drawn with care and compassion." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch on A Bitter Truth "Charles Todd has developed believable characters that carry along this story with lightning speed from the first page to the last." -- New York Journal of Books on A Bitter Truth "The Todds excel at complex characterizations....For lovers of upper-drawer British whodunnits and Anglophiles in general, A Bitter Truth should prove a sweet treat indeed." -- Wilmington Star-News on A Bitter Truth "A lovely picture of a slower world." -- Charlotte Observer on A Bitter Truth "A thoughtful mystery with an excellent plot, well-drawn characters and wonderful atmosphere." -- Indianapolis Star on A Bitter Truth "Combines believable characters, gut-wrenching suspense and a sobering commentary on the ravages of war." -- Deseret News on A Bitter Truth "Highly recommended--well-rounded, believable characters, a multi-layered plot solidly based on human nature, all authentically set in the England of 1917, make A Bitter Truth an outstanding and riveting read." -- Stephanie Laurens, New York Times bestselling author "Readers will enjoy Todd's plucky, determined sleuth and a thrilling mystery that proves murders on the home front don't stop just because there's a war." -- Library Journal on An Impartial Witness "Bess Crawford is a strong and likable character." -- Washington Times on An Impartial Witness "A superb whodunit--just when you think you have it figured out, Todd throws a curve--and a moving evocation of a world at war." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch on An Impartial Witness "A smartly plotted, well-told mystery." -- Booklist on An Impartial Witness "A book rich in atmosphere and dense with plot." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch on An Impartial Witness "Todd's excellent second mystery featuring British nurse Bess Crawford smoothly blends realistic characters with an intricate plot." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) on An Impartial Witness "Find some cures for the post-Downton Abbey blues ... Charles Todd has been producing a series of highly praised detective novels set in the years immediately after World War I." -- Tulsa World Scene