A Bitter Truth

A Bess Crawford Mystery

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Trying to help a woman in distress, World War I nurse and accidental sleuth Bess Crawford learns that no good deed goes unpunished.

When battlefield nurse Bess Crawford returns from France for a well-earned Christmas leave, she finds a bruised and shivering woman huddled in the doorway of her London residence. The woman has nowhere to turn, and propelled by a firm sense of duty, Bess takes her in.

Once inside Bess' flat, the woman reveals that a quarrel with her husband erupted into violence, yet she wants to return home - if Bess will go with her to Sussex. Realizing that the woman is suffering from a concussion, Bess gives up a few precious days of leave to travel with her. But she soon discovers that this is a good deed with unforeseeable consequences.

What Bess finds at Vixen Hill is a house of mourning. The woman's family has gathered for a memorial service for the elder son, who died of war wounds. Her husband, home on compassionate leave, is tense, tormented by jealousy and his own guilty conscience.

Then, when a troubled houseguest is found dead, Bess herself becomes a prime suspect in the case. This murder will lead her to a dangerous quest in war-torn France, an unexpected ally, and a startling revelation that puts her in jeopardy before a vicious killer can be exposed.

©2011 Charles Todd (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

#3 IN ANOTHER GREAT CHARLES TODD SERIES!

I got hooked on author Charles Todd through is Inspector Ian Rutledge series. The Bess Crawford Mysteries are ALMOST as good, with the usual early murder in an unlikely location, followed by an amazing number of twists, turns, and red herrings which keep the reader off kilter until the very end. This is the 3rd in the series. I say this so you don't start out of order. Each book can stand on its own but subsequent ones make reference to prior crimes.

Bess is the only daughter of a highly decorated British colonel who has chosen nursing on the battlefields during World War I, rather than a comfortable, if loveless, marriage to a gentleman of her class. While she lacks the training and knowledge of Rutledge (a well-educated member of London gentry who chose law enforcement before fighting as an officer in the same war), Bess' criminal deductive skills come from what I took as "female intuition", a bit of a condensending insult to women then and now. This choice by Todd gives the Bess Crawford series less of an overall impact, especially since it takes place before the acceptance of such rudimentary criminal forensics like fingerprints, ballistics, the information provided by rigor mortis and livor mortis - all which would become critical components just a decade later. Bess kinda "stumbles" her way into solutions with the full force of the considerable resources and access to military and government documents and databases provided by her father.

The narrator is out of league here. While Landor is great with Regency, Edwardian, and Victorian romance books, her range of voices and dialects is limited, especially with respect to males. All of her men sound like upper-crust fops talking like their buttocks are clinched so tight that a hungry man couldn't get a shilling from between the cheeks. A major flaw is with the dialogue between women of the same class. If more than 2 are talking, the normally irritating "Bess said" or "Lady Stiff-Upperlip remarked" is sorely needed just to keep your place or you'll find yourself rewinding repeatedly throughout the book.

That said, this series is still worth listening to. Try to get them on sale if you can and start with Bess Crawford before the Rutledge books. Comparatively, she is merely a tasty appetizer to Rutledge's outstanding main course. (NOTE: I will post this same review for the others in the series, only changing the chronological order.)

Escapism

The development of characters was well done. The story clever and the narrator very pleasing.

Beloved Nurse Bess! She's always wonderful!

Would you listen to A Bitter Truth again? Why?

Perhaps. I don't often re-read mysteries, but if ever I would, anything written by Charles Todd (mother-son writing team) would be it!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Always Bess--she is so kind and resourceful. When I was a young girl, in addition to reading Nancy Drew, I also read a series (less well known, I think) called "Cherry Ames." She was a nurse who was an amateur sleuth as well. I loved those--and perhaps it is that long past devotion to that series that also echoes in my memory as I read this one!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh yes--only I have to break it up because of length!

Any additional comments?

Bess Crawford is a companion series that goes with the Inspector Rutledge series. While he is often more of a loner--acting as he sees fit to get the crime solved, Bess tends to be more involved with other people. As a nurse, she is in contact with others more anyway. She has a background father and his long-devoted friend from the wars, who often magically step in to protect her when things begin to get too rough, so she doesn't have to be a physically tough action figure! She does do things on her own, but usually she is clever in being able to solve crimes through her connectedness to others more than Rutledge, who shies away from people as a rule.

I think the two series complement each other beautifully. If you have not read either from the beginning--suggest you do so. While they work okay starting in the middle, like many series, characters develop over time, so that is more satisfying.

My only thoughts about this particular book that made it *slightly* less enjoyable (and that would be like removing 1/100th of a star :-) is that the idea of Bess going to the house of a perfect stranger for a few days, giving up her own Christmas visit with her parents, was rather implausible. But if you forgive the authors that tiny bit of a stretch, it is a great read!

I"m biased, because I would (at this point) love just about anything Charles Todd writes--because I have read every book so far and truly enjoyed them. But I honestly think they are a talented pair. Highly recommend--good history of WWI era as well as good writing, and interesting plots!

boring

Please spent your time writing the Inspector Ian Rutledge novels. They have heart and a good mystery. Bees Crawford is just plain boring

An intriguing historical mystery

I loved the story line and the heroine of the story, Bess Crawford! I will be reading more of this series!

Another great mystery

I'm really enjoying the Bess Crawford series. I love learning some history along the way too.

Not the greatest tale in this series

What made the experience of listening to A Bitter Truth the most enjoyable?

The narrator does a reasonably good job of bringing the characters in this tale to life

Would you be willing to try another book from Charles Todd? Why or why not?

I enjoyed the first two installments in this series, but I found this one to be a little contrived. Despite that I am certain that I'll either read or listen to the next tales in this series

Sort of Dry

Nothing in this book made me
Like the Characters
Anxious for what would happen next
Interested in these people's lives.
It wasn't a bad read. But it wasn't very good either.

Bess is before her time

I love Bess in her day women lived very sheltered lives ,She is the exception ,she is a woman who has a mind of her own. She is an independent thinker and can add two and two . If I were in trouble I'd want her in my corner.

Neither Bitter nor Sweet

I have really enjoyed the Ian Rutledge series by Todd and so tried this. I realize I didn't start with the first in the series, and perhaps that diminished my enjoyment of Bess Crawford. The story starts well, but I never really felt attached to Bess or her personal story. The plot here begins in an intriguing way but peters out to a very so-so conclusion. Most of the characters and settings never come to life.

If you like historical mysteries (and especially the WWI period), I'd recommend the early Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear over the Bess Crawford series. Winspear is better at characterization and atmosphere.