A Duty To The Dead (Bess Crawford, #1)

Nov 24, 2011 Erin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historic-fiction-1900s

Find the enhanced version of this and other reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....

I don't have much of a background with regards to World War I lit. All Quiet on the Western Front all but killed my interest in the genre. For years I wouldn’t touch anything on the subject. I changed my tune after reading Barbed Wire and Roses. The book left such an impression on me that I started looking for other books set during the Great War. One of the first titles that caught my eye was a murde...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Marcie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first in the Bess Crawford mystery series (written by the author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery series). The Rutledge series takes place just after WWI, this one is during the war. Bess is an English nurse at the front. A dying soldier makes her promise to take a message home to his family. After she is injured when her hospital ship is torpedoed she finally has a chance to deliver the message. The message opens up a long kept secret that could free a man from prison and destr...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Megan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, crime-and-mystery, historical-fiction, 2-stars

The mystery element was decent but not exceptional and I wasn't satisfied with how it resolved, so I probably wouldn't recommend the book for its plot, but I loved the thoughtfulness with which the story, and with which Bess, wrestled with the theme (as stated by the title) and with trying to do well by people whose voices are marginalized (by death, by PTSD, by mental illness, by family dynamics).

I was disappointed in a trope used by the book. Spoilers for the ending: (view spoiler)...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Occasionally, I enjoy a good stroll down the mystery aisle at my local library to look for authors whose books I might want to try. Charles Todd's first in the Bess Crawford series did not disappoint my latest cover gamble. Like Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs, Todd's Crawford is a strong woman solving mysteries in a different time, in this case World War I in Britain. I'm not sure when the historical mystery genre was first created, but I hope it's here to stay. Giving us a taste of history,...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Ren rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, historical, mystery, kindle

Overall, not a bad book. Bess Crawford is (much to my surprise and delight) a likable narrator. She's sympathetic and caring and paints a vivid picture of the cold English countryside during WWI. While the book takes a while to really pick up, the final chapters were filled with so much action that I couldn't put the book down until it was finished.

While it was an enjoyable read, there were several things that kept bothering me. I was surprised to find out that the author (authors, in fact) has...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Elena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: mystery fans and historical buffs

Recommended to Elena by: Amazon

This is the second book in a series by a mother-son team of authors I have read. It is actually the first in a series of books by "Charles Todd". I have found them very interesting. The heroine is an English nursing sister set in WWI. Elizabeth (Bess) Crawford is the daughter of a British Colonel. She is an only child and grew up rebelling against her father's dictates of what a girl should or could do. The colonel wanted a son and got a girl. She is feisty, courageous, and just like her father,...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Lily Bart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As I get older I often find that what matters most to me about a book is not whether the plot is air tight and the mystery totally plausible, but whether or not the author creates characters you can admire and care about.

On that level, A DUTY TO THE DEAD is a classic.

Bess Crawford is a beautiful, upper class English girl who volunteers to be a nurse in World War One. The daughter of an officer and very proud of her military background, Bess is fearless and calm in the terrifying shipwreck scen...more As I get older I often find that what matters most to me about a book is not whether the plot is air tight and the mystery totally plausible, but whether or not the author creates characters you can admire and care about.

On that level, A DUTY TO THE DEAD is a classic.

Bess Crawford is a beautiful, upper class English girl who volunteers to be a nurse in World War One. The daughter of an officer and very proud of her military background, Bess is fearless and calm in the terrifying shipwreck scene that begins the novel. The descriptions of the mine explosion and the frantic escape from the sinking Britannic are truly explosive, written with so much terrifying realism that it all seems to be happening in slow motion. A nightmare, yet totally real. Bess comes across as cool and resolute, yet deeply caring and utterly irresistable.

Having established a totally admirable and fascinating heroine, the authors (Charles Todd is really a mother and son team writing together) introduce an even more amazing hero. Peregrine Graham is a madman who has just escaped from an asylum after fifteen years of brutal imprisonment. As a young boy he horribly murdered a pretty young servant girl -- or did he? By turns savage, brooding, and vulnerable, Peregring Graham is a romance reader's dream. Let all my Kleypas people know: this boy could give Nick Gentry or Derek Craven a run for his money. He might even be able to go a round or two with Jamie Fraser himself!

Unfortunately, this is not a romance novel. This is a cosy English mystery. And even though Bess and Peregrine have an almost sizzling physical chemistry from the word go, the mystery itself is muddled, confusing, and often unintentionally funny.

"Come on, Peregrine! Keep that bag over your head so no one will recognize you! It's very important that we walk down the street in plain view, and interview every elderly villager who still remembers THAT NIGHT! Look, there's old Eleanor Rigby. Let's ask her what she remembers! 'Bless you, my child, I remember it all like it was yesterday. I was picking up the rice in the church where a wedding had been, and I heard a scream. But then I heard someone say, 'blame the idiot. blame the idiot!' And that's all I remember, my dears. But look, there's Father McKenzie. He's always darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there. Perhaps he remembers more about THAT NIGHT."

It's hard to believe that everyone in the village has photographic memory and total recall. And a lot of the Graham family history is hard to swallow too. There are too many Graham brothers, and you can't tell one from the other most of the time.

"Now, Peregrine, while you were playing with your knife, someone must have drugged you and stolen it for just long enough to hack poor Lily to death! Now was it Harpo, the silent one? Or was it Chico, the Italian one? Or was it Groucho, the funny one? We've got to find out who it was before they send you back to the asylum! What do you mean, there ain't no sanity clause?"

If you love a haunting atmosphere, a strong heroine, and a brooding hero, then this book is really a wonderful experience. But if you're looking for a mystery that is believable and detective work that is totally realistic, then A Duty To The Dead is only an average read.(less)

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May 23, 2012 Rdevillez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It held my interest until the end. Faint praise perhaps but given that more than half the books I start reading get discarded after one or two chapters because they are so terribly written, not so faint as all that.
I enjoy period mysteries, still read Sherlock Holmes from time to time, despite knowing what is going to happen. Perhaps I am just old and getting nostalgic in my dotage, but the characters seem to be more fully rounded than in most of the more modern novels. I am afraid that modern f...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Maureen E rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, mystery

I started Maisie Dobbs, but the library I'm at the most doesn't have the second book. I remembered that Jess had recommended the Bess Crawford books recently, so I picked up the first one.

In general, I like historical mysteries, so these two had that going for them from the beginning. Also, I've been a bit passionate about WWI since high school, when we read the war poets.

The Bess Crawford books, so far, take place during the war rather than after it (as with Maisie Dobbs). This fact adds a sen...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Jana Perskie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction-mystery, historical-fiction

"Duty to The Dead" opens on Tuesday, November 21, 1916, at 8: A.M. Our protagonist, Bess Crawford is onboard a ship in the Mediterranean heading toward England, writing in her journal.

World War I, the "War to End All Wars" is in its second year. It began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, at the hands of Serbian nationalists. This act of terror was seen as the immediate trigger of the war. Of course, there were many other reasons - und...more "Duty to The Dead" opens on Tuesday, November 21, 1916, at 8: A.M. Our protagonist, Bess Crawford is onboard a ship in the Mediterranean heading toward England, writing in her journal.

World War I, the "War to End All Wars" is in its second year. It began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, at the hands of Serbian nationalists. This act of terror was seen as the immediate trigger of the war. Of course, there were many other reasons - underlying justifications - for such a horrific conflict to begin, initially between the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia, France, and Great Britain.

In the beginning, the soldiers of the above countries enlisted for battle with a great deal of idealism and patriotism - but what did they know? They were innocent pawns. However, the heads of their governments were not so innocent. When war was declared, there were street celebrations in most of Europe's capital cities. No one envisaged trench warfare in August 1914, let alone the appalling casualties that occurred over the 4 years of fighting. The belief was that the conflict would be over in weeks...months. The soldiers, and those who loved them, soon realized that the war was not a glorious call to arms or a romantic charge on horses between dashing young men; it was attrition warfare on a massive scale, killing millions with little movement on both sides for the soldiers who survived and died on the mud-caked battlefields. Trench warfare was grim...ghastly, unimaginable! By wars end, in 1918, 8.5 million of the 65 million men mobilized were dead, and another 21 million wounded - 7.7 million were POWs or missing in action - and that does not include the civilian deaths, or the walking wounded, who would today be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

But I digress...so back to Bess Crawford, a spunky, independent, courageous young woman, quite different from her counterparts - the usual upper-middle-class British gentlewoman. Bess grew up in India and learned the importance of honor and duty from her officer father. Not very much surprises her, as she and her mother have followed Bess' father ("Colonel Sahib") around the world, and some of the things they have seen were not very pretty.

At the beginning of hostilities, Bess volunteered for the British Army Nursing Corps, caring for the wounded and dying on the battlefields of France, and on the hospital ship Britannic, a sister ship to the Titanic. Unfortunately the Britannic is struck by a mine in the Aegean Sea and sinks. Bess survives, but is injured during the disaster. When we first meet her she is on her way home to convalesce with her family in England.

Throughout nurses' training the women were warned about letting themselves become too emotionally involved with their patients. Their Matron had told them many times, "They are yours to comfort, yours to heal, but not yours to dream about." And Bess, being so level-headed, never thought this issue would be a problem for her. But she is, after all, a normal young woman...and not inured to the charms of a handsome, albeit very ill, young officer. Lieutenant Arthur Graham, who is suffering from severe wounds, is friendly, kind, as upbeat as possible given the circumstances, and handsome, despite his wounds. He befriends many of his fellow soldiers, the doctors and nursing staff, and Bess, in particular. The two form a close friendship and Bess wonders if she is in love with the Lieutenant. It certainly seems that her feelings are reciprocated. But no matter how hard the medical staff tries, Arthur dies of his wounds. Before he dies, he makes Bess promise to go to his home, Owlhurst, in Kent to deliver a message to his brother Jonathan. "Tell Jonathan that I lied. I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right." Bess is devastated by Arthur's death and troubled about visiting his family. Still, she feels compelled to do her "duty to the dead."

When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference. Neither his upper-crust mother, nor his brother Timothy, seem to pay much attention to the dying man's last words. Unsettled by this, Bess begins to believe that her duty to fulfill Arthur's request may involve more than delivering a message.

While visiting the family, she is asked by the local doctor to assist him on a few cases. When she is ready to leave Owlhurst for home, and then back to the frontlines, the doctor asks Bess, one last time, to help him on a difficult case. Arthur's eldest brother, Peregrin, heir to the family name and estate, is to return home from an insane asylum, (where he was incarcerated for murdering a maid at the age of 14), because he is dying of pneumonia. As Bess is such a good nurse, Peregrin doesn't die and she begins to wonder, as she speaks with Peregrin and meets and talks with townspeople, if perhaps Peregin did not, in fact, commit the murder. But if Peregrin is not the killer, then who is?

I thoroughly enjoyed "Duty to The Dead," the first in a new series. Charles Todd, is actually a pseudonym for the mother and son writing team of David Todd Watjen and Carolyn L.T Watjen. They are also the bestselling authors of the extremely successful Inspector Rutledge mysteries, which also take place during WWI. I discovered Inspector Rutledge a few years ago and am a huge fan of his series. The authors bring the terrible war and its consequences to life on the pages of their novels, while developing their characters and creating original mysteries. I highly recommend both "A Duty to the Dead," and the Rutledge series - see links to some of my favorite Charles Todd books below.

The writing here is tight and the period descriptions of rural England struggling through the war are exceptional. Bess Crawford is one of the brightest, most likeable, persistent heroines I have met in a long time. Highly recommended! (less)

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Jan 10, 2012 Abigails rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book "A Duty to the Dead" ,by Charles Todd, is a very intriguing historical fiction book published by Harper Collins e-books. The book takes place in London, England during World War I. Many dreadful things were happening at the time.
Bess Crawford was a nurse in World War I, aboard the Brittanic. While on a journey, the ship hit a mine, making it take on water. Miss Crawford was injured during the accident and had to be nursed back to health. But, while nursng others back to health she was...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Kaylees rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mp2

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd was an entertaining novel that went from a boring story about a girl working as a nurse, to a thrilling novel about a murder that happened fourteen years ago. The story begins with a young women named Bess working as a nurse to help wounded and sick soldiers. Her ship is called the Britannic . Her ship sinks but she isn't hurt, aside from a broken arm. Because of her arm, Bess has to take a few weeks off from her duty as a nurse for it to heal. However, thi...more A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd was an entertaining novel that went from a boring story about a girl working as a nurse, to a thrilling novel about a murder that happened fourteen years ago. The story begins with a young women named Bess working as a nurse to help wounded and sick soldiers. Her ship is called the Britannic . Her ship sinks but she isn't hurt, aside from a broken arm. Because of her arm, Bess has to take a few weeks off from her duty as a nurse for it to heal. However, this was just the amount of time Bess needed. While she was on the ship, she had a special spot in her heart for a patient named Aurther Graham. Arthur had troubles with his leg and he was getting better, but he took a turn for the worst and died a few days later. Aurther didn't die before giving Bess a very important message though. "Tell Johnathan that I lied. I did it for mother's sake. But it has to be set right," this is what Aurther's dying wish to Bess was. So Bess heads off to the Graham's home to deliver the message to Aurther's brother, Johnathan. While she is there though, Bess uncovers terrible secrets about Aurther's older brother, Peregrinde. Pereginde had murdered a servent in London at the age of fourteen and is now being kept in an asylum. Bess is forced to go home beore she can figure out the details of this tragedy. But when she gets home, she finds Peregrinde himself in her house. Peregrinde explains to Bess that he doesn't remember the night of the murder. All he wants is to know what happened and he would return to the asylum peacefully. He tells Bess that he will kill people on the streets if she refuses to help. So the two of them try to get to the bottom of the mystery. But they find evidence that points to a horrible conclusion, one Bess hadn't even seen coming.
I think that this book was one of the better historical fiction books I have read. The beginning was a little slow, but once the murder came into play, the book picked up a lot. I'm don't really like mystery or historical fiction books, but this one was different. I think I, and many other girls, can relate to Bess becuase she is very independent and curious. The book was very different then others because it took customs from the times of World War I and combined it with a story that even people today would want to read. It made the book feel relatable, even if it took place years and years ago. I would reccomend this book to anyone really, but to people who may feel like histrical fiction is not their favorite, this may be the book for you.

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Jan 10, 2012 Lauren Gallagehr rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Duty to the Dead

I thought this book was good, but not great. It was very hard to follow, and it was confusing me. This book was a little graphic for my taste, and I didn't enjoy the mention of all these dead bodies. The plot line was interesting and capturing, but not outstanding enough to make me not want to ever put the book down. It wasn't really a one of a kind book, because there are many books about WWI an the time around it. This book didn't do enough to catch my attention and pull me...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Allyson R rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd is a capturing mystery about a determined and independent young nurse, Elizabeth Crawford. After the hospital ship she was on sinks, Crawford realizes how lucky she was to survive. With this in mind, she decides to finally fulfill a promise she once made to a patient of hers whom died, Arthur Graham. Because of Crawford's strong sense of duty, curiosity,commitment to doing what is morally correct, and completing her "duty to the dead" she finds herself uninten...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Meghans rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mp2

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd is a very well-written historical fiction novel. The book captures the reader from the start, provides imagery, has a continually changing plot, and has semi-relatable characters. Out of deference, Bess Crawford delivers a message to the Graham’s of Owlhurst. Bess was a nurse on the Britannic; moreover, before it sunk, she made a promise to Arthur Graham when he was on his deathbed. Bess was told to “Tell Jonathon I lied. I did it for mother’s sake. But it has...more A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd is a very well-written historical fiction novel. The book captures the reader from the start, provides imagery, has a continually changing plot, and has semi-relatable characters. Out of deference, Bess Crawford delivers a message to the Graham’s of Owlhurst. Bess was a nurse on the Britannic; moreover, before it sunk, she made a promise to Arthur Graham when he was on his deathbed. Bess was told to “Tell Jonathon I lied. I did it for mother’s sake. But it has to be set right.” While in Owlhurst, Bess served Dr. Philips, became good friends with the Rector, nursed Peregrine back to health, investigated why Peregrine was in Barton’s Asylum, and attempted to figure out what Arthur’s message meant. One thing she did always connected, in some shape or form, to the next; moreover, the number six is very unlucky in this novel. Even though Peregrine’s case had been closed for nearly fifteen years, Bess was determined to bring justice to the case. The town of Owlhurst has a lot of secrets to expose. Bess risked her life and was nearly killed while trying to complete this task. War could never have prepared Bess for this Owlhurst adventure.
Personally, I really liked this book. I couldn’t put this novel down; it was so exciting to discover the next twist in the novel. The only parts of the book that I didn’t really like were the character relations. The relationships among the characters were not clear until the end, and I do not feel like I could relate to most of them. I believe that only someone who regularly experiences complex relationships in their immediate family could relate to these characters and understand the motives behind the actions in this novel. On the other hand, I really liked the imagery provided. The start of the book really caught my attention and hooked me with its imagery. “At sea… This morning the sun is lovely and warm. All the portholes below are open, to allow what breeze there is to blow through the lower decks and air them. With no wounded onboard to keep us occupied, we are weary of one mother’s company. Beds are made up, kits readied, duties done. Since Gibraltar I’ve been writing to everyone I know, read all the books I could borrow, and even sketched the seabirds. Uneventfully is the password of the day.” After reading that, I was wondering who was speaking, what they were doing, and with that description I could vividly see the Britannic with its workers. I believe that this is a great way to captivate the readers from the beginning and was a great example of imagery. Throughout the book, I felt like I was on the sideline, watching every event from afar. I felt like I was right there when the Britannic sunk and when Peregrine contracted pneumonia. Even though couldn’t completely relate with the characters, I felt like the characters could relate in parts of society today. As of today, parents, friends, and family members have to deal with losing soldiers to the war like the Graham’s had to. Also, close friends share dorms or apartments together to decrease payments like Eylane, Diana, and Bess had. Finally, some children have to deal with situations that are out of their control, but that are in their parent’s control. When instances of Mrs. Graham’s doings were described, I was disgusted. The situations were described so well that it was hard for the readers to forgive her for what she did. Also, I love some of the sayings in this book. They really spoke to me and they changed my perspectives on certain topics. Some of my favorites were: ‘“There’s evil in goodness in evil,” he said. “I’ve seen too much of the evil in the law to be comfortable with it,”, “Because there would be no memories of the past infringing on the present.”, “I’m not sure truth exists. Perhaps we only think it does. But in reality it’s only what you believe and I believe and Mr. Owens believes- the rest is merely compromise.” , and “It claimed that the universe I knew wasn’t run by a benevolent God, as I’d been taught, but by Chance, a system where one’s turn was dictated by forces over which one had no control.” The main thing that that I adored about this book was the moral. Bess is honoring the duty she owed to Arthur, and is going to do Jonathon’s part so that he could rest in peace. It showed me how important my word is and that you should always stand behind it, especially if the person you made the promise to is dead. I took from this novel that if you talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Overall, this was a very great book.
In a nutshell, A Duty to the Dead was a descriptive book with an eye opening plot. The moral of this book and the mini-lessons in this book hit home for the reader. This eye-opening book is a must read for all students studying historical times. I really enjoyed reading this book. A Duty of the Dead was an amazing novel.
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Dec 16, 2011 Bookseller Cate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Charles Todd (actually a mother-son writing pair) is one of those authors that I've had recommended me more times than I can count. I've finally tried this volume because the store's mystery book club has chosen it.

I was not steered wrong by all those recommendations. Though my recent obsession with Downton Abbey likely did not hurt matters.

Elizabeth (Bess) Crawford is a nurse in the Great War. When the hospital ship on which she is stationed, Britannic (sister to Titanic) strikes a mine and g...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am not sure why I keep picking up books that take place during World War I, but I do. Part of me must be looking for the fascination that other find with these books, but I am just lost – I am still looking for that gem that will make it all come together for me, I just have not come across it yet. Not to say that authors like the writing team of Charles Todd do not do a wonderful job in describing the influences and the people, but for me this historical period offers no spark or appeal.

Engl...more

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May 04, 2011 Zeinah El added it · review of another edition

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Mar 14, 2011 Jon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A pretty good historical mystery. Not exactly a whodunnit--for most of the book you aren't even sure what exactly was done--more of a whatsgoingon. Someone was murdered, possibly by a fourteen-year-old boy who has spent the last 15 years in an asylum; possibly more people have been murdered; possibly one or more of the boy's three brothers, or his mother, or his cousin are involved. Possibly there is complicity among many people living in their village. I was afraid this would be a kind of book...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Duty to the Dead is book one in the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd. I actually read Book Two before Book One which you can do without getting lost between the stories.

Bess Crawford is a British nurse aboard the hospital transport ship Britannic in 1916 when the ship hits a mine and sinks. Bess sustains a broken arm made much more serious by assisting in the rescue of one of her fellow nurses. That, plus having to wait for some time to receive good medical treatment, made the break much m...more A Duty to the Dead is book one in the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd. I actually read Book Two before Book One which you can do without getting lost between the stories.

Bess Crawford is a British nurse aboard the hospital transport ship Britannic in 1916 when the ship hits a mine and sinks. Bess sustains a broken arm made much more serious by assisting in the rescue of one of her fellow nurses. That, plus having to wait for some time to receive good medical treatment, made the break much more serious and therefore very slow to heal. Because she cannot return to duty quickly Bess decides that she can't put off any longer making good on the promise she had made on a previous voyage to Arthur Graham before he died. Arthur had requested that Bess personally deliver a message to one of his brothers at his home in the small village of Owlhurst in Kent. The message....."Tell Jonathan I lied. I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right."

Bess goes to Owlhurst to meet Arthur's family and discovers that Authur's half-brother has been locked away in an asylum because of a grisly murder he committed when he was 14 years old. The more people Bess meets the more unsure she becomes about exactly what Arthur Graham's message meant and whether his brother Jonathan intends to do anything about Arthur's request.

The descriptions of the settings aboard ship, during the rescue, and then in both London and Kent are first rate. The characters are all very well developed, from Bess right down to her landlady. Bess Crawford is well portrayed as a woman of 1916, a woman willing to take her place in society to do her very best to help along the war effort. She was a very enjoyable character for me to read about, using her intellect to reason her way through the problems she was facing, trying to make sense of events which had happened so many years before but which still effected so many lives.

Can't wait to see what comes next in this series! I really enjoying following Bess. I've picked up the first 3 books in the Ian Rutlidge series written by Charles Todd and can't wait to start reading them.(less)

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Feb 19, 2011 CarolineFromConcord rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An incredibly silly, illogical, and yet pleasurable book in which a WW I nurse solves a mystery. Jacqueline Winspear's WW I nurse Maisie Dobbs is much deeper, and her stories are much better thought out, but you want to keep reading "A Duty to the Dead" even though the events described make no sense. Our heroine is half in love with a dying soldier who proposes to her and asks her to deliver a message to his brother, Jonathan Graham. On the basis of no facts, she assumes the cryptic message must...more

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Jul 22, 2010 ICPL Staff Picks added it · review of another edition

Shelves: candice, fiction, mysteries, staff-picks-blog

I just finished with Charles Todd’s newest offering, A Duty to the Dead, and I’m happy to say that he (they, really, since it’s a mother-and-son authorship) have successfully brought to life a new main character! The year is 1917, and Bess Crawford is a young British army nurse who’s been injured when the hospital ship she was on is blown up. On leave, she takes home with her a promise she made to a dying soldier, that she would go to his family and deliver a cryptic message that implicates him...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Kathy added it · review of another edition

This novel is the first in a new historical mystery series set in Britain in World War I. It introduces the main character, Bess Crawford, a British Army nurse. She is outspoken, intelligent, resourceful and independent. The novel opens with the sinking of the Britannic (sister ship to the Titanic) in Greek waters. It is an effective opening grabbing the reader’s attention right away. Bess is injured in the sinking and invalided home to recover with her parents. Her father is a retired Colonel w...more

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Nov 20, 2009 Gail Cooke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The mother and son writing team known as Charles Todd has written 11 highly acclaimed Ian Rutledge mysteries, each recognized for scrupulous attention to historic detail, careful plotting, well developed characters, and riveting psychological suspense. The same is true of A DUTY TO THE DEAD in which Todd introduces a new series featuring Bess Crawford.

While Bess lived in 1916 she's more than a match for any contemporary mystery heroine. The daughter of a highly principled and equally highly dis...more The mother and son writing team known as Charles Todd has written 11 highly acclaimed Ian Rutledge mysteries, each recognized for scrupulous attention to historic detail, careful plotting, well developed characters, and riveting psychological suspense. The same is true of A DUTY TO THE DEAD in which Todd introduces a new series featuring Bess Crawford.

While Bess lived in 1916 she's more than a match for any contemporary mystery heroine. The daughter of a highly principled and equally highly disciplined officer she inherited these qualities in large doses. It is 1916 and Bess follows in her father's footsteps by serving as a nurse in the Great War. During training she is cautioned about becoming too fond of her patients. "They are yours to comfort, yours to heal, but not yours to dream about." Nonetheless, Arthur Graham found a special place in her heart, and she made a deathbed promise to him, a vow to take a brief, rather cryptic message to his brother, Jonathan.

However, it is some time before she can keep that promise as when our story opens she is aboard the ill-fated hospital ship Britannic. Todd's description of the explosion that rocks the ship and the ensuing sinking is intense, gripping. Bess suffers a broken arm but does manage to find a place in a lifeboat and is eventually sent to England for recoveryr. It is then that she goes to Arthur's home in Kent.

While at first she is welcomed warmly Bess is astute; she recognizes a sorely fragmented family. There is Arthur's widowed mother, a domineering matriarch. Jonathan is a lieutenant who has suffered a facial wound, another brother, Timothy, who was born with a clubfoot and appears bitter because he could not join the service. A third brother, Peregrine, is at the heart of the mystery; he has been held in a mental asylum since the age of fourteen - a confinement that we learn was arranged by his mother. To compound matters there is the mysterious Robert, a cousin, who is omnipresent.

While a guest in the Graham's home Bess is confronted with numerous challenges, not the least of which is assisting the local doctor in caring for a shell shocked soldier. She learns the matrix of small village life - secrets kept, gossip rampant, an aversion to strangers.

A DUTY TO THE DEAD is an atmospheric rendering of wartime England, a sterling suspense tale and an unforgettable picture of the horrors of war.

- Gail Cooke
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Nov 09, 2009 Bridget rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads

Bess Crawford, the heroine of this book, is a woman who volunteered for the nursing service in World War I in England. As the book begins, she is serving on a hospital ship Britannic, when it is hit by an underwater mine and sinks. Bess is sent home to recover from a resulting broken arm, and to await her next assignment.

While home, she is determined to deliver a message from a soldier that she nursed who died. He made her swear to deliver it to his brother, and she ventures to Owlhurst, the fam...more

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Oct 25, 2009 Spuddie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First in a new historical mystery series featuring Bess Crawford, a nurse during WWI. As we meet Bess, she is on an empty hospital ship, Brittanic, heading back to England, when it hits a mine and sinks. During the fracas, her arm is broken and then injured worse, and thus must be taken off active duty. During this time, she decides to finally assuage her conscience and visit the family of a solider she'd grown close to who ultimately died and left her with a message for his brother that she pro...more

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Sep 23, 2009 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-audio-books, 2009-mysteries

A Duty to the Dead, by Charles Todd, A-minus, narrated by Rosalyn Landor, produced by BBC Audio Books-America, downloaded from audible.com.

Bess Crawford is a nurse in WW I assigned to a hospital ship. In her duties on the ship, she receives a request from a dying soldier. She must go to his family and deliver the following message to his brother: “Tell Jonathan I lied. I did it for Mother. But it must be made right.”

Bess Crawford is wounded so has leave coming to her. She goes to the home of Art...more

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Jul 23, 2009 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-books

After her hospital ship, Britannic, is sunk off the coast of Greece, Elizabeth (Bess) Crawford returns to England to recuperate from her broken arm, and await the orders for her next posting. She realizes after this frightening event that something might happen to her in the war that would prevent her from fulfilling her promise to a young soldier, Arthur Graham, who died while she was caring for him, and who asked her to bring a message to his brother Jonathan. Although she has delayed carrying...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Babs rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-historical

I haven't been keeping up with my reviews lately - its hard to say something at times, without feeling like you are repeating yourself or saying the same thing. I did want to comment on this book though.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fairly long, complicated, just a bit annoying at times, but very interesting and engrossing. The lead character, Bess Crawford is very engaging and very likable; though at times, I don't understand or like how she doggedly pursues the threads of the mysterie...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I found this a compelling story - to the extent that I found myself trying to read it as a passenger in a moving car despite knowing perfectly well that this is a recipe for travel sickness.

We follow Bess Crawford as her involvement in seeing through a promise made to a dying man becomes steadily more and more urgent moving from a long delay in doing anything at all to being determined to find out what really happened at whatever cost to her fondly held images.

I would have liked more characteris...more

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A Duty To The Dead (Bess Crawford #1)

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