A Cruel Deception

Bess Crawford #11

by Charles Todd

In the aftermath of World War I, nurse Bess Crawford attempts to save a troubled former soldier from a mysterious killer.

The Armistice of November 1918 ended the fighting, but the Great War will not be over until a Peace Treaty is drawn up and signed by all parties. Representatives from the Allies are gathering in Paris, and already ominous signs of disagreement have appeared.

Sister Bess Crawford, who has been working with the severely wounded in England in the war’s wake, is asked to carry out a personal mission in Paris for a Matron at the London headquarters of The Queen Alexandra’s.

Bess is facing decisions about her own future, even as she searches for the man she is charged with helping.  When she does locate Lt. Lawrence Minton, she finds a bitter and disturbed officer who has walked away from his duties at the Peace Conference and is well on his way toward an addiction to opiates. When she confronts him with the dangers of using laudanum, he tells her that he doesn’t care if he lives or dies, as long as he can find oblivion. But what has changed him? What is it that haunts him? He can’t confide in Bess—because the truth is so deeply buried in his mind that he can only relive it in nightmares. The officers who had shared a house with him in Paris profess to know nothing—still, Bess is reluctant to trust them even when they offer her their help. But where to begin on her own?

What is driving this man to a despair so profound it can only end with death? The war? Something that happened in Paris? To prevent a tragedy, she must get at the truth as quickly as possible—which means putting herself between Lieutenant Minton and whatever is destroying him. Or is it whoever?

 

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Audiobook, France

327 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2019

About the author

Charles Todd was the pen name used by the mother-and-son writing team, Caroline Todd and Charles Todd. Now, Charles writes the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford Series. Charles Todd ha spublished three standalone mystery novels and many short stories.

Reviews

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought about giving this a 3 mainly because I am tired of Bess's love life. Clearly she has a thing for Simon, when is she going to figure that out, and the last lines here seem to be foreshadowing something for books to come. Also, since Melinda Crawford is a regular secondary character in both this series and in the Todds's Ian Rutledge series, I keep expecting that eventually the two timelines will meet, as will the characters, perhaps Ian as one of Bess's patients? So far no sign of that.

All that aside, this series is an excellent depiction of WWI England and France, and now of post-war England and France, and Bess is an engaging character. These books are good enough to keep me reading past bedtime, and to not leaving me feeling as if it wasn't worth the lost sleep! So it continues to be a 4 star series in my ratings.

[Lynn Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consistent. That’s the word for the Bess Crawford mysteries. And that’s generally a good thing. The characters are always beautifully drawn, and the story is always well crafted. The storylines are always unique, and the descriptions really draw the reader into the story. A Cruel Deception is no exception to the caliber of this finely developed series, although it moves more slowly than some installments, and the authors rely on a lot of backstory, even early on.

The only aspect of the series that suffers from consistency is Bess’ love life. Although I’m not a reader of romance, the authors need to unite Bess and Simon. As much as I enjoy this series, I’m tired of feeling strung along. Bess is beginning to look stunted and emotionally immature (surely they're not going to bring out the PTSD next to explain her reticence), and Simon is looking weak, while his absence from the last two books is unrealistic for a man of his strength and discipline. After the war(s), people didn't dilly-dally in affairs of the heart; they knew how fleeting life could be. These characters would certainly be aware of the precious gift of having survived, and they're too authentic and know themselves too well for the authors to saddle them with ongoing indecision. It's just unrealistic.

Recommended, but this is a series that needs to be read generally in order.

[Tasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah Bess l have followed your adventures through 11 books,and l am not sure l want to go on. Bess has become to judgemental for my liking. She runs around all over the place and just stumbles into the answers she seeks. She is also getting a little to bossy for my taste. I wanted Simon and Bess together by now,but it looks like that story line is going to drag on yet.

[Bebe (Sarah) Brechner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent series continues with nursing sister Bess Crawford in 1918, just after the Armistice, determining what path she should follow after years of war service. Her London hospital matron steps in with a personal request of Bess - find and help her soldier son, apparently missing from his work with the peace talks in Paris. This is another beautifully rendered story about the lingering effects of war, both physical and mental, and the conflict of social change that inevitably occurs, Aside from the trouble at hand - finding and restoring the missing, troubled young soldier, suffering from PTSD and addiction - fans will also discover tantalizing bits of Bess's personal dilemmas and relationships. One of the best WWI series.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this really only the 11th Bess Crawford? Well, I have enjoyed them all. This one Bess is quite alone and experiences some harrowing challenges as she complies with order from her superior to find and care for a missing son in Paris. I don't care to ruin the story for others and my eyes are calling me to sleepy time.
It's a great WWI series.

Library Loan

[Fay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a great fan of Charles Todd—I’ve read both the Bess Crawford and the Ian Rutledge books. The Rutledge series was always my favorite but A Cruel Deception was surprisingly awful!

The mystery was convoluted and preposterous. The matron of the Queen Alexandra nurses, Simon and Bess’ father use the army as their personal security service. The text was repetitious and there was no plausible reason why Bess should have been involved or persistent. And a doctor frankly violated professional ethics by submitting a patient to a “treatment” without permission. And every other page Bess asks about Simon.

I’m so disappointed. I wonder if this very thin premise is signaling time to end the series.

[Kerrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Charles Todd novels, but the newest in the Bess series was so disappointing. It was hard to stay interested in the saga of a selfish sullen addict who refused to tell anyone what had happened. The eventual who-dun-it solution didn't really make much sense and seemed far-fetched. Over the length of this series, I've really loved Bess' interactions with her landlady, her parents, and Simon. But this story had Bess mostly on her own and being filled with her own angst and uncertainty about her career and future plans. It took a long time to get through it.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a joy to spend time solving a mystery with Bess Crawford.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 4 out of 5]

After working with the severely wounded men during the war Sister Bess Crawford wondered what was her next assignment. She was contacted by a mother whose son Lawrence Minton was missing.
Through her sources Bess finds more about Minton, the soldier and what he saw to make him fearful.
After a perpetrator breaks into the house where Minton is recuperating Bess shoots him, only to
incapacitate him , so he can be arrested by the authorities.

An interesting book, the eleventh in the series.

I want to thank Wm.Morrow publishing for sending me this book.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was entertaining and suspenseful, and if it was a standalone, I would recommend it. As an entry in the Bess Crawford series, though, it lacked some of the key characters that have made this series so fun to read, and a lot of the obvious historical markers that make the series distinctive. While I strongly recommend the series, this episode was somewhat disappointing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is hard to believe this is the 11th installment of the Bess Crawford series, it seems like yesterday that I was reading about the ship Bess was returning to England had been hit and was sinking. The series continues to be outstanding and this one is no different. The war is over and Bess accepts an personal assignment from the Matron of the London office of Queen Alexandra to return to Paris and check on her son and report back to the Matron. At Bess arrival in Paris Bess found the affairs of the Matron's son are different than what's his Mother believes. The twists and turns the story takes will hold your attention as Bess becomes involve in the young man's life. Bess is starting to wonder about her future
where is Simon and her home in England. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.

Disclosure: Thanks to Harper/Colons Publishers for a copy through Edelweiss. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earlier volumes in this series were more interesting, but I am now invested in Bess Crawford and must read each new one to find out "what comes next."

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read most, if not all, of this series featuring Bess Crawford. She's a member of Queen Alexandra's nurses who served valiantly at the front during WWI. Opening this book was just like sitting down to tea with a good friend:

"Oh, Bess. It's so good to see you. What on earth have you been up to?"

"Well, a most extraordinary request has brought me here. Matron called me to her office recently and asked a personal favor. She hadn't heard from her son for quite some time and was worried. He was supposedly in Paris as attaché in one of the Peace negotiations. So, of course, I didn't feel that I could refuse her, even though I was enjoying my duties cleaning up the aid stations after the war."

"So, did you find him?"

"Maybe we'd better order some more tea, as it's quite an involved tale. She short answer is, 'yes, I did find him'. But the long answer is twisted and full of questions. Some without answers."

I read this EARC courtesy of William Morrow Publishing and Edelweiss. pub date 10/22/19

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has taken the reader through the unspeakable horrors of World War I through the eyes of Sister (nurse) Bess Crawford. Each entry, while focusing on a murder or murders to be solved, gains its inspiration from actual events inspired by that war and its effects on every strata of European society, resulting mysteries that are not only entertaining but appeal to the heart and the mind of the reader.

A Cruel Deception is no exception. We find Bess at loose ends as peace talks are in full swing and she ponders whether to stay in nursing or look at other career paths. She is unexpectedly asked by Matron to look for her missing son in France. Bess locates Matron's son, who is addicted to laudanum and suffering from symptoms of what today would be termed PTSD. More importantly, she has reason to believe Lawrence Minton may be guilty of murder--but whose and why?

This is a finely layered mystery that builds on itself to a rousing climax. While the mystery of Lawrence Minton is solved by book's end, the mystery of Bess's future is still wide open: Where will her career take her? What about her relationship with Simon? Surely enough fodder for many more entries into this fine series.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have truly enjoyed reading Charles Todd’s novels, Ian Rutledge & Bess Crawford both. Somehow, I had let Bess Crawford slip away from me.

So, I am delighted to have picked up A CRUEL DECEPTION! Bess is a many layered protagonist. The supporting characters were quickly familiar again. The mystery is complex enough that I kept turning the pages. The culture & morays of post WWII depicted are authentic.

I’m looking forward to finding Bess again soon!!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really 3.5 stars. I love this series, and I look forward to reading every new book. It feels like A Cruel Deception is almost a filler, or transition piece. The mystery in this book seemed a little weak, and the solution was, to my mind, contrived. Bess will be facing transitions in her career it seems, and hopefully in her love life. Simon or Ian Rutledge? To be determined.

[Ray Palen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to believe that we are already discussing the eleventh novel in the terrific Bess Crawford series. It seems like I was just diving into the first novel featuring the WWI battlefield Nurse from England and feeling like it was just a temporary respite from the well-seasoned, award-winning Ian Rutledge series. Yes, the mother and son team that writes under the name of Charles Todd knew a good thing was happening when they penned their first Bess Crawford mystery and we're so lucky that it wasn't just a brief departure from their regular series.

The major difference between this latest release, A CRUEL DECEPTION, and the prior ten Bess Crawford novels is that this one takes place after WWI had completely ended. However, as we know it is often the case, when a war has ended for the combatants it somehow never ends for those who were involved in the fighting of it. It begins in late March of 1919 and the war has not yet ended for Bess as she is still caring for wounded now back home in England.

One day, Bess's Matron calls on her and begins to ask her if she has thought about her future, or even what she planned to do with herself once the injured from the war have all been tended to. Matron advises her that she has selected Bess for a special, independent assignment that required someone professional and discreet. With that, Bess was sent to meet with another Matron, this one being the Chief of Nursing. She asks Bess if she would travel to Paris and look in on her son. He had been fighting with the British troops during the war and was wounded. She wants Bess to determine if he has recovered from his wounds and that he was doing alright.



Bess heads to Paris with little to go on other than the Matron's son's address and his name. She is not the least bit fooled into recognizing that something much deeper was at play with this situation. Bess wanted to confer with her father, a Colonel with the British army, about this situation be he was also tied up with some post-war business. Bess arrives in Paris and looks up the soldier she was sent to find, one Lawrence Minton. She initially finds out that he is not living at the address she was provided and had not been there for some time. The lady running that housing establishment indicates that he may be found in a town outside of Paris, where he was supposed to be attending a Peace Conference, called St. Ives.

When Bess arrives in St. Ives it does not take much asking around before she comes to the home of young woman named Marina in a neighborhood that is a far cry from Paris. Marina takes some coaxing before letting Bess in. Immediately upon entering this home Bess makes a quick assessment of the situation. Lieutenant Minton is not battling any physical wounds any longer. What he is dealing with is addiction to rather pricey pain medication that he has quickly become addicted to. It turns out Marina is not Minton's mistress nor is she the one providing him with the laudanum and other medications his body and mind now requires. Lawrence Minton had once saved Marina's father and their family was ever in his debt. Neither Marina's family or Minton's mother, the Matron, were aware of his current condition and Bess has to deal immediately with the dilemma of what if anything she will report back to the Matron.

Minton has been quite moody and at times intolerable to be around. He barely allows Bess any opportunity to assess his physical or mental needs and hides himself away the majority of the time. Bess has gotten to know Marina quite well as she takes up a room in the home and pitches in with financial assistance that is much needed, especially since most of what was worthwhile in Marina's home had been used to pay for his habit. One day, while returning from a shopping trip, Bess finds Marina dealing with a bad burn on her arm that she got from the stove while cooking. As Bess is trying to treat her burn she learns from Marina that Lawrence Minton was gone.

Not knowing what to do, and realizing that Minton was in no shape to go far or take care of himself, Bess heads back to Paris to begin looking for him in one of the many hospitals in the area. She keeps to herself that fact that Minton left a note which could be interpreted as a farewell letter alluding to the fact that he might be looking to end his life. While in Paris, she befriends an American flyer named Captain Jackson. Jackson is extremely friendly and at once becomes protective of Bess, especially as her search for Minton takes her to some seedy parts of Paris. The war and the current Peace Conference finds Paris teeming with life and much of it are undesirable, predatory types that Bess would not know how to deal with. She confesses that where she comes from she sees more cattle and Navajo sheep than she does people and this really makes her vulnerable.




Bess does find Minton in a particularly downtrodden Parisian hospital and he is barely alive. He was brought in by a local Priest who found Minton after he was nearly beaten
to death. Bess believes he was beaten by something hard, like metal or wood, and not just bare hands --- leading her to further surmise that whoever did this to him was after him personally as some type of revenge. The mystery now is what did Minton do and who had he wronged so badly that they would want him dead?

The answers to these questions will take Bess way out of her comfort zone. Even though she gets Minton taken by ambulance to his private physician, he still is not willing to talk about what happened as he clings to life. His doctor even utilizes hypnosis to try to get any answers that Minton may be hiding deep down inside of himself. Bess now finds herself knee-deep in a deadly situation that she is completely unprepared for as she finds the real world post-war can be just as deadly as the war itself. I wondered how Charles Todd was going to handle this series now that WWI had ended and their protagonist was a Field Nurse. Even though Charles Todd may have been done with WWI, WWI was not done with them. A CRUEL DECEPTION shows that there are still plenty of stories left for Bess Crawford and I cannot wait to see what happens next for her.

Reviewed by Ray Palen

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

This is a story about being stuck in limbo, and that’s fitting for its time and place. Because in Paris, in the spring of 1919, there was nothing but limbo. Not for the residents of Paris, not for the delegates to the Peace Conference, and certainly not for Bess Crawford, one of the many nurses in Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service who was wondering whether she would be able to stay in the service once the wounded from the (hopefully) late war were finally settled and cared for back home in England.

And whether, or what, that was what she truly wanted.

When we first met Bess, back in November 1916 in A Duty to the Dead, she was a dedicated battlefield nurse in a war that was already two years old and seemed to have no end in sight. Getting through each day and each night, saving who she could and grieving the many she could not was all that the eye could see.

But in March of 1919, when this story takes place, the Armistice has been in effect for over 5 months, but a peace treaty was nowhere in sight. The Allied Powers are in a state of such disagreement that it sometimes seems as if a shooting war will break out across their negotiating table long before they reach the point where they can present anything like a united front to the Central Powers, meaning Germany and her allies.

It’s into the middle of this muddle, slightly muddled herself, that Bess finds herself back in Paris, and just like her “adventure” in The Shattered Tree, poking her nose into places that entirely too many people think it doesn’t belong.

Especially the man that she has come to Paris to find, Lieutenant Lawrence Minton. Lt. Minton’s mother is someone whose requests Bess is unable to refuse. His mother is the current Matron, or head, of the nursing service that Bess would like to remain part of after the war is finally officially over.

Matron is concerned that her son has been reported absent from his duties as one of many military attaches to the peace conference, and when Bess arrives to investigate, she learns that those fears are more than justified. The lieutenant is not just missing, he seems to be rusticating in the French countryside and doing his level best to remain doped to the eyeballs on laudanum every waking minute.

Bess feels caught between a rock and a hard place. If she reports the man’s current state to anyone, including his mother, officialdom will step in and he will be discharged in disgrace. As the lieutenant is an officer in her father’s old regiment, that disgrace will reflect badly on the regiment and could even reach up to the Colonel Sahib, who may no longer be the regiment’s official leader but is still involved with both the regiment and the war effort.

So Bess decides to investigate the matter herself – as she so often does. She knows that something happened to Minton in Paris that seems to have changed him overnight from a dutiful, conscientious officer who wanted to remain in uniform to a lying, cruel opium addict. She is determined to find out just what is driving the man’s search for oblivion at any cost.

That her search sends her straight into the path of someone determined to drive Minton to that oblivion, and to death beyond it, by the quickest road puts Bess in the sights of a murderer with nothing left to lose.

A place that Bess seems to find herself again and again, but this time without her usual allies and with more than the usual number of enemies.

Escape Rating B: As I said at the top, this is a story about being in limbo. There are just too many things that are very much up in the air, and Bess’ investigation into Minton’s circumstances are just one of the many, many things that are hanging.

The problem for the book is that limbo is a frustrating place to be, but not generally an interesting one. Limbo is angsty without a resolution in sight. While Bess’ investigation does eventually lead to resolution and the hope of closure for Minton, most of the other circumstances are out of her control, even at the story’s end.

And it seems as if Minton’s situation is equally unresolved for about 2/3rds of the story. Bess spends a LOT of time trying to figure out what’s wrong with him and then searching for answers that seem to be out of reach, either lost in Minton’s confused mind or eluding her through the streets of war-weary Paris.

As is known from history, the formal state of war between the Allies and the Central Powers did not end until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. A treaty which, again as we know now, led directly to the conditions which brought about World War II. But at the point where this story takes place, the Allies are still wrangling. France wants Germany to pay crippling reparations, a condition which they eventually won. The U.S., under President Woodrow Wilson, has his optimistic vision for the League of Nations, which he also eventually won. Neither side got exactly what they hoped for, but hindsight is always 20/20.

However, as this story takes place, the treaty is in the future. What is known is that all the powers, with the possible exception of the U.S., are much too war-torn and war-weary for the hostilities to continue, no matter what it takes to get everyone to the treaty-table.

Bess herself is in limbo, as the nursing service is drawing down rapidly. Many women are resigning in order to marry the men they either waited for or met during the war. Those that survived. England lost a generation of young men in the war, and many women would be unable to marry after the war because there weren’t nearly enough men left TO marry.

Bess can return to her parents house and be their daughter again. Not that she was ever disowned – far from it. She has, however, the option to be the daughter that she would have been if the war hadn’t intervened. But it did. She’s used to being on her own, making not just her own decisions but decisions of life and death for the men under her care. Going back to being anyone’s protected, obedient and dependent child is not a path she wants to take.

At the same time, in spite of the number of proposals that she has received during the war, she has no desire to see if any of those proposals were real. She may have liked or been fond of the men who made them, but she doesn’t love any of them. She’s not sure if there’s anyone she does love enough to marry. Except possibly her father’s regimental sergeant, Simon Brandon, a man who has been part of her life and her family for many years. But Brandon is absent throughout this story, as far as Bess knows off in Scotland courting someone else. Maybe or maybe not.

So Bess is in a personal limbo for this whole story. Admittedly, she doesn’t angst about it a lot, and when she does, it is mostly about her career and future in general, and not about marriage in particular, to Simon or anyone else. Not that Simon has ever offered. But it never read, at least to me, like romantic pining or that the story was in any way revolving around her love life. Bess is trying to figure out what her future will look like at a time when all futures were very much up in the air. As an intelligent, thoughtful person, worrying about the future in these circumstances is the right thing for her to be doing.

But limbo is just not as interesting as action. Or at least forward motion in some form. Something that I hope to see a lot more of whenever Bess returns in her next adventure.

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable; would have been a 4 star for me but the ending was weak & felt a bit unlikely.

Bess is sent over to Paris by her Matron to investigate the disappearance of Matron's Army son from the peace talks. Loved the setting & tidbits about the times. Bess is thinking about her future, too, as the need for the wartime nursing staffs is waning. Wonder if the series will take a different turn?

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always happy at the release of another Charles Todd novel, and the latest in the Bess Crawford series was no exception. While A Cruel Deception seemed to me to be not as fast paced as some earlier titles in the series, it was still a quick, enjoyable read. Bess returns to France in search of a hospital Matron's son, who has walked away from his duties at the Peace Conference. I do find that I am a bit impatient with Bess's lack of concern for the possible repercussions when she sets out on her own, but I do enjoy her as a character. Like, I'm sure, many other readers, I wonder where the series will go now that the war is officially over. I really missed Simon this time, as well!
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read A Cruel Deception in return for an honest review.

[Susan Ash hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little stagnant, I wish her life would move along a little quicker

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest strength of the Bess Crawford books is the meticulous adherence to the details and the spirit of time and place. I enjoyed following along as Bess searched for an answer to the miasma surrounding her Matron's son. I did want more of Bess and her own personal story. Looking forward to the next installment.

[Jjanovyak · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just not to my taste. The blurb on the jacket seemed to promise a thriller, but the story itself falls closer to the feel of a cozy mystery that just happens to be taking place in 1918. If no other factors were influencing me, I'd rate this a 3. But this book is poorly edited, to a very annoying degree. There are grammar errors that could possibly be defended as style choices, were they consistent throughout the books. But the real whoppers just seem sloppy, as if everyone involved just didn't take the time to notice. This, for instance, from early in the story:

"The house I was looking for at 12 Rue des Fleurs turned out to be a short side street beyond the small church."

The house turned out to be a street? What's missing here? Yes, I can stop and figure out what they meant, but that job shouldn't fall to the reader.

I should have been warned by this endorsement, on the back cover of this Bess Crawford mystery:
"Admirable, courageous and occasionally reckless, Bess Ranks among the best of fictional amateur sleuths."

Bess Ranks? A name change? A capitalized verb. Why? And on the cover?? C'mon, you guys.

I don't read with a view toward finding fault with the material. I am always hoping for a story that's going to pull me in, and I'm always trying to give myself over to whatever I'm reading. But errors like these are like tripwires. They stop me cold, and that takes a lot of the fun out of reading for entertainment.

[Kiki Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed it more or less, but I’m not sure the ending was worth reading the whole thing. Bess’s lack of hobbies or real characterization is increasingly frustrating. Her refusal to confide in anyone the entire book is unnecessary and makes no sense. She’s not sure who she can trust, sure, but by the end of the book, when she has some idea of who is behind it, she’s still not telling anyone. There’s also some stuff about Simon who isn’t even in this one. It isn’t necessary and the lack of romance after all this time means I don’t care anymore—not that ever cared, given how staid and stale their characterizations are.

The mystery isn’t that compelling or believable and I wasn’t sure I cared at any point. The worst part of the entire book however is the addiction plot. It really does seem at the end that the addiction is magically cured or isn’t an issue anymore. That is not how addictions work.

[Laura Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on October 22nd, 2019.

An absorbing addition to the Bess Crawford series — this episode takes place in Paris, just after the end of WWI. Bess is sent on a private mission to track down the missing son of a Nursing Matron and has to unravel a complicated history whilst fending off surprise attacks on both herself and the subject. Always well-versed in historical detail, I particularly enjoy the nursing overlay present in the Crawford series. While slow-paced, it was never boring and I found I couldn’t put it down.

[Kaitlyn Dunnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing read, with one last twist at the end (NOT a cliffhanger, just a surprise revelation) that has me anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series. It looks like the post WW I years may prove just as challenging to Bess Crawford as the war itself.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars rounded up to 5 Stars. I just couldn't give it a full 5 Stars because I am so bored with the Simon and Bess scenario of constantly hinting of their relationship turning romantic. Their romance would probably be as thrilling as watching paint dry.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually I like this series very much but the plot was unbelievable.

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bess Crawford is sent to Paris by Matron to find her son, Lawrence, and report back to her regarding his whereabouts and condition. As a wounded army captain, he had volunteered to take part in the peace talks but is now missing. Bess takes on the challenge and finds him staying with a friend, a young woman whose family he had helped during the war. But he is suffering from a severe laudanum addiction and makes it clear that he resents both Bess' and his mother's interference. Bess decides not to report back but to stay and try to help despite his disinterest in any aid she can give. She begins to realize that there is more happening than just an addiction especially after a murder attempt is made on him. Not only that but she keeps running into the same man when she is out and, although he seems friendly, she suspects that the danger is spreading and Lawrence isn't the only one being threatened.

I've been a fan of Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge series for a while but A Cruel Deception is the first of their Bess Crawford mysteries I have read. Like the other series, this is set in WWI era and it is just as engrossing. Bess is a nurse who had worked on the frontlines and makes for a very strong protagonist. Also like the Ian Rutledge series, it is more about the investigation than the action which is limited and tends to take place off the page. I did feel the villain seemed a bit contrived but, overall, I quite enjoyed this book and wouldn't hesitate to read others in the series.

Thanks to Edelweiss+ and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Cruel Deception
3 Stars

Bess is asked by Matron Minton to look into the disappearance of her son serving with the British peace delegation in Paris in the aftermath of WW1.

Unfortunately, this latest installment in the Bess Crawford mysteries simply did not resonate. The mystery surrounding Lawrence Minton's disappearance fails to fulfill its potential mainly due to the fact that Lawrence is a selfish, self-absorbed and ungrateful man and it is exceedingly difficult to sympathize with his plight.

Another problematic element is the pacing of the narrative, which plods along as Bess attempts to uncover the reasons for Lawrence's PTSD. Alongside the actual clues (which are few and far between), there is an excessive amount of internal musings about the countryside, the post-war shortages and the people Bess encounters.

The explanation for the attacks on Lawrence is disappointing as the culprit isn't actually a character in the story until the last couple of chapters, and the motive is rather far-fetched.

Finally, the authors really need to get a move on with Bess's love life. It is obvious to everyone (except perhaps Bess and maybe Simon) that the two are meant for each other. Simon's absence from this installment was keenly felt.

The next installment has yet to be announced, but I look forward to listening to the excellent Rosalyn Landor when it is published.