The Shattered Tree - Charles Todd - 3 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

The Shattered Tree is the eighth book in the Bess Crawford mystery series set in World War I.

In this story, a soldier is found beneath a shattered tree, with torn up feet and suffering from loss of blood. He’s brought to an aid station where Bess sees him. It’s not long, though, before mystery ensues as this soldier, French, not British, begins yelling in German. Is it possible he's a spy? Before anyone can investigate, he's shipped to a convalesent hospital in Paris, where he promptly disappears.

Bess is still nursing in France, but after being wounded by a sniper, she's sent to Paris to recuperate. While she's there, she decides to look for the wounded soldier to see if she can find out more about him.

The mystery itself had potential, but there are so many strange coincidences and convoluted assumptions that it is easy to get lost. There was a large cast of characters and much of Bess's search was boring and repetitive.

Most of the usual secondary characters are missing from this novel. I especially missed Bess's parents and Simon Brandon, though she does get an assist from American Captain Barkley who is in Paris searching for deserters.

"The Shattered Tree" was my least favorite of the series so far. I found Bess annoying for most of the story. There never seemed to be any clear reason for her to be so invested in this man or the nsuing mystery thread. But I do really like the characters so I will definitely continue the series.