These are just a few musings rather than a review since so many others have written terrific .

Once again the Todd mother and son team have written a book full of detail that puts you in the trenches, going over the hill or in the aid stations of WWI. Their ability to put you right with the characters has been a hallmark of both the Bess Crawford series and the Ian Rutledge series.

It makes me crazy there isn't any inner life expressed by Bess. Hey, there is a marriage proposal by one of her dearest friends and it's worth only a paragraph or three. There is a suggestion that the man who has been her companion since childhood might be in love with her is barely worth a consideration even though it might be upsetting her whole world view. Who knows? We rarely are allowed a glimpse of anything she is thinking unless it is related to her nursing or the case she is investigating. At least Ian Rutledge has an inner life even though it is only expressed by his PTSD caused ghost.

I that there seemed to be more detail about Simon Brandon. Maybe these details have always been part of the back-story included in the previous books and I'm just not remembering. But there did seem to be more in this book and it seems as if the Todds are making him even younger than might have been expressed in earlier books. Will this result in Simon declaring himself in the next book? Many if not most reader/reviewer seem to want to see the Todds take this step.
I always wonder if authors read their and take to heart some of the comments that are made.

The portrayal of the Armistice is just stunning in its simplicity. Heartbreaking too, how the effort for the troops doing their best to kill one another with a renewed vigor ran through the story before the Armistice. I rarely doubt a single historical detail included by the Todds. if do then I look into it and I find they are invariably correct.
A personal preference, please don’t use ‘grin’ more than twice in a book. Smile is perfect. Besides, Simon smiles, he shouldn’t be grinning in this book. He is not a grinner, he guards his emotions. Grinning denotes looseness of a sort. Yep, I might take ‘my’ characters a bit too seriously. I also have a personal war against smirk and quirk being used more than twice in any book.

As usual I will anxiously await the next book.mystery set-in-england supense ...more62 s Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede1,953 829

I'm a big fan of the Bess Crawford series and I have read almost all the books so far. A Casualty of War shows just what a wonderful mother and son writing team Caroline Todd and Charles Todd are when it comes to writing books.

In A Casualty of War must Bess help Captain Alan Travis who is convinced that his cousin shot him, but it's impossible since his cousin couldn't have been the one to do that so now his sanity is questioned. Bess together with Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon travels to the cousin, James Travis's hometown to try to find out more about the cousins and why their families are estranged.

Without giving too much of the plot away do I want to say that this is one of the strongest books in the series. Once again Bess is confronted with a strange mystery with a lot of suspicious and distrustful people in a small village. Bess herself is thinking about her future now that the war is going towards the end. What is she going to do next, she has been a nurse for so long that it has become her whole life, living with fear and the prospect of death any minute. If you have read any my previous review do you know that I'm a big fan of Sergeant Lassiter and I was thrilled that he showed up for ... just a small cameo. Bah! I wanted more of him, not just a small part. Although it was a sweet moment, that Bess kind of destroyed (for me).

A Casualty of War is a great book. You can read this book without having read any of the previous books. It's easy to get to know the characters and the stories in the books are stand-alone.

4.5 stars

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!read-201725 s Susanna - Censored by GoodReads545 671

The war is over, but Bess Crawford is still incurably nosy.18 s Joy D2,259 258

Historical mystery set in France and England just before and after the Armistice that ended World War I. Bess Crawford is a nurse serving near the front where she meets a patient, Captain Alan Travis, who says he was shot by his cousin. We soon find out his cousin had died prior to the shooting, and captain Travis is treated as a mental patient suffering from shell shock. Bess decides to help him. This takes her to England where she meets his cousin’s mother. The rest of the story follows the intrigue around the cousin’s estate and resolution of the mystery.

I do not read many “whodunnits,” but I was drawn in by the setting in 1918 after the Armistice. The descriptions of the front and the ending of the war were my favorite parts. The mystery itself contains lots of red herrings and twists and turns that are expected in the genre. I am not a big fan of these, but it makes it more difficult to guess the outcome. This is apparently one of a series of Bess Crawford mysteries. I have not read any of the other books in the series, but this one can easily be read as a standalone.
europe gridlock-selected historical-fiction ...more10 s Mainer2071,217 6

Not my favorite. I felt this dragged a lot. I also got the feeling that Bess should be enjoying her leave with her mother and not butting in on behalf of the Captain. Just me I guess.

I'm glad Bess and Simon were together at least. Will we ever see a romance there?

I was a bit surprised by the opening to Chapter 2. It states that Bess had returned from Paris after recovering from an injury. That's it? No more information on that? I had to go back to see what I missed and there was nothing. Odd. Seemed out of context. 10 s Linda Baker938 20

This is the first Bess Crawford I have read, and I confess that I am underwhelmed. Despite the setting in a period that fascinates me it just didn't "click." Perhaps if I had read others in the series, I might it better, but Bess and the other characters were not particularly exciting. It seemed to be written purely to see how many plot twists could be packed in. The book just droned on and on. I did finish it so I'll give it an "OK."audiobooks british-mystery historical-fiction9 s Beth383 9

I’ve read all of the Charles Todd books—both series, and I am definitely a fan. Both protagonists (Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford) are admirable, resourceful, likable, and skilled. The historical detail is always riveting and impeccable. This book, the new entry in the Bess Crawford series, is no exception. It is set in the waning weeks of World War I and the first few days after it ends on 11/11/1918. Bess is near the front lines in France tending to wounded when in the course of weeks tends the same soldier who has been shot on two different occasions—by the same man. He also claims this man is a cousin who deliberately shot him. We soon find out it is a case of mistaken identity and assuredly didn’t happen, since the accused man was killed a year before. The wounded Captain insists however, and predictably is treated as brain injured or shell shocked. Bess senses something else going on since she feels a certainty the Captain is telling the truth. The rest of the story unfolds as she becomes the Captain’s ally in getting to the truth. A good, twisty tale of old family feuds, rivalries and unhealed hurts is revealed and this turns into quite a good tale. Two flaws spoiled it some for me. One is the whole premise. I just never found it believable that the Captain made this “mistake”of identification in the first place. Once you overlook that, though, the book contains all the things that have become hallmarks of the Charles Todd series. The pace is painstakingly slow, unnecessarily complicated, and with the heroes plagued by incompetent, unimaginative, and small-minded locals. Still, while these things continue to annoy me, I’ll always read the books because their depth, detail, and characterization more than make up for what I find tedious. I won’t stop hoping the authors’ style will evolve a bit—and that the relationship between Simon and Bess will as well. That emotional stasis has gone on way too long.20178 s Aerykah461 30

I think this may be my favorite in the series so far! (I say "so far" because I'm really hoping there will be more Bess Crawford books!)
I would seriously love to see this series made into a tv series! Listening to the audiobooks makes me feel I'm watching movies anyway and I have been thoroughly enjoying myself!!2017 audiobook audiobook-challenge-2017 ...more8 s Marlene3,044 220

Originally published at Reading Reality

They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And that’s how it seems for much of A Casualty of War, as every time that Bess Crawford attempts to make things better for Captain Alan Travis, she seems to end up digging the poor man an even bigger hole. Bess being Bess, she feels more than a bit guilty about it, and a whole lot responsible.

And it’s that sense of responsibility that gets her in deep trouble. As it usually does.

Bess’ war is ending. Not with a bang, but seemingly with a whimper, as the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 is noted by the chiming of a surgeon’s watch and nothing more at the forward aid station where Bess is currently stationed.

The guns may have finally been silenced, but there are still plenty of casualties pouring into the aid station, including Captain Travis. Bess met Travis once before, as the both spent a brief respite at a canteen in between trips back to the front. She found him pleasant, affable, intelligent and eager to return home to his family estate in Barbados.

Now he’s a patient, claiming that he was shot by someone on their own side. Not merely someone unknown, but his cousin James. His late cousin James. Very late. A year late. Whether James went up or down after his death in combat, he hasn’t been shooting anyone recently. On either side. For more than a year.

And that’s where the story kicks into gear and moves back to England. All the nurses who served in forward positions get sent home for two weeks’ leave, including Bess. She still has a duty to perform, but where that duty can best be provided is something that she’ll learn after a couple of weeks to rest and regroup. Or at least that’s what supposed to happen.

Instead, Bess takes on Captain Travis’ continuing case. Not his medical case, not exactly. Rather, the mess that she feels she helped to land him in. Bess feels as if she was the one to suggest that his supposed assailant, the one who Travis said resembled his great-uncle, might be his cousin James. So when it turns out that James has been dead for over a year, Alan Travis gets classified as a head-case and sent to increasingly worse care.

Shell shock was considered a moral failing, not a disease.

But Bess remembers the man she met in that canteen before he was wounded. She thinks he’s telling a version of the truth. And that he’s definitely not crazy. Just because it couldn’t have been James does not mean that there was not a very real assailant, one who resembled his cousin, in a British uniform, shooting at him. Not once but twice. As Bess treated both his injuries, she knows for certain that the shots were real. The only question is who fired them.

Bess finds herself involved in not just a giant mess, but also a small town mystery. It’s not just that something is wrong with the treatment of Captain Alan Travis’ case, but it turns out that something is also very wrong with the administration of his cousin Lieutenant James Travis’ will. And that those two messes are somehow one and the same.

It will be up to Bess, with the help of her friend (and her father’s right-hand man) Sergeant Major Simon Brandon, to figure out who did what to whom before it’s too late. Not just for Captain Travis, but also for Bess herself.

Escape Rating B+: After the Magpie Murders a couple of weeks ago, I have been itching to sink my teeth into a good historical mystery. I pulled A Casualty of War out of the TBR stack a couple of weeks ahead of publication just to scratch that itch. And I’m glad I did.

I have loved this series from its very beginning in A Duty To The Dead. And if you historical mystery or are a fan of Maisie Dobbs in particular, that’s where I recommend that new readers begin Bess Crawford’s journey. While Bess finds herself in the middle of a case during every book, the series is also the story of Bess’ war as a combat nurse. Her journey begins in A Duty to the Dead, while in A Casualty of War it is obvious that her war is coming to an end. Which makes this book not the best place to start.

The war itself is winding down in this book. It actually has wound down, but that’s something we know from history and not something that Bess was 100% certain of at the time. What happened on November 11, 1918 was an armistice, which is not a peace treaty. While the guns were silent, it was still possible that they would roar again. Which of course they did, but not for another 20 years.

So part of the underlying theme to A Casualty of War is that Bess’ war, and her war service, are coming to an end. Bess, many combat veterans, suffers from PTSD, even if it wasn’t called that then. Her experiences, many of them horrific, will be with her for the rest of her life. And un women of previous generations, Bess is used to serving, not just to being useful, but to having a profession and the professional respect and recognition to go with it. Adjusting to peacetime is going to be difficult.

It’s not surprising that Bess involves herself in a mystery during her leave. She doesn’t know what to do with herself if she’s not taking care of someone else.

One of the things that made this particular case frustrating, at least for this reader, is that it was obvious fairly early on that whatever was going on in the village of Sinclair and whatever was going on with Captain Travis were connected, and that the issue revolved around his cousin James Travis’ estate. While whodunnit was not remotely clear, if only because we hadn’t met the perpetrator at that point, the why of things felt obvious.

But one of the fascinating things about the case was the way that Simon Brandon and Bess worked together. Their relationship has always been interesting. Simon is a few years older than Bess, probably ten but not more than fifteen. He’s been a part of her life from her very earliest memories as he joined her father’s regiment in India when she was a child, and when he had to lie about his age to enlist. While he seems to act as an older brother, he certainly isn’t. He is certainly her protector, but his protection never encroaches on Bess’ agency or autonomy, not even when he fairly obviously wishes that he could. Nearly every man who asks Bess to marry him, and there have been several, wonders if Brandon is the reason that she refuses. And so does this reader. He is the one person in Bess’ life who understands and accepts her as she is, and not as he expects a woman to be in that time and place.

So the mystery in A Casualty of War had its anticlimactic moments, and also resembled bits of A Pattern of Lies. But the questions that it asks about not just Bess’ future, but the future of all who served in that war that did not end all wars and must now lay down their guns and their scalpels, remains an open one.

I can’t wait to see where Bess finds herself, and how she finds herself, next.5 s Kathy3,564 249

I continue to read the books written by this team and continue to prefer the Ian Rutledge books. Bess Crawford is more than capable when it comes to nursing on the battlefield. This part of the book is compelling as the devastation that occurs when one side retreats is described movingly - what with the Germans planting bombs in gardens and ovens to take lives after they have left even though Crawford and crew tend to the wounded German soldiers left behind.
Then comes her leave where she devotes her efforts and time to investigate claims made by one of the soldiers she had nursed, a Captain who said his cousin had tried to kill him during action.
Eventually Bess is successful with the help of Simon and her father and many others as she pretty much turns a small Suffolk town upside down and is nearly killed herself.
Selfless to the max much?
The result is that you admire her devotion and skill in the first half and want to say ENUF already in the second half. How can she return to work with zero rest?4 s Lauren2,367 161

A Casualty of War
4 Stars

In the days following the Armistice, WWI nurse Bess Crawford learns that a former patient, Captain Alan Travis, is believed to be delusional and has been confined in an asylum. Convinced that there may be some truth behind the captain's claims that his cousin tried to kill him on the battlefield, Bess travels to Suffolk and unwittingly stirs up a hornet's nest of intrigue and murder.

Un some of the previous installments, Bess's decision to investigate Travis's claims is much more plausible as she feels partially responsible for his predicament. That said, much of the book is still Bess interfering in other people's business - no wonder the local detective was infuriated with her!

The plot itself is intriguing with several twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The ultimate resolution is both exciting and credible.

Unfortunately, there is still very little development on the personal front. Bess receives a proposal of marriage, but it is more or less glossed over, and her relationship with Simon Brandon is still stagnating. When will she realize there is more between them than an almost sibling- affection?

Overall, a solid addition to the series and it will be interesting to see where the Todds take their intrepid heroine now that the Great War is over.

audiobooks early-1900s historical-mystery ...more5 s Mary339 2

I guess I have hit the end of my Bess Crawford books I intend to read... she is always more concerned with her patients, their families etc etc except her parents and friends and families... she gets her friend Simon to let her do whatever she wants... even when he puts up a bit of a fight ... she has her way... they have to call in her father to get them out of trouble... luckily he is a high up .. muckity muck... and can help her out of her messes... doesn't seem possible that post world war 1 there is no shortage of food or gasoline ... etc... these stories are beginning to get a bit far fetched.. although it is nicely written.. 4 s Staci1,907 584

Is this the end of the series?? In this ninth book of the Bess Crawford Series, WWI ends. I am curious to see if this will be the end of the series or if Bess will carry forward in a different circumstance.

Much Jessica Fletcher, Bess is curious about things and continues to dig and prod and ultimately bring Simon on board to help solve the mystery. Another interesting adventure with Bess.read-in-20174 s Donna Sokolowski4

I'm frankly amazed that this book has an overall rating of approximately 4 stars. I was reluctant to even give it one. It certainly will not go on my list of recommended books written by this mother-son team. I initially began by reading all of their Rutledge novels which I continue to think are outstanding. I am always drawn to novels about either of the two world wars and having finished the Rutledge series it was an easy transition to the Bess Crawford books. But where the Rutledge books gives you some sense of who Rutledge is as a man, what he thinks and feels (largely because of that wonderful voice in his head - Hamish), you don't get that same sense with the Crawford series. I don't recall having read a single physical description anywhere of Bess....if anyone has, please point it out to me and let me know because apart from the fact that other characters refer to her as "pretty" I have no image of her in my head. Yes....she bounds around "helping" various people (somewhat absurdly in my opinion), but who is she as a person. A couple of males have been introduced into her orbit - Lassiter and Simon - yet her interactions with both are so bland that you wonder how a young woman who has so much empathy for others that she runs of to help them at every opportunity can be so cold and seemingly unfeeling when it comes to relationships with people that are close to her. Can anyone honestly tell me what she feels for Simon - he seems to always be there to save and comfort her, yet there's nothing in the writing to tell the reader how Bess feels as a woman. I'm not looking for trite, love-story drivel....I'm talking about honest, human feelings......there's just nothing there to grab onto and it leaves me incredibly annoyed with this character. This book in particular was pretty much "it" for me.....I'm not sure I'll bother reading anymore in the series unless some of these issues are addressed in future novels. The plot was almost non-existent and I had the sense that as each chapter was written the mother-son team went.....ooohhh.....let's try this next. It was there was no framework for the story and the book rolled along with no apparent direction. I confess to skipping some sections just to get to the end and find out "who dunnit". Sorry but this book just doesn't qualify as a "Goodread" for me!!3 s Jill Meyer1,173 115

Charles Todd is an American mother-son writing team who have two WW1-era series going on. The first, "Inspector Ian Rutledge", is set slightly after the war but with frequent flashbacks to the horror of the war. The second, "Bess Crawford", is set in WW1, though by their newest book, "Casualty of War", the war has finally(!) ended and Bess is tasked with some duties that include following up on an attempted murder at the front. The shooting was of a British officer, by a suspected British officer.

I almost didn't accept the readers' copy of "Casualty of War", because I have felt for a while now that the quality of writing was disinigrating in the three or so most recent books. In fact, I thought their latest book, "The Shattered Tree" was basically unreadable. So I began reading "Casualty of War" and was very pleased to find that while the book is not equal to their first few books, it is returning to the high quality of those first books. It's almost if two different people (or teams of people) wrote the two last books.

Bess is winding down her wartime nursing at the front as the book opens. She has met a Barbadian soldier fighting with the British Army. Captain Alan Travis was from an old British family whose grandfather had left England and settled on Barbados where he prospered and raised a family. Alan has come to England to fight for his anscestral land. However, the next two times Bess meets Captain Travis, he has been wounded by "friendly fire". He suspects he was shot by a relative from the English branch of the family. Bess decides to help Alan Travis untangle this mess, along with help from her ever-present admirer Sargeant-Major Simon Brandon and her parents.

Okay, it isn't so much that "Casualty of War" is a five-star read, but that it is so much better plotted and peopled than the previous one. IF you're a long-time Charles Todd reader who's been getting a bit disgusted as the series has unrolled, you might want to give the Bess Todd #9 a chance. You might be pleased; I know I was.3 s Shannon915

Two reluctant stars because this book was losing credibility as well as readability during the last third of the way. Do not be fooled by the poignant cover of Bess (presumably) gazing mournfully around a twilit battlefield cemetery; this story quickly moves away from the somber, serious side of war to the most twisted farce of mistaken identities, competing heirs, wild-goose chases and ludicrous near-misses by inept snipers that I have ever had the misfortune to read.
The story gets off to an intriguing beginning as we are presented with the unly, but just plausible, scenario of a British Captain from Barbados being shot at, but not fatally, by another British officer at what seems to be point-blank range. Captain Travis from Barbados is certain that he recognizes his assailant, only to have it happen again within the space of a few days. Again his wound is not serious. There are several problems with his insistent idea that his attempted murderer was a distant relative of his, not least because that specific person has been verified dead for over a year. Sister (Nurse) Crawford gets caught up in Captain Travis's story for reasons of her own and in fact, dedicates her 10-day leave to try and help him find answers because in the mean time he has now been assigned to an insane asylum and is held by restraints.
That's just for starters! We end up trying to follow the most convoluted Christie-type plot, with echoes of Jane Austen's Lady Catherine de Bourgh, by way of Nancy Drew at her in-over-her-head worst, requiring rescue by her heavy-hitting father and yes-man boyfriend, Ned Nickerson!
Believe me, by the time you stagger away from this one, your head will be spinning and your stomach heaving!3 s Manda CollinsAuthor 30 books1,376

A Casualty of War is another fast-paced, intricately woven tale of murder and war set during the days just before and after Armistice Day, ending combat in WWI. A patient's claim that his distant cousin tried to kill him on the battlefield leads Bess and family friend, Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon, into a village in Suffolk where all is not as it seems. As she and Simon try to prove her patient is right about what he saw, the villagers try to close ranks to protect the Lady of the manor. But someone is hiding a secret and will kill to keep it. Loved the mystery. And despite my forthcoming rant, it's still a great read.

Now...romance element rant:

Darn you, Charles Todd, with your satisfying mysteries mixed with glacially-paced romance. I can't quit you, but I'm pretty sure Bess will solve three more mysteries before she even gets kissed. Throw your romance mystery readers a bone, y'all! I am shipping Simon, but at this point I'd be ok with Bess having romantic feelings for almost anyone. A doctor. An orderly. The next wounded soldier she ends up saving from a murder rap. Come. On. Everybody around Bess falls in love but Bess. I get she's a serious person. She has a strong sense of duty. I don't want her to move to Australia. I don't expect her to make out in a closet. I just want her to have some butterflies in her stomach about a dude when he touches her hand. *weeps*british-mystery mystery3 s Shelly613 30

Another enjoyable mystery from the Todds. The puzzle of Captain Travis and who shot him was engaging and, as always, it was wonderful to spend time with Bess and Simon.
I'm left wondering what will come next. Which of Bess's wartime friends will we see again? Will she ever figure out that Simon Brandon is in love with her? Might she still meet the Todd's other protagonist, Ian Rutledge (I posed this question to Caroline at Magna cum Murder this year)? 3 s LJ3,159 309

First Sentence: Lieutenant Morrison died as dawn broke on the Friday morning, a casualty of war.

Field nurse Bess Crawford treats a patient, Captain Travis, disoriented from a head wound who believes Lt. James Travis, a distant cousin and Englishman, deliberately shot him. Although released, he is brought back still insisting on the same story. Upon Bess’ return to England, she finds the captain strapped to a hospital bed and being treated for a brain injury. Bess enlists the help of Sgt. Major Simon Brandon to unravel Travis’ story and find the truth.

From the very start, Todd touches one’s emotions. Although it’s coming to the end of the war, it is still very active and provides an interesting perspective on events and even the attitudes by some regarding providing medical treatment to captured German soldiers.

At first, one may believe one knows where the story is going. As it progresses, things do change and s twist makes things more interesting. And, as they say, the plot thickens even more.

Bess is such a strong character. Her nature is well-explained, as is her dedication. One can't help being attracted to Sgt. Major Simon Brandon. He is steady, supportive, and never dismisses or talks down to Bess. With the war ending, will we finally see something happen between the two of them?

The story does read a bit a melodrama at times. However, it turns out there is a very clever, and well-hidden, motive.

“A Casualty of War” takes one from the battles of France, to London, to a small English town, all in search for truth. With the war coming to an end, it is going to be interesting to see where the series will go from here.

A CASUALTY OF WAR (Hist Mys – Bess Crawford-France/England-WWI) – G+
Todd, Charles – 9th in series
William Morrow – Sept 2017
1900s_early england female_author ...more2 s Elisha (lishie)617 30

Unsure

Bess Crawford is beginning to feel Angela Lansbury’s Murder She Wrote character... Yes, she’s a nurse & therefore always with the injured. But really? She always gets those who’ve met foul play & worse still, sticks her nose into their business. This has felt the least plausible story to me yet... Gave it 3*s because I still enjoyed visiting beloved characters. On that note, not a standalone.2 s Tonstant Weader1,241 73

A Casualty of War is the ninth book in Charles Todd’s Bess Crawford series. Working at a forward station on the front lines of World War I, Bess encounters Alan Travis, a young man heading toward the front, and enjoys a short conversation with him. She sees him next after he’s been shot, a graze to his head, a wound he insists was a deliberate attempt to kill him by a fellow British soldier. Talking to Bess about it, he realizes the shooter is ly his distant cousin. He returns to the front and is shot again, in the back, and insists the shooter is the same man – James Travis. Unfortunately, James died a year earlier so doctors decide he is mentally ill and institutionalize him. Bess goes to check on him and is appalled by his condition and his despair. Feeling a bit guilty that she may have prompted his delusion, she tries to help him.

She also thinks he could be telling the truth, so she enlists the help of her father’s long-time friend and aide, Simon. They travel to the village James comes from, encountering inexplicable hostility that makes them suspicious. Something is definitely afoot.



This is a fair mystery that is more complex than it originally appears. During their first conversation, Alan shows pictures of his Barbadian home, telling the story of a family feud that sent his ancestors to Barbados. From that moment, it’s obvious this will be an heir unaware mystery. I made up that classification, but mystery collections are rife with inheritance plots, and the unaware heir is a great plot for inexplicable, seemingly inexplicable murders, or attempted murders. The hostile village is another common mystery trope. I wish, though, I had not understood the general story outline so early on.

I don’t object to tropes, after all, there are only seven stories, right? Todd adds nuance and twists to the tropes so they are not formulaic or cliche. There’s a reason the village is hostile and it’s not because they’re all international assassins. The heir unaware is also resolved differently, the motive quite different from expected. This is one reason I Todd’s series – there is a complexity in the resolution that is uncommon.

One of my favorite things about reading a Todd mystery is that while deeply steeped in time and place, full of the details and events that make it seem authentic and deeply researched, I never feel that there are some index cards of facts that Todd is determined to include. Many authors cannot resist including facts that show off their research, Todd will kill his darlings if they don’t organically fit in the story. There is no need to show off his research, he just seamlessly incorporates the kind of detail that creates an organic sense of time and place.

This prolific mother-son writing partnership writing under the singular Charles Todd name has more than thirty books to their credit. The Inspector Ian Rutledge series features a Scotland Yard detective who is haunted by his World War I experiences in the form of Hamish MacLeod, a young Scottish soldier he executed on the battlefield. Bess Crawford is Rutledge’s opposite in every way, not just because she’s a woman. While Rutledge struggles with superiors who dis and distrust him, Crawford is supported by privilege, her father an important and powerful confidante of the Crown. Rutledge’s psyche is damaged, he is a tormented man. Crawford is commonsensical in the extreme, a down-to-earth woman on an even keel. He is professional and has authority and credentials. She is an amateur sleuth, though she does use her nursing credentials as much as she can. I think writing two different series helps Todd avoid the common pitfalls of series writers who fall into habits. This is why the Rutledge and the Crawford series continue to maintain their high standards.

A Casualty of War will be published September 26th. I received an e-galley for review from Edelweiss.

A Casualty of War at William Morrow, a Harper Collins imprint
Charles Todd author site
Charles Todd at Order of Books

https://tonstantweader.wordpre...1 Maggie Boyd1,311 25

The term war casualty refers to anyone who dies of injuries sustained in battle. The phrasing seems almost benign, as if the horrible loss were simply a mild byproduct of a causal event. In A Casualty of War the writing duo of Charles Todd brings home the fact that war is not in the least casual but awful, exhausting and debilitating and that the causalities of that event are not just those who fall on the battlefield or are wounded there, but all those who stand on those bloody fields and everyone who has ever cared for those who do.

This is the ninth book in the Bess Crawford series and I would strongly suggest reading them in order. While this book could be read as a standalone, I think the tale is enhanced by being familiar with the recurring characters, not just Bess but also Simon, Sgt. Lassiter and Colonel Crawford. That said, there are no spoilers in this review for the series.

It’s been a long day and army nurse Bess Crawford is happy to grab a cup of tea and bowl of soup in the canteen at the end of it. Unfortunately, there are no empty tables but she is able to snag a seat across from the congenial Captain Alan Travis. Bess and the amiable Captain have a great conversation and part as friendly acquaintances when the ambulance arrives that will serve as her ride to the aid station she is being transferred to. She doesn’t give the captain another thought through the weeks that follow as she keeps busy with the business of trying to keep men engaged in brutal combat alive from the wounds received during battle.

Then the Captain is brought in to her aid station having sustained an injury to his head – a heavily bleeding groove that cuts through his hair on the left side, deep enough that the skull is showing although it clearly wasn’t penetrated. The doctor judges that no brain damage has occurred but the Captain tells a story that has others skeptical of that fact. Captain Travis is convinced that he was wounded by deliberate friendly fire and that the man who shot him was none other than his cousin from an estranged branch of the family. No one believes him; all seem convinced that he simply became confused as a result of the injury and the violent disorder of the battle in which he was hurt. Bess is disturbed by the tale but when the Captain returns to the front she puts him from her mind. Then he comes back – once more having been shot, once more convinced that his cousin did the shooting. She patches him up again and sends him on his way, though this second time she is deeply disturbed by the tale he tells. However, there’s nothing she can do about it and she soon becomes busy once more with the hard work of caring for the latest of her patients. And possibly the last of her patients, for while the hospitals and aid stations remain busy, the war has officially ended. Then something thoroughly unexpected happens; Bess is given leave to go home to England. But while there, Bess finds Captain Tavis strapped to his bed in a clinic for patients suffering from shell shock and mental incapacitation due to head wounds. It seems the Captain has continued with his story of the murderous cousin and the powers that be have determined it’s a result of battle fatigue. The tale has always seemed improbable but the fact that all evidence points to said cousin having been killed in battle over a year ago place it firmly in impossible territory. Horrified by the poor treatment he is receiving, Bess and Sergeant Major Simon Brandon, a lifelong friend and confidant, travel to Suffolk to learn more about the deceased cousin and the mysterious events surrounding the Captain’s injuries. See the rest of my review at https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...2017-reading-year mystery1 Lisa2,646 42

Title: A Casualty of War (A Bess Crawford Mystery #9)
Author: Charles Todd
Pages: 378
Year: 2017
Publisher: William Morrow
My rating is 4 out of 5 stars.
Bess Crawford is once again called on to help a soldier in need. This time the soldier, Alan Travis, claims that a soldier in a British uniform tried to kill him, a British soldier himself and not once, but twice. The soldier looks very much Alan’s cousin. Alan suffers a head wound that causes the aid station to doubt his claims. He is returned to active duty after being cleared by the Base Hospital. When he is returned to the aid station with a bullet wound in his back, claiming the same soldier tried to kill him again, the authorities investigate his claims. It is discovered that the man Alan claims tried to kill him is dead. Now, the hospital staff begins to doubt his sanity and perhaps the first wound to his head was more serious than they thought. He is transferred to a mental hospital until he can be further evaluated. Bess feels responsible and tells Alan she will see what she can discover.
Bess is home for two weeks leave after the war is finally over. However, instead of spending the time with her parents, she ends up chasing clues as the mystery surrounding Captain Travis goes deeper than she originally thought. She has Simon Brandon at her side for protection and help, but can he truly keep her safe when a murder happens in the small village of the Travis family? Bess is convinced Captain Travis is sane and won’t rest until justice for him clears his name, freeing him, but at what cost?
In her role as a nurse, Bess has been involved in quite a few mysteries so now that the war is over I am very curious to see how this series will continue. I thoroughly enjoy the time frame of this series as well as the setting. I love reading about all the small villages and their intricacies of life, how townspeople interact with one another and strangers. Bess leaves no stone unturned, even though many times she has no authority, in her investigations. She just can’t leave a mystery alone, even when she should for her own safety. I also d seeing more of Simon in this story and would to know more about his background. Maybe there might be a mystery with Simon and his past as the focus? I’m looking forward to seeing how Bess encounters her tenth mystery!
1 Brenda71 7

May I highly recommend the Bess Crawford series. It is a period series which takesq place during World War I. Sister Bess Crawford is a military Nurse who serves on the front line. She comes from an upper echelon military family. In each of the books, Nurse Crawford becomes personally involved in events and with people she encounters as a result of her military assignments. This enables her to use her “detective mind” to bring about a resolve to each isssue. There is the detective/mystery element to each story, but there is historical color as we live through the awfulness of war. There is romance. Nurse Crawford is a single lady but she seems to be drawn to an officer who has served her father for many years and lives in a cottage on her parents estate. He seems to always show up to pick up the pieces or assist with the puzzle when he is needed. Casualty of War takes place near the end of the war and follows an intriguing story of mistaken identity, murder, fear, jealousy, inheritance, all as seen through the eyes of the residents and visitors in a small English village. 1 Pamela1,715 33

I love Bess Crawford war mysteries. This one was a gem. She is with Simon trying to help a soldier who was shot two different times by the same British officer, that looks a member of his family. The severe head injury has the doctors feeling he is suffering with some form of shell shock, which lands him into a military psyche ward. Bess believes him, and on her time home she is bound to prove he is not mentally disturbed. He is also an heir to a large estate, through a cousin he got to know in the war. His cousins mother, though does all she can to keep him away There are murders, and attacks, and embezzlement, and deception. It is also a look at what PTSD was ,and how it was treated during World War Two I only wish Beth had a certain someone to come home to . There have been hints of servicemen, but non have come close to her heart. Simon watches over her, but is he more of a brother ? An Australian that has come to her aid more than once, with loads of charm. I hope now that the war is ending the writers will allow her some personal time. Working as a nurse on the front, and her detection on her leaves gives little time for romance. adventure favorites female-heroine ...more1 Shirley Wetzel91

The Great War is coming to an end, but the casualties are still trickling in to the aid station in France. Nurse Bess Crawford meets a charming young soldier, Captain Adam Travis, just before he heads into battle. She sees him in the casualty ward twice more. His first wound is not serious; the second gets him a place on the ship back to England. Bess can hardly recognize the man she meet just weeks ago. He is disturbed, insisting that the man who shot him both times was his cousin.

Bess encounters him again in a nursing home. He is being as a mental case. The man he claimed shot him could not possibly have done so, but he will not be convinced. Bess and her friend Simon Branson believe something is very wrong, not just with Adam but with the way he's being treated, and they are determined to get to the bottom of the situation before it's too late. 1 Sam Sattler1,088 43

"A Casualty of War" is a tale about one man's obsessive quest to prove that a fellow British officer deliberately tried to kill him during a WWI battle in France.

As it turns out, the man targeted for assassination has unknowingly become heir to a title and mansion in England even though he has never met anyone in the English branch of his family (he was born and raised elsewhere). The mother-son writing team known as "Charles Todd" tells an interesting story here, but too many of the characters are stereotypical representatives of a type, and it is sometimes difficult to take them and their actions very seriously.

Still, this made for a decent audio book (the reader is absolutely excellent), and since it is my first experience with this series, I may be underestimating its impact on series fans. As regards the series, for me, this will most ly be the end of it.audiobook historical-fiction war1 Susan Morris1,334 14

Very good entry in Bess Crawford series, as she tries to help an officer investigate if another British officer tried to kill him, or if he’s going mad. The mother, Mrs. Travis made me crazy that she was so ridiculous in her denial of her son’s will because of a past family feud but I suppose it could be realistic in the time period. (Library)1 Melanie295

I love this series, and it is interesting to see what the characters are up to post war. I really want to see Bess in a relationship, with Simon preferably, but I hope a romance is in her future. That notwithstanding, this was a good mystery with plenty of English customs to satisfy this Anglophile.1 Barb Coates5

Autor del comentario:
=================================