“[Readers] are bound to be caught up in the adventures of Bess Crawford . . . While her sensibility is as crisp as her narrative voice, Bess is a compassionate nurse who responds with feeling.” — New York Times Book Review
“I love series that follow particular characters over time and through their experiences, so I automatically read the latest installments from . . . Charles Todd.” — Hillary Rodham Clinton
"Todd has few peers at both keeping readers turning pages for the reveal and making every character on those pages feel real. Those seeking emotional depth in their mysteries will be richly rewarded." — Publishers Weekly , starred review
"Bess is among the most compassionate and intelligent characters, whose observations on life and people are advanced for the era in which she lives." — The Sun-Sentinel (Florida)
“So much happens within this complex plot, and there is a level of suspense throughout the book that readers of the previous 11 novels haven’t experienced. Those who are aware of the historical events that drive this story will find themselves torn between the sentiments of the British and Irish characters. An Irish Hostage is yet another triumph for Charles Todd and one of the most memorable additions to the series.” — Book Reporter on An Irish Hostage
"The Crawford series has been consistently strong, each book as crisply written and suspenseful as the last." — Booklist on An Irish Hostage
“[A] fast-paced historical mystery…Bess demonstrates presence of mind under fire, strong nursing skill, and adept calls of judgment.” — New York Journal of Books on An Irish Hostage
“A captivating mystery of treachery and bravery during the post WWI Irish troubles!” — Fresh Fiction on An Irish Hostage
“Sensitive, beautifully written, disconcertingly familiar.” — Kirkus Reviews
“As with all other Bess Crawford mysteries, this one is historically accurate, entertainingly written, and thoroughly enjoyable.” — New York Journal of Books
"As always, the mother-son writing team of Charles Todd does a magnificent job with atmosphere and dialogue, all while keeping their good-hearted heroine one step (but only one) ahead of the bad guys .” — BookPage on A Cruel Deception
"As usual, Todd mixes historical verisimilitude with exemplary character design and sharp plotting. Another fine entry in this popular series.” — Booklist on A Cruel Deception
“Terrific . . . A Cruel Deception shows that there are still plenty of stories left for Bess Crawford, and I cannot wait to see what happens next." — Book Reporter on A Cruel Deception
★ 12/12/2022
Set in 1919, bestseller Todd’s stellar 13th Bess Crawford mystery (after 2021’s An Irish Hostage ) sends the former WWI front-line nurse to Yorkshire. There, a cousin of Bess’s has a friend, Lillian Taylor, the companion to Lady Beatrice, who’s scheduled to have her gallbladder removed. The surgeon insists that Lady Beatrice have a nurse in attendance on her discharge from hospital, but she’s refused. Lillian wants Bess to try to change Lady Beatrice’s mind. In the end, the domineering aristocrat persuades Bess to serve as her post-op private nurse. Bess gets even more than she bargained for when her patient’s godson, Gordon Neville, suffers an accident, and she’s dispatched to help him. She finds Neville recovering from a fall off a cliff; Neville’s friend Frederick Caldwell suffered fatal injuries while apparently attempting to save him. A wound on the back of Frederick’s skull suggests a different story, and Bess’s investigation uncovers a complex web of secrets and possible motives for murder. Todd has few peers at both keeping readers turning pages for the reveal and making every character on those pages feel real. Those seeking emotional depth in their mysteries will be richly rewarded. Agent: Lisa Gallagher, DeFiore & Co. (Feb.)
"The Crawford series has been consistently strong, each book as crisply written and suspenseful as the last."
Booklist on An Irish Hostage
"Bess is among the most compassionate and intelligent characters, whose observations on life and people are advanced for the era in which she lives.."
The Sun-Sentinel (Florida)
Terrific . . . A Cruel Deception shows that there are still plenty of stories left for Bess Crawford, and I cannot wait to see what happens next."
Book Reporter on A Cruel Deception
As with all other Bess Crawford mysteries, this one is historically accurate, entertainingly written, and thoroughly enjoyable.”
New York Journal of Books on A Cruel Deception
"As usual, Todd mixes historical verisimilitude with exemplary character design and sharp plotting. Another fine entry in this popular series.
Booklist on A Cruel Deception
"As always, the mother-son writing team of Charles Todd does a magnificent job with atmosphere and dialogue, all while keeping their good-hearted heroine one step (but only one) ahead of the bad guys .
BookPage on A Cruel Deception
[Readers] are bound to be caught up in the adventures of Bess Crawford . . . While her sensibility is as crisp as her narrative voice, Bess is a compassionate nurse who responds with feeling.”
The New York Times Book Review
I love series that follow particular characters over time and through their experiences, so I automatically read the latest installments from . . . Charles Todd.
Intensely personal, as all great stories should be.
2022-12-14
When her mother receives an entreaty from Bess’ cousin Melinda to stop in at the home of Lady Beatrice Linton, the widowed employer of Melinda’s friend Lillian Taylor, to stand in for the nurse Lady Beatrice refuses to engage after the pending removal of her gallbladder, she suggests to Bess that the two of them combine the trip with a visit to Florence Dunstan, Bess’ friend in York. But Clarice Crawford has to drop out at the last minute, leaving Bess to travel alone to Yorkshire. First Lady Beatrice takes to her so strongly that she insists Bess stay on with her after her surgery; then Bess’ plans are upended even more completely by a terse telegram to Lady Beatrice: “Gordon had accident. Come at once. ” Since the patient is still convalescing, Bess travels again, this time with Lillian, to Scarfdale, the home of Lady Beatrice’s godson. Gordon Neville has indeed been gravely injured in a fall from an outcropping, but his brother Arthur’s telegram has buried the lede: The same incident left the brothers’ childhood friend Lt. Frederick Caldwell dead. Deeply saddened but no longer traumatized by violence since her service in the Great War, Bess examines Frederick’s body and realizes that at least one of his wounds looks anything but accidental. It’s not long before she also realizes that she’s the only person who knows that Gordon’s alibi for a murder that soon follows won’t stand up. Fortunately, she brings both experience and expertise to the mystery, for murder is “rather like nursing in a way.”
As usual in this elegiac series, the heroine’s detective work is less important than the sad secrets it discloses.
