A Bitter Truth

A Bess Crawford Mystery

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Trying to help a woman in distress, World War I nurse and accidental sleuth Bess Crawford learns that no good deed goes unpunished.

When battlefield nurse Bess Crawford returns from France for a well-earned Christmas leave, she finds a bruised and shivering woman huddled in the doorway of her London residence. The woman has nowhere to turn, and propelled by a firm sense of duty, Bess takes her in.

Once inside Bess' flat, the woman reveals that a quarrel with her husband erupted into violence, yet she wants to return home - if Bess will go with her to Sussex. Realizing that the woman is suffering from a concussion, Bess gives up a few precious days of leave to travel with her. But she soon discovers that this is a good deed with unforeseeable consequences.

What Bess finds at Vixen Hill is a house of mourning. The woman's family has gathered for a memorial service for the elder son, who died of war wounds. Her husband, home on compassionate leave, is tense, tormented by jealousy and his own guilty conscience.

Then, when a troubled houseguest is found dead, Bess herself becomes a prime suspect in the case. This murder will lead her to a dangerous quest in war-torn France, an unexpected ally, and a startling revelation that puts her in jeopardy before a vicious killer can be exposed.

©2011 Charles Todd (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

I wondered about that...

yet another great mystery by Charles Todd. enjoyable and interesting. well read. what's next ?

Remarkable Reading

I enjoyed this book very much. I couldnt seam to stop listening to this book.

An Old Fashioned "Who dun-it"

I quite enjoyed this book as it did not pretend to be anything other then it was. It is an old fashioned mystery novel, all prim and proper from a time when women knew their place in society but a few were testing their strength and will. It had snippets of the 2nd world war thrown in with an insight of how people coped with leading disjointed lives. I am glad I read it.

Really enjoy Bess Crawford

I have read most of Todd's Inspector Rutledge series and have enjoyed listening to the story lines featuring the conflicted inspector. So when the new series began featuring Army nurse Bess Crawford, I was happy to try out this new point of view. I love the stories and am becoming "attached" to these new characters.

My only reservation is Landor's reading. All of the men sound the same, and it can sometimes get very confusing for me as a listener. The only man I can sometimes differentiate is Simon, who seems to get a little softer treatment from Landor. Other than that difficulty, I highly recommend this new World War I series from the mother-and-son writing team that is Charles Todd.

Murder Mystery Set During WW1

A Bitter Truth is the third book in the series featuring Bess Crawford, a nursing sister during WWI. Brought up in an affluent military family, Bess is more worldly and independent than other young women of her time. Despite the stereotype of nurses being women of a low class or dubious reputation, Bess sees the need to attend to the war wounded, and after earning her certification, is stationed in France. It is this combination of conscience and confidence that typically gets Bess immersed in the troubles of other people, leading the her second career of amateur sleuth.

In A Bitter Truth, Bess returns to London on leave, and finds a young woman huddled in the bitter cold on Bess's doorstop. Unable to turn away anyone in need, Bess offers the young woman a place to stay, and eventually finds that Lydia, the young woman, imprudently fled from home after Lydia's husband struck her during an argument. Unable to say no to anyone, Bess returns home with Lydia, and becomes immersed in the unhappy life of a family grieving for a long dead child and losses from war battles.

This tense situation eventually involves a murder, a missing wounded soldier, and a rumored love child abandoned in France. With the situation unresolved, Lydia returns to France, and finds the child in question, along with an angry encounter with Lydia's husband, who is also the suspected father.

Called back to England for the inquest, Bess is once again deeply involved with this sad and difficult family, alternately welcomed into their home and treated with disdain. I struggled with this part of the story, as I think that someone with Bess's courage and confidence would have focused her efforts where they could do some good instead of o Lydia's ungrateful family. A second, the a third murder occurs, along with the surprise arrival of the child from France, aided by an Australian soldier that Bess had nursed.

Once Bess, along with her father's aide, focus on the facts, the mystery and murderer becomes clear, ending in a car chase and fist fight. The fate of the child begins to be worked out between the English family that wants her and poor nuns in war ravaged France. Bess returns to her nursing duty, and most likely a new mystery in the future.

A Bitter Truth is a likable mystery, with the parts referring to WWI and the wounded soldiers very well done. There is not an excess of gore, violence, or romance, which is a refreshing change. Although I enjoyed reading the book, I was bothered by the inconsistency of Bess gladly immersing herself in the problems of others yet being willing to send an orphaned child (who was clearly the illegitimate child of Lydia's husband) back to occupied France. Except for this disparity--which may not bother most readers, as people are surprising, this is a strong third installment of the Bess Crawford series.

Rosalyn Landor was outstanding with the delivery of the story.

Clean, historical, romantic mystery

What did you like best about A Bitter Truth? What did you like least?

It is a clever & more romantic period mystery attempting to stay true to the "Great War" (WWI) period in Great Britain. A period when we know women had few options & lived within strict boundaries. Men also had obligations & limitations. This is an easy introduction to the time.

Written by the same American mother & son team who author the Inspector Rutledge series I enjoy so much, I thought I'd try their hand at a female lead character. I did not enjoy the Bess Crawford character so much. This being #3 in the series may have affected my reaction. A nurse in the war and yet I did not find her all that strong, more a goody two shoes, a pushover, & without strong family ties. I can't imagine not going to visit one's own family on a few precious days leave from the war! So from the first scene on I was suspicious of Bess's character. I did not have to admire Bess to enjoy the story & the goings on. It is a mystery after all.

What does Rosalyn Landor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Landor has a full range of voices. She also narrates another of my favorite romantic historical mysteries, "The Winter Sea". She has that sort of voice.

Do you think A Bitter Truth needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I may try another Bess Crawford book but borrow it from the public library. Whereas, Inspector Rutledge series I will definitely add to my library. The first Rutledge book I listened to was from the public library, "A Matter of Justice" #11, very good. Reading other reviews, it appears readers/listeners fall into 2 camps over these 2 series. I seem to enjoy the darker themes of Rutledge stories.

Weak Story Saved by an Excellent Narrator

It's true. A good British accent can save almost any story for me. And Rosalyn Landor does an excellent job, raising a story to a level that I could complete the book. As far as the story goes, I was not so enamored. The final solution to the murder mystery was weak and felt forced, as if the author didn't want the murderer to be one of the upper class characters. But the story line related to the search for a missing orphan child in war-torn France left me shaking my head, especially Bess's insistence that the child be returned to the horrors of WWI France for legal reasons.

a lesser Charles Todd

What did you like best about A Bitter Truth? What did you like least?

I liked the narrator. The story just keeps wandering around never really capturing a strong plot or beliveable characters.

Would you ever listen to anything by Charles Todd again?

I've listened to many Charles Todd books before and always enjoyed them. I won't listen to any more in this series.

Have you listened to any of Rosalyn Landor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Rosalyn Landor is a fine narrator and one of the reasons that I listened to this book.

Excellent historical fiction

What made the experience of listening to A Bitter Truth the most enjoyable?

It was more provocative than "enjoyable". Many facts were presented that were timely. More of a women's book than for a man.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot unwrapped onion peel by onion peel.

Which scene was your favorite?

The opening scene of the book grabbed one's attention.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I appreciated Simon's carefully watching for danger without hovering too closely or restricting the heroine's decisions. The strong female protagonist was well painted with small strokes and no heavy platitudes.

disappointment

I love "Charles Todd's" Ian Rutledge series, and get drawn into those novels even though they are darker mysteries than I usually like and --from reading about the main character -- I would NEVER have thought that I'd enjoy the novels -- so Todd's Bess Crawford is a heroine I really want to cheer for and expected to enjoy. The first in the series, "A Duty to the Dead", had promise, though the writing and characters were not on par with the Rutledge series. The two subsequesnt Bess Crawford novels seem even weaker to me -- so I hope for a good fourth from the Charles Todd team. Meanwhile, Audible please get more of the early Ian Rutledge novels!