A Duty to the Dead

A Bess Crawford Mystery

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The daughter of a distinguished soldier, Bess Crawford follows in his patriotic footsteps, volunteering to serve her country as a nurse during the Great War. In 1916 she promises Lieutenant Arthur Graham that she will carry his dying request to a brother.

When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference. Neither his mother nor his brother Timothy seems to think it has any significance. Unsettled by this, Bess is about to take her leave when sudden tragedy envelops her.

She quickly discovers that fulfilling this duty to the dead has thrust her into a maelstrom of intrigue and murder that will endanger her own life and test her courage as not even war has.

©2009 Charles Todd (P)2009 BBC Audio

Critic reviews

"Todd employs all the elements of a satisfying cozy mystery, with an absorbing plot and a charismatic heroine that will leave the reader wanting more." ( Library Journal)

Great story

I wasn't sure about this book after reading some of the reviews but I am out of Agatha Raisin and Daisy Dalrymple books so I gave it a try. I'm so glad I did. I really enjoyed it. It was fast-paced and interesting and not too gory or dark. Just what I needed.

Convoluted

it started off well and i thoight it was going to be a very good mystery with an appealing heroine. Toward the end it got confusing and convoluted, with the solution depending on confessions by people who lied instead of determining the solution through evidence.

Win!

Niles IS Win
This is just a great book and series!
I love how Mr Corbin writes.

Wow

I was anxious to see how this new series would be. If book one is any indication I cannot wait to here more! I could not wait to see what happened but also did not want it to win.

Narration was perfect and cannot wait for more to come

engaging plot and writing

...and skilled narration, voice acting, and character individuation. I am looking forward to subsequent books in the series.

Fantastic!!!

Almost as good as Ian Rutledge. Had listened to it a number of years ago but still just as riveting.

Terrific period mystery

History lovers will revel in the period details of this mystery set during WWI. Bess Crawford, a nursing sister in the medical corps, becomes involved more and more deeply in the family of a soldier whom she nursed til his death from sepsis. Failing to keep up her shield of professional detachment, her heart aches as she brings his last request to his family. From life onboard a troop hospital ship to life in the English countryside during wartime, the descriptions ring true both historically and emotionally. Well done indeed. The descriptions of Shell Shocked soldiers foretell our generation's PTSD. Can't wait to read more of Bess.

THE 1st BOOK IN ANOTHER GREAT CHARLES TODD SERIES!

I got hooked on author Charles Todd through is Inspector Ian Rutledge series. The Bess Crawford Mysteries are ALMOST as good, with the usual early murder in an unlikely location, followed by an amazing number of twists, turns, and red herrings which keep the reader off kilter until the very end. This is the 1st in the series. I say this so you don't start out of order. Each book can stand on its own but subsequent ones make reference to prior crimes.

Bess is the only daughter of a highly decorated British colonel who has chosen nursing on the battlefields during World War I, rather than a comfortable, if loveless, marriage to a gentleman of her class. While she lacks the training and knowledge of Rutledge (a well-educated member of London gentry who chose law enforcement before fighting as an officer in the same war), Bess' criminal deductive skills come from what I took as "female intuition", a bit of a condensending insult to women then and now. This choice by Todd gives the Bess Crawford series less of an overall impact, especially since it takes place before the acceptance of such rudimentary criminal forensics like fingerprints, ballistics, the information provided by rigor mortis and livor mortis - all which would become critical components just a decade later. Bess kinda "stumbles" her way into solutions with the full force of the considerable resources and access to military and government documents and databases provided by her father.

The narrator is out of league here. While Landor is great with Regency, Edwardian, and Victorian romance books, her range of voices and dialects is limited, especially with respect to males. All of her men sound like upper-crust fops talking like their buttocks are clinched so tight that a hungry man couldn't get a shilling from between the cheeks. A major flaw is with the dialogue between women of the same class. If more than 2 are talking, the normally irritating "Bess said" or "Lady Stiff-Upperlip remarked" is sorely needed just to keep your place or you'll find yourself rewinding repeatedly throughout the book.

That said, this series is still worth listening to. Try to get them on sale if you can and start with Bess Crawford before the Rutledge books. Comparatively, she is merely a tasty appetizer to Rutledge's outstanding main course. (NOTE: I will post this same review for the others in the series, only changing the chronological order.)

WWI Nurse Fulfills Soldiers Dying Request

Bess Crawford, more like the son of a distinguished British army officer than a daughter, just survived the sinking of the Brittanic, the hospital ship on which she served . . . healing from a broken arm, home on medical leave, the army nurse, sets to the task of fulfilling her promise to a dying soldier . . . to deliver a message to his family . . . while visiting the Graham family to deliver the message, Bess is called on to help with another soldier with "shell shock" . . . I don't want to give the plot away, but the story is excellent, well-told and gives the listener not only a glimpse of Great War, but also of the British home front . . . the grit and determination of Bess is refreshing and I found myself listening late into the night as the mystery unfolded . . . I can't wait to get the next one in the series.

Difficulties of World War I

What did you love best about A Duty to the Dead?

I liked the examples in the characters of the devastation war has on men and women after they have returned from battle.

What other book might you compare A Duty to the Dead to and why?

Maise Dobbs book series about World War I. Very good stories.

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

The main character moved me as she had the strength to go against the status quo of England in that time period..

Any additional comments?

This is my first book by Charles Todd, and I was unsure. Now I will listen to more of his stories in the series.