An Unmarked Grave

A Bess Crawford Mystery, Book 4

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

World War I nurse and amateur sleuth Bess Crawford matches wits with a devious killer in this exciting and suspenseful adventure from New York Times best-selling author Charles Todd.

In the spring of 1918, the Spanish flu epidemic spreads, killing millions of soldiers and civilians across the globe. Overwhelmed by the constant flow of wounded soldiers coming from the French front, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford must now contend with hundreds of influenza patients as well.

However, war and disease are not the only killers to strike. Bess discovers, concealed among the dead waiting for burial, the body of an officer who has been murdered. Though she is devoted to all her patients, this soldier's death touches her deeply. Not only did the man serve in her father's former regiment, he was also a family friend.

Before she can report the terrible news, Bess falls ill, the latest victim of the flu. By the time she recovers, the murdered officer has been buried, and the only other person who saw the body has hanged himself. Or did he?

Working her father's connections in the military, Bess begins to piece together what little evidence she can find to unmask the elusive killer and see justice served. But she must be as vigilant as she is tenacious. With a determined killer on her heels, each move Bess makes could be her last.

©2012 Charles Todd (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

ANOTHER GREAT CHARLES TODD SERIES! #4

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 4th 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 since this is the only one where Audible.com has seen fit to add "Book 4).

Wonderful series.

This was the third book I’ve listened to and they have all been wonderfully written and well read. I can’t wait to listen to the next one.

The Perfect Crime

Where does An Unmarked Grave rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's an overall GOOD story.

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

Not exactly on the edge of my seat, but it kept me interested enough to want to continue listening, even when I needed to stop.

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

She's very good at changing voices, from women to men, and from British to American.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Hide a murder among the dead.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed hearing about the difficulties of WWI. What horror for those who fought and who tried to save the wounded. Kudos to the Nurses in France on the front lines.

Page turner

The Charles Todd writing team is back in their stride with this Bess Crawford installment (after a substandard third novel). This fourth novel in the series keeps Bess on her toes running from
and chasing after a would-be assassin. The subplot dealing with considerations for deserters is interesting if somewhat unrealistically and expediently resolved. The warmth of her family life has not only returned but is front and center in this narrative. Some of the rhetoric is repetitive (as with the last novel, there’s a lot of coming in “looking like a thundercloud”) but for the most part the storyline is well developed and resolved. Responding to highly suspicious imaginary orders immediately following a life-threatening incident defies Bess’s normally sound reason, but other than that it’s a strong story. Landor has a lovely, pleasant voice but hasn’t mastered the 30s American accent, let alone a Michigan one. It’s rendered as almost Connecticut and pretty obnoxious, which may interfere with the likeability of that character, but her Irish, Welsh and Aussie accents are good and the Scottish is passable. I found myself rather anxious all the way through and not wanting to pause the story, a good sign of an engaging thriller. Looking forward to book 5 in this series!

another great stpry

another great story by Charles Todd. great characters and the reader is superb. what's next?

Interesting perspective on WWI

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this audiobook to a friend especially if that friend likes mysteries and has an interest in World War I. The characters and the plot were interesting as well as the details about the time and the people living through WWI.

What other book might you compare An Unmarked Grave to and why?

Any of the other Charles Todd books that deal with the same time period. The other series that comes to mind is the Inspector Foyle programs on PBS. They deal with a changing society during the two World Wars and the changing role for women in that society.

What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?

She portrayed the characters very well and was extremely easy to listen to.

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

I loved the end of the book when Bess Crawford was able to give the murdered soldier's family the comfort in knowing that he had not committed suicide and restored his honour.

Highly recommend

Charles Todd does not disapoint in the 4th book of the "Bess Crawford" series. Rosalyn Landor has done a fantastic job in reading ALL the books in the series. I hope they continue to use her as the series progresses. She really brings the characters to life!

One of the best Bess Crawford mysteries!

I've listened to all of the Bess Crawford mysteries and this is my second favorite, next to A Duty to the Dead.

Charles Todd must be SO imaginative!

This story has a lot of characters, and each one was brought alive in his own way! It made Bess and whichever character she was with cross from England to France many times! It was an exciting story! And ended with an exciting ending!

Fascinating, Dramatic and Spellbinding.

A wonderful story of wartime hardship with a Downton Abbey feel. A nurse discovers an inner strength that she would never have known apart from the stark ruthlessness of her own illness and the First World War. From a privileged military family in Britain, the heroin determines to return to France to serve the wounded after having, herself, survived the Spanish Flu pandemic that rivaled the war in numbers of fatalities. There is intrigue coupled with valor. This is a tribute to the strength and determination of women. It was hard to put down. Well narrated, I highly recommend this easy listen.