• A Bitter Truth

  • A Bess Crawford Mystery
  • By: Charles Todd
  • Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
  • Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (729 ratings)

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A Bitter Truth  By  cover art

A Bitter Truth

By: Charles Todd
Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
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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

What listeners say about A Bitter Truth

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beloved Bess

A friend recommended that I try reading Charles Todd and at that time A Duty to the Dead (the first Bess Crawford novel) had just come out. So that's where I started and I got hooked. I like Bess; she's a strong, single woman serving as a nurse during World War I in France. Somehow she manages to get in the middle of murder mysteries and we get to go along with her to the solution.

This third installment is a solid addition. Bess's compassionate heart won't let her ignore a woman huddling in her London doorway and what results is her becoming fully engaged in the woman's family troubles and murder.

All of the Bess Crawford novels are narrated by Rosalyn Landor, whose soothing British may seem too soothing for a good listen, but she reads it very well. Since these novels are in the first person, she is Bess's voice.

I know fans of the Ian Rutledge novels are disappointed with the Bess Crawford novels a bit. But since this is where I started with Todd, I'm a happy reader/listener.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

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!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

A Bitter Disappointment

Any additional comments?

I found the plot too far fetched at times - example: A group of people searching for a child in a country filled with orphans, all of whom immediately recognize her from a portrait of her aunt...Unlike two of the other reviewers I didn't find Bess to be a strong woman. The novel begins with Bess on leave from war and preparing for a trip to see her family. A stranger appears at her door and Bess, due to one request after another, spends all of her leave with the stranger's family - and NOT because she's enjoying herself. I kept wondering why she would allow this family & its priorities to overtake her life & put the feelings of her own family aside - a family longing to see her before she goes back to a war zone. I thought she should stand up to them & insist that she go home (this was, of course, before the murder).

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Neither Bitter nor Sweet

I have really enjoyed the Ian Rutledge series by Todd and so tried this. I realize I didn't start with the first in the series, and perhaps that diminished my enjoyment of Bess Crawford. The story starts well, but I never really felt attached to Bess or her personal story. The plot here begins in an intriguing way but peters out to a very so-so conclusion. Most of the characters and settings never come to life.

If you like historical mysteries (and especially the WWI period), I'd recommend the early Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear over the Bess Crawford series. Winspear is better at characterization and atmosphere.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The War's Effects Continue but in Unforeseen Ways

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

Indeed yes, I'd recommend it as a good read with a plot that surprises and at the same time has wonderful descriptions of landscapes and people.

What did you like best about this story?

The psychology of loss: loss of sister, loss of husband's love, loss of wife's trust, loss of parents, loss of life, loss of identity. The effects of war on the men who fought it and the women who loved them.

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

She does all the voices very well.

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

I was struck and moved by the honesty of one of the characters who tells his story even though it brings shame upon him and the possibility of great loss.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beloved Nurse Bess! She's always wonderful!

Would you listen to A Bitter Truth again? Why?

Perhaps. I don't often re-read mysteries, but if ever I would, anything written by Charles Todd (mother-son writing team) would be it!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Always Bess--she is so kind and resourceful. When I was a young girl, in addition to reading Nancy Drew, I also read a series (less well known, I think) called "Cherry Ames." She was a nurse who was an amateur sleuth as well. I loved those--and perhaps it is that long past devotion to that series that also echoes in my memory as I read this one!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh yes--only I have to break it up because of length!

Any additional comments?

Bess Crawford is a companion series that goes with the Inspector Rutledge series. While he is often more of a loner--acting as he sees fit to get the crime solved, Bess tends to be more involved with other people. As a nurse, she is in contact with others more anyway. She has a background father and his long-devoted friend from the wars, who often magically step in to protect her when things begin to get too rough, so she doesn't have to be a physically tough action figure! She does do things on her own, but usually she is clever in being able to solve crimes through her connectedness to others more than Rutledge, who shies away from people as a rule.

I think the two series complement each other beautifully. If you have not read either from the beginning--suggest you do so. While they work okay starting in the middle, like many series, characters develop over time, so that is more satisfying.

My only thoughts about this particular book that made it *slightly* less enjoyable (and that would be like removing 1/100th of a star :-) is that the idea of Bess going to the house of a perfect stranger for a few days, giving up her own Christmas visit with her parents, was rather implausible. But if you forgive the authors that tiny bit of a stretch, it is a great read!

I"m biased, because I would (at this point) love just about anything Charles Todd writes--because I have read every book so far and truly enjoyed them. But I honestly think they are a talented pair. Highly recommend--good history of WWI era as well as good writing, and interesting plots!

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