by Charles Todd
Charles Todd is the name of a mother/son team who write a series of mysteries featuring Detective Ian Rutledge, who has returned from WWI a scarred man, haunted by the ghost of a soldier.
This book is the second in a new series by the pair. It is about a young nurse, Bess Crawford, who is serving at or near the front lines during WW I. She fancies herself an amateur sleuth much to the chagrine of her parents and Scotland Yard. Bess witnesses a scene at a railway station - a woman is weeping uncontrollably and her male companion seems disinterested in her distress. Bess then sees a newspaper article that states the woman was murdered. Bess is familiar with the woman's face because she had been nursing the woman's husband (a wounded soldier) and he had a picture of his wife pinned to his clothes.
Bess reports what she saw to the police and then gets involved in trying to figure out who murdered the woman and attacked other people who may have been associated with the woman. She is told to let the police do their work but is unable to stay out of it when she feels that the wrong person was arrested. The book does keep you in suspense until the end.
The story was interesting, especially the portrayal of wartime England. Bess is a feisty, independent minded person (somewhat modeled on Misss Marples I think). However, I prefer the Ian Rutledge series, I find this role as a real detective and his angst as he wrestles with his demons more interesting.
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