A duty to the dead

The winning first in a new WWI series from the bestselling mother-son Todds (A Matter of Justice and 10 other Inspector Rutledge mysteries) introduces Bess Crawford, a resourceful British army nurse who's injured when her ship is sunk in 1916. While convalescing in England, Bess is tormented because she's put off delivering a message from Arthur Graham, a dying soldier under her care for whom she'd developed strong feelings, to his family. Her own brush with death prompts her to travel to Kent and transmit Arthur's cryptic last words to one of his three brothers. Bess becomes further enmeshed in the family's affairs after she learns the obscure message may relate to Graham's half-brother, Peregrine, who was committed to a local asylum for a girl's murder years before. The more Bess seeks to sate her curiosity, the more she suspects that the truth about the murder was suppressed. Fans of independent women sleuths like Maisie Dobbs will welcome this new addition to their ranks. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

"Tell Jonathan I lied. I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right." In this new historical series launch by the mother-son writing team (the Inspector Ian Rutledge series), Bess Crawford, a World War I nurse, attends a dying soldier who entrusts her with his last request. Arthur Graham insists the message be delivered in person to his brother. Considering a duty to the dead to be a sacred act, Bess, on leave after being herself wounded, makes her way to Kent to the Graham family estate. She delivers the message but is not convinced that Jonathan will honor it. So Bess begins to delve into the Grahams' scandalous secrets. As the threads of the family's past of insanity and murder begin to be revealed, Bess quickly realizes that life at home and at the front can be equally deadly. Verdict 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. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 5/1/09.]-Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L., MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

World War I nurse keeps a burdensome promise. Relinquishing for the moment Inspector Ian Rutledge (A Matter of Justice, 2008, etc.), the Todd writing partnership presents Bess Crawford, invalided home when the hospital ship she nursed on is shot out from under her. She's bent on relaying a dying messagematters must be set rightfrom favored patient Arthur Graham to his brother Jonathan. Another matter, however, takes precedence for the Graham family: Peregrine, the Graham brother confined in an asylum since he was barely a teenager for murdering Lily the housemaid, is near death from pneumonia and needs nursing care. Providing it, Bess is struck by how rational Peregrine seems. Meanwhile, another village patient, a traumatized war victim who has fallen under her care, commits suicideor does he? When Peregrine regains his strength, he takes Bess on the run to help him recover his memory of Lily's death. A visit to the village rector reveals several other fatal calamities over the years that cast suspicion on other Graham family members: clubfooted Timothy, Mrs. Graham and, to Bess's dismay, the late Arthur himself. A gruesome denouement lays bare all the family secrets and misalliances and releases Bess from her deathbed vow to Arthur. Will readers miss Inspector Rutledge? You bet. But anyone who cares to loll in early-20th century English villages and mores and follow a plucky heroine as she confronts the stupidity of war will find solace in this old-fashioned mystery. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge returns in another spellbinding post–World War I mystery. A man, stricken by a life-threatening and inexplicable disease, vanishes from his hospital bed. Then Rutledge learns of a dead woman in another town who not only shares the last name of the man who disappeared but also may have a strange connection to the man's family. To explain what happened to the man, Rutledge will have to understand how the woman died and why. Assisted as always by his eerie sidekick, Hamish (the spirit of a man who died under Rutledge's command in the war), Rutledge steadfastly pursues the truth, letting neither the skepticism of his colleagues nor his own self-doubts stop him. The Rutledge novels always teeter on the line between mystery and the supernatural, and fans of the series will be glad to see that the author—authors, actually, a mother-and-son writing team—continues the seemingly effortless balancing act here. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.

The pseudonymous mother and son known for their Ian Rutledge books introduce World War I nurse Bess, who takes on a mystery to fulfill a soldier's dying wish in this series debut. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Skipping out on his award-winning Ian Rutledge series, Todd launches a new series featuring World War I nurse Bess Crawford, who starts by making a promise to a dying soldier that turns out risky. For those who can't get enough of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

"Tell Jonathan I lied. I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right." In this new historical series launch by the mother-son writing team (the Inspector Ian Rutledge series), Bess Crawford, a World War I nurse, attends a dying soldier who entrusts her with his last request. Arthur Graham insists the message be delivered in person to his brother. Considering a duty to the dead to be a sacred act, Bess, on leave after being herself wounded, makes her way to Kent to the Graham family estate. She delivers the message but is not convinced that Jonathan will honor it. So Bess begins to delve into the Grahams' scandalous secrets. As the threads of the family's past of insanity and murder begin to be revealed, Bess quickly realizes that life at home and at the front can be equally deadly. VERDICT 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. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 5/1/09.]-Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L., MD

The winning first in a new WWI series from the bestselling mother-son Todds (A Matter of Justice and 10 other Inspector Rutledge mysteries) introduces Bess Crawford, a resourceful British army nurse who's injured when her ship is sunk in 1916. While convalescing in England, Bess is tormented because she's put off delivering a message from Arthur Graham, a dying soldier under her care for whom she'd developed strong feelings, to his family. Her own brush with death prompts her to travel to Kent and transmit Arthur's cryptic last words to one of his three brothers. Bess becomes further enmeshed in the family's affairs after she learns the obscure message may relate to Graham's half-brother, Peregrine, who was committed to a local asylum for a girl's murder years before. The more Bess seeks to sate her curiosity, the more she suspects that the truth about the murder was suppressed. Fans of independent women sleuths like Maisie Dobbs will welcome this new addition to their ranks. (Sept.)