A Question of Honor

Bess Crawford, Book 5

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

In the latest mystery from New York Times best-selling author Charles Todd, World War I nurse and amateur sleuth Bess Crawford investigates an old murder that occurred during her childhood in India, a search for the truth that will transform her and leave her pondering a troubling question: How can facts lie?

Bess Crawford enjoyed a wondrous childhood in India, where her father, a colonel in the British Army, was stationed on the Northwest Frontier. But an unforgettable incident darkened that happy time. In 1908, Colonel Crawford's regiment discovered that it had a murderer in its ranks, an officer who killed five people in India and England yet was never brought to trial. In the eyes of many of these soldiers, men defined by honor and duty, the crime was a stain on the regiment's reputation and on the good name of Bess' father, the Colonel Sahib, who had trained the killer.

A decade later, tending to the wounded on the battlefields of France during World War I, Bess learns from a dying Indian sergeant that the supposed murderer, Lieutenant Wade, is alive - and serving at the Front. Bess cannot believe the shocking news. According to reliable reports, Wade's body had been seen deep in the Khyber Pass, where he had died trying to reach Afghanistan. Soon, though, her mind is racing. How had he escaped from India? What had driven a good man to murder in cold blood?

Wanting answers, she uses her leave to investigate. In the village where the first three killings took place, she discovers that the locals are certain that the British soldier was innocent. Yet the present owner of the house where the crime was committed believes otherwise, and is convinced that Bess' father helped Wade flee. To settle the matter once and for all, Bess sets out to find Wade and let the courts decide.

But when she stumbles on the horrific truth, something that even the famous writer Rudyard Kipling had kept secret all his life, she is shaken to her very core. The facts will damn Wade even as they reveal a brutal reality, a reality that could have been her own fate.

©2013 Charles Todd (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

interesting story

I enjoyed this book. As murder mysteries go, it had its fair share of plot twists and revelations right up to the end. The main character, Bess, is worth the time to get to know. The details of life and death in a a late WWI battlefield hospital added credence to the story line and character development. The casual racism and colonialism of all the characters was jarring, although undoubtedly true to life.

This series just gets better and better!

I love this series. Bess Crawford, battlefront nurse during WWI is the perfect complement to Charles Todd's other series about Ian Rutledge--a former soldier in the war, who is now trying to find his way in life working in Scotland Yard, despite his wounded body and soul.

This series develops the character of Bess very nicely--and in this particular book, we get to know a bit more of her life with her family while her father served in India. We also get to know Simon Brandon, her father's batman who has stayed very loyal to the family ever since.

I like Bess' character quite a lot--she is intelligent, empathic and clever, but not depicted as doing unlikely things in the way some writers try to turn an early 20th century woman into having the style and thinking of a 21st century woman--which always leaves me feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Bess moves back and forth from France to England in this story, as she tries to unravel murders that took place many years ago. We get to see inside views into Bess' family and background more than before.

A thoroughly satisfying listen with very good narration. Highly recommend!

A Question of Honour

I was engrossed from beginning to end wondering how Bess would solve her latest mystery. I love this period and lots of similarities between the Spanish flu and our present Covid pandemic.

Excellent

An old murder comes into play and the journey begins. A complex story that comes full
Circle.

Enjoyable Mystery

Part of why I enjoy the Bess Crawford mysteries is that for me she has an actual voice - Rosalyn Landor.

These fun books are not great literature, but they are a nice way to pass your reading/listening time. And the mysteries are intriguing enough to keep my interest.

The characters and the story

Over the series the characters have been built upon without repetition and the storyline is very interesting

Loved it !!!

I’ve read all of the books and have enjoyed listening to them as well !!!
I can’t wait until the next installment !
❤️❤️❤️

Love!

I love this series. The characters are so enduring. When I finish I will feel like I am losing friends.

Hard to Follow at Times But Totally Engrossing

While I have enjoyed the Ian Rutledge books the most, this series holds its own in each and every book. This story is especially involved and has some dramatic moments to say the least. The reasons at the end for all the wicked deeds are all so simple as is the reasoning behind most evil deeds. And Rosalyn Landor IS Bess Crawford. My second time to listen to the book and it was still just as good.

Another good book in the series

I've read and enjoyed this series. This one includes the involvement of Bess's parents which brings them out of the background and makes Bess a partner in solving the case. All in all a fun read.