An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd


Feb 22, 2011

This second in the Bess Crawford mystery series, finds the World War I nurse once again embroiled in solving a murder. She has returned to England from the trenches with a convoy of severely wounded men. One of her patients is a burned pilot who insists on having his wife’s picture pinned to his tunic at all times. While passing through a busy London train station Bess witnesses an emotional farewell between an officer and a woman who seems familiar. Bess knows beyond a doubt that the woman at the station is the wife of the pilot in her care. When she returns to France Bess sees a newspaper drawing of the woman’s face with a plea from Scotland Yard for information about her. Bess gets leave to talk with Scotland Yard and becomes entangled in the case, risking her life in the process. This American mother and son writing team put together a very English story. The Bess Crawford books do not need to be read in order but as with most series the reader has more of the “back” story reading in sequence.

Reviewed by Library Staff