A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

Mary Bess Crawford Read-Along, Book Club Girl, Charles Todd

TItle:  A Duty to the Dead

Author:  Charles Todd

Genre:  Mystery; Series

Published:  2009 – Harper Collins

My take:  Bess Crawford is a British nurse (WWI). When one of her patients realizes he won’t recover, he asks her to memorize a message and deliver it to his brother. She allows nothing to stop her from doing so. Little does she know this will dredge up secrets the soldier’s family thought were put to rest. Bess is determined to get to the bottom of the message when she senses the family isn’t committed to honoring the soldier’s request. Or is she jumping to conclusions? Either way, things just aren’t adding up.

I’m always reluctant to get into the details of a mystery because I don’t want to spoil it for other readers. What I can say is I like Bess Crawford. She is an admirable and strong-minded young woman. I loved the setting – WWI era England. There are motorcars, trains, hospital ships, small villages, and London. The characters and plot reminded me of early Hitchcock movies – interesting plot and characters and filled with surprises. It all made for a good whodunit.

I enjoyed A Duty to the Dead and look forward to the next book in the series.

Source:  I bought it.

16 thoughts on “A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd”

  1. I have been reading a lot about this book, and think it sounds interesting and like something that I would really like. It has a lot of the flavor of the Maisie Dobbs books, and though I had some issues with them, I think that I would love this one. Great review today!

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    • I’ve been curious about the Maisie Dobbs series but, honestly, I don’t have the time to get into another (established) series. I hope to someday 🙂

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  2. Great review, your mention of early Hitchcock films does put me off a bit though ……. still, one to watch out for, I’d probably pick this up if I was to see it at our library.

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    • Oh, I don’t want to discourage you with my comment about Hitchcock. It was really the tone that reminded me a bit of the old black and white mystery movies. Have a good weekend!

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  5. This sounds like a really good one, Mary. I’m glad to see you enjoyed the mystery. I’m putting this one on the list and if I live to be 300 years old, I should get to the end of the list. *sigh*

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    • I think, more than anything else, it was the setting and main characters that grabbed me the most.
      We can keep each other company as we read to the end of our lists 😀

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  6. I am really looking forward to reading this, especially now. Thanks for the thumbs up review to get me into it sooner.

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  8. this sounds like one I would enjoy! I knew when you signed up for this challenge that I would probably end up wanting to read them too!

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  10. I loved meeting Bess and I’m glad you did as well. I’ll admit I’m obsessed with this time period too, and all that I’ve learned about it in the last year. I loved learning even more and the mystery kept me riveted. Thanks for being part of the read along!

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