A Question of Honor

You can't go wrong with anything narrated by Rosalyn Landor. While this Bess Crawford mystery is less cohesive than others of their works, the mother-and-son writing team of Charles and Caroline Todd provides a grim look at the realities of war as well as an intriguing mystery for Bess to solve. In 1908, when she was a child in India, Lt. Thomas Wade, a well-respected member of Bess's father's regiment, allegedly murdered an entire family and his own parents. Landor's impeccable performance makes Bess's shock credible when she learns that Wade, who was reported dead, is possibly still alive. Landor is completely convincing as Bess decides to find him and discover the truth surrounding the killings. Landor's lush voice and artful delivery make this worthwhile listening. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Starred review from July 8, 2013
Bestseller Todd (the pseudonym of a mother-and-son writing team) once again demonstrates his talent at depicting the horrors of war in his excellent fifth mystery featuring English nurse Bess Crawford (after 2012’s An Unmarked Grave). As the carnage of WWI finally nears its end, Bess finds herself investigating murders committed a decade earlier on two different continents. In 1908, Bess was living in India with her parents when a member of her father’s regiment, Lt. Thomas Wade, came under suspicion of killing his parents. But before he could be apprehended, Wade vanished near the Khyber Pass. Although no body was recovered, he was presumed dead. While Bess is serving in France in 1918, the last words of a dying soldier persuade her that Wade might have survived. Her innate curiosity and knowledge of how traumatizing the scandal was to her father lead her to again play sleuth. In the process, she also examines the triple murder of an entire family that Wade may have committed in England before leaving for India. The extremely clever plot builds to a satisfying resolution. Agent: Jane Chelius, Jane Chelius Literary Agency.