My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
From New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd comes a haunting tale that explores the impact of World War I on all who witnessed it—officers, soldiers, doctors, and battlefield nurses like Bess Crawford.
Though the Great War is nearing its end, the fighting rages on. While waiting for transport back to her post, Bess Crawford meets Captain Alan Travis from the island of Barbados. Later, when he’s brought into her forward aid station disoriented from a head wound, Bess is alarmed that he believes his distant English cousin, Lieutenant James Travis, shot him. Then the Captain is brought back to the aid station with a more severe wound, once more angrily denouncing the Lieutenant as a killer. But when it appears that James Travis couldn’t have shot him, the Captain’s sanity is questioned. Still, Bess wonders how such an experienced officer could be so wrong.
On leave in England, Bess finds the Captain strapped to his bed in a clinic for brain injuries. Horrified by his condition, Bess and Sergeant Major Simon Brandon travel to James Travis’s home in Suffolk, to learn more about the baffling relationship between these two cousins.
Her search will lead this smart, capable, and compassionate young woman into unexpected danger, and bring her face to face with the visible and invisible wounds of war that not even the much-longed for peace can heal.
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I'm a big fan of the Bess Crawford series and I have read almost all the books so far. A Casualty of War shows just what a wonderful mother and son writing team Caroline Todd and Charles Todd are when it comes to writing books.
In A Casualty of War must Bess help Captain Alan Travis who is convinced that his cousin shot him, but it's impossible since his cousin couldn't have been the one to do that so now his sanity is questioned. Bess together with Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon travels to the cousin, James Travis's hometown to try to find out more about the cousins and why their families are estranged.
Without giving too much of the plot away do I want to say that this is one of the strongest books in the series. Once again Bess is confronted with a strange mystery with a lot of suspicious and distrustful people in a small village. Bess herself is thinking about her future now that the war is going towards the end. What is she going to do next, she has been a nurse for so long that it has become her whole life, living with fear and the prospect of death any minute. If you have read any my previous review do you know that I'm a big fan of Sergeant Lassiter and I was thrilled that he showed up for ... just a small cameo. Bah! I wanted more of him, not just a small part. Although it was a sweet moment, that Bess kind of destroyed (for me).
A Casualty of War is a great book. You can read this book without having read any of the previous books. It's easy to get to know the characters and the stories in the books are stand-alone.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!
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