A Question of Honor by Charles Todd

A Question of Honor: A Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles Todd
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

In A Question of Honor, we start the story in India, 1908, where Bess as a child learn that Lieutenant Wade, a man in her father's regime has killed both his parents in India and three people in England, but he disappears before they catch him. And, he is presumed dead after a while when no traces of him are found. A decade later Bess learns from a dying man in France that Lieutenant Wade could be still alive...

The previous book, An Unmarked Grave, was the first book in this series that I didn't find as excellent as the rest so I was hopeful that the next one would be better. And it was. The story in this book is more interesting and I found it hard to put the book down.

The book is really intriguing to read. Bess is trying to find out if Lieutenant Wade still alive, and if he is what is he doing fighting in the front and was he really guilty of the crimes in India and England? Bess and Simon Brandon (he works for her father) are working together trying to find out the truth without involving Bess father, Colonel Crawford because the killing is still a stain on the Colonels regiment's reputation and Bess doesn't want to involve her father if it turns out that it Wade isn't alive. So, she travels to the village where the killing of a family took place and tries to find out more about the murdered family and the connection to Lieutenant Wade. But, that's not that easy, some people there are even quite hostile towards her. But, Bess won't give up.

What I love about this book is that it's like a puzzle, you have to be patient, piece after piece is revealed during the progress of the story until the truth is revealed in the end. I also loved that my favorite Aussie, Sergeant Larimore made a cameo, although I wish he had a bigger part in the book. But still I love every mention of him in the books, like this one where she met him in France as she tends to wounded soldiers:

I was always happy to see this cheeky Australian. He had helped me once when I needed help desperately and I was fond of him. Dangerous to care about anyone in wartime, but still…

Looks like Bess is quite fond of Larimore as well! I must admit that I hope they will end up together. I just love every scene with them together.

I recommend this series to anyone that likes to read historical mysteries, especially books that take place during WW1. I enjoy these books very much and every book can be read as a stand-alone.