Suspense!

Last night, I finished A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd. I've never really been much of a mystery reader, but I do love historical fiction. I read this book as part of my book club, and after finishing, I'm appreciative that the book club is introducing me to some genres I would otherwise shy away from.



I should start by saying this book was an absolute lifesaver for me. I'm training to run a marathon in January, and we have had some winter weather the past few weeks that doesn't allow for much running outside. I read this book on my Kindle, and since I can make the font size HUGE, it's perfect for days when I'm stuck on the treadmill.



The story takes place in WWI. Bess Crawford is a nurse serving the Britannic, a hospital ship. Early in the novel, the ship hits a mine and sinks. Bess survives, but has a significant break in her arm. The catastrophe forces Bess to deliver a message she's been putting off. She tended a soldier who left her a message to deliver to his family before dying in her care, and though she's had opportunities to make good on her promise, she's put it off.



While home on leave, Bess visits the Graham family to deliver the message, and quickly suspects that the message has less to do with a sweetheart Arthur Graham left behind--what she had initially suspected--and more to do with family secrets. Bess is compelled to care for Peregrine Graham, the eldest son in the family, when he becomes ill with pnemonia. Peregrine is the black sheep of the family who has lived in an asylum for most of his life after his stepmother blamed him for murder; however, Bess suspects there is more to the story and feels her promise to Arthur is incomplete until she knows what really happened.



I do not want to add in spoilers, because the author(s) (Charles Todd is a mother-son writing team) do a wonderful job of creating and maintaining suspense throughout the novel. Todd creates a believable historical atmosphere without trying too hard. The characters are well-developed and complicated. Everyone seems to have some kind of backstory that the authors use to create depth. The conclusion is neither too far-fetched or too obvious and readers will appreciate the challenge of solving the mystery along with Bess Crawford.

I will be interested to see how my book club approaches the book. One of the women reads a lot of murder-mysteries, and I am curious to hear what she thinks of the book. I don't have much to compare it to, but appreciated that it was well-written and full of suspense. These kinds of books always make me want to research. Todd brings up shell-shock in the novel and the way the characters approach the concept is drastically different from how we talk about post traumatic stress disorder today. WWI is a point of major societal change because of the scale of the war and it will be interesting to see how Todd addresses these kinds of changes in the series (this book is the first in an upcoming series of Bess Crawford mysteries).

onlineliterature.com, I love you

On slow days at work, onlineliterature.com is a total lifesaver. I discovered the site when I was working on my reading list for my MA degree in English. When it was slow at my student job (anyone sensing the theme here?) I would go online and try and get some chapters read of the early 21st century novels I had to read. This summer, I read the entire Anne of Green Gables series in snippets. In hindsight, these books weren't the best at-work reads since I always cry when Matthew dies (never good to mist at work when you're trying to look busy!). I don't want to give the impression I don't work or that I don't like my job, because I do; however, sometimes a chapter of a good book makes the 30 minute lull between busy times feel more productive then say, facebook, a trap I'm all too easily drawn into.

My latest onlineliterature.com find was Crome Yellow (1921) by Aldous Huxley. I had a professor suggest this book to me a while ago, but never had time to read it. Now that I have, I've added some of Huxley's other novels to my ongoing reading list. Huxley seems like an author who would be fun to hang out with. He has a dry sense of humor and he really captures the awkardness in everyday life, especially the weird moments when characters are trying to be the most serious. Like a lot of other English novels from the 1920s, Crome Yellow is about the upperclass leisure lifestyle and Huxley presents a group of people vacationing together. I always leave these kind of books wishing I could vacation for months at a time, wear party clothes, and eat fabulous dinners. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the lottery, and bide my time until then.