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).