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Bess Crawford #13
The Cliff's Edge
In the aftermath of World War I, nurse Bess Crawford is caught in a deadly feud between two families in this thirteenth book in the beloved mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd. Restless and uncertain of her future in the wake of World War I, former battlefield nurse Bess Crawford agrees to travel to Yorkshire to help a friend of her cousin Melinda through surgery. But circumstances change suddenly when news of a terrible accident reaches them. Bess agrees to go to isolated Scarfdale and the Neville family, where one man has been killed and another gravely injured. The police are asking questions, and Bess is quickly drawn into the fray as two once close families take sides, even as they are forced to remain in the same house until the inquest is completed.
When another tragedy strikes, the police are ready to make an arrest. Bess struggles to keep order as tensions rise and shots are fired. What dark truth is behind these deaths? And what about the tale of an older murder--one that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Nevilles? Bess is unaware that when she passes the story on to Cousin Melinda, she will set in motion a revelation with the potential to change the lives of those she loves most--her parents, and her dearest friend, Simon Brandon...
When another tragedy strikes, the police are ready to make an arrest. Bess struggles to keep order as tensions rise and shots are fired. What dark truth is behind these deaths? And what about the tale of an older murder--one that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Nevilles? Bess is unaware that when she passes the story on to Cousin Melinda, she will set in motion a revelation with the potential to change the lives of those she loves most--her parents, and her dearest friend, Simon Brandon...
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 14, 2023
302 people are currently reading
3733 people want to read
About the author
Charles Todd
112 books3,496 followersCharles Todd was the pen name used by the mother-and-son writing team, Caroline Todd and Charles Todd. Now, Charles writes the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford Series. Charles Todd ha spublished three standalone mystery novels and many short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 377 reviews
December 18, 2022
Once again Bess Crawford finds herself in an isolated, hostile environment among strangers, called upon to nurse a man recovering from an accident. Was his companion's death accidental or murder?
For me, this formula has gotten very thin and the unresolved romance with Simon has dragged on too long.
For me, this formula has gotten very thin and the unresolved romance with Simon has dragged on too long.
November 12, 2025
I'm a huge fan of Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series, so was thrilled to receive this ARC from William Morrow.
It's Bess' 13th adventure and we find her back home in England after years as a nurse on the WWI battlefront.
Reading it was bittersweet, as it is the last novel the mother-son team of Charles Todd wrote together about Bess. Carolyn, the mother, died in August 2021, weeks after the team had sent a completed version to the publisher. We still feel her sure hand, along with Charles', even as we grieve her loss with the legion of Todd fans.
For this reason, I've especially wanted to love THE CLIFF'S EDGE, hoping that we'd also get movement in the relationship between Bess and family friend Simon. For me, their connection is the heart of series, the reason I've kept reading it all these years.
Yes, I still find Bess' compassionate nature compelling, as she agrees to provide care for a cousin's friend undergoing surgery in Yorkshire. And as always when Bess offers help, she finds herself amid conflict and forced to solve the mystery at hand. In past episodes, Simon has always shown up to support her. Alas, not this time.
His absence cut me to the quick, and a twist revealing questions about his past made me long for book #14.
I WILL devour it, hoping the story will, at last, bring Bess and Simon together. I fear if that doesn't happen, the series will lose its hold over me and my heart will be broken. I can wait no longer.
It's Bess' 13th adventure and we find her back home in England after years as a nurse on the WWI battlefront.
Reading it was bittersweet, as it is the last novel the mother-son team of Charles Todd wrote together about Bess. Carolyn, the mother, died in August 2021, weeks after the team had sent a completed version to the publisher. We still feel her sure hand, along with Charles', even as we grieve her loss with the legion of Todd fans.
For this reason, I've especially wanted to love THE CLIFF'S EDGE, hoping that we'd also get movement in the relationship between Bess and family friend Simon. For me, their connection is the heart of series, the reason I've kept reading it all these years.
Yes, I still find Bess' compassionate nature compelling, as she agrees to provide care for a cousin's friend undergoing surgery in Yorkshire. And as always when Bess offers help, she finds herself amid conflict and forced to solve the mystery at hand. In past episodes, Simon has always shown up to support her. Alas, not this time.
His absence cut me to the quick, and a twist revealing questions about his past made me long for book #14.
I WILL devour it, hoping the story will, at last, bring Bess and Simon together. I fear if that doesn't happen, the series will lose its hold over me and my heart will be broken. I can wait no longer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2023
2.5/3 stars
I was really disappointed ☹️ in this book. I really wanted to like it and I tried so hard and stuck with it saying " It's gotta get better! It has so much potential to be a great book!" Well,it only got worse.
It had way too many characters to keep track of and more were being introduced in every chapter. I found myself keep having to go back to see who's who. I really didn't care about the characters,which was a shame because I really waited a long time to read the book. Oh well... you win some and lose some 🤷♀️
On to better books..I really hope my next book is better..it has to be!
I don't recommend this book unless you are already reading it. Just my opinion.
Happy Reading!
I was really disappointed ☹️ in this book. I really wanted to like it and I tried so hard and stuck with it saying " It's gotta get better! It has so much potential to be a great book!" Well,it only got worse.
It had way too many characters to keep track of and more were being introduced in every chapter. I found myself keep having to go back to see who's who. I really didn't care about the characters,which was a shame because I really waited a long time to read the book. Oh well... you win some and lose some 🤷♀️
On to better books..I really hope my next book is better..it has to be!
I don't recommend this book unless you are already reading it. Just my opinion.
Happy Reading!
February 14, 2023
Let me start by saying I adore Bess Crawford. I actually like her series a little more than the Ian Rutledge books.
Now…the bottom line. Mysteries tend to, for good or ill, become series. But every good thing must come to an end, or else languish in mediocrity. I wanted to like this book. I really, really did. But in all honesty, The War was where Bess shone. Those were the books that had me furiously devouring them without any healthy respect for my bedtime. They were just SO good! But when she is removed from her purpose, it’s like the driving force of her character is gone. In reading this, it doesn’t even really seem like Bess.
I believe it’s time to close the door on Bess. She has had a good run. I believe one last book with her and Simon getting together and finding a new purpose together, would be a lovely way to bid her adieu. Your readers have to care, and I felt myself not really caring about this book. It’s still well-written, but the time has come. Stringing readers along will oftentimes have the opposite effect than the desired one.
Now…the bottom line. Mysteries tend to, for good or ill, become series. But every good thing must come to an end, or else languish in mediocrity. I wanted to like this book. I really, really did. But in all honesty, The War was where Bess shone. Those were the books that had me furiously devouring them without any healthy respect for my bedtime. They were just SO good! But when she is removed from her purpose, it’s like the driving force of her character is gone. In reading this, it doesn’t even really seem like Bess.
I believe it’s time to close the door on Bess. She has had a good run. I believe one last book with her and Simon getting together and finding a new purpose together, would be a lovely way to bid her adieu. Your readers have to care, and I felt myself not really caring about this book. It’s still well-written, but the time has come. Stringing readers along will oftentimes have the opposite effect than the desired one.
March 24, 2023
3.5*
Like many other reviewers, I didn't have much issue with the mystery itself, which was fine, but I am feeling frustrated about the completely unresolved relationship between Bess and Simon. This is book 13, and there was literally zero progress between these two. The mystery of Simon's background is still obnoxiously vague, and since it's being fed to us at a rate of about one page per book, I'm having trouble remembering what little we do know, what with there being a year-ish between published books.
However, I still love Bess herself as a character. The setting of post-WWI England is done quite well, and even though I didn't feel like the stakes were particularly high in this mystery, I still wanted to see how it unraveled. Mystery-wise this was a fine installment, but I'm over only getting a little dribble of Simon/Bess progression per book - it's to the point where it now feels like this lack of conversation is antithetical to their characters.
I hadn't realized until I was reading a few other reviews that the mother-half of this mother/son writing duo has passed away and that this is the final book they completed together. Hopefully the son is planning to continue the series - I'm interested to see if there is a noticeable difference in the writing style.
All in all, I do love this series, but it's past time to deal with the Simon/Bess relationship so we can all move forward. I would love to see this series continuing with the two of them married and working together as a team.
Like many other reviewers, I didn't have much issue with the mystery itself, which was fine, but I am feeling frustrated about the completely unresolved relationship between Bess and Simon. This is book 13, and there was literally zero progress between these two. The mystery of Simon's background is still obnoxiously vague, and since it's being fed to us at a rate of about one page per book, I'm having trouble remembering what little we do know, what with there being a year-ish between published books.
However, I still love Bess herself as a character. The setting of post-WWI England is done quite well, and even though I didn't feel like the stakes were particularly high in this mystery, I still wanted to see how it unraveled. Mystery-wise this was a fine installment, but I'm over only getting a little dribble of Simon/Bess progression per book - it's to the point where it now feels like this lack of conversation is antithetical to their characters.
I hadn't realized until I was reading a few other reviews that the mother-half of this mother/son writing duo has passed away and that this is the final book they completed together. Hopefully the son is planning to continue the series - I'm interested to see if there is a noticeable difference in the writing style.
All in all, I do love this series, but it's past time to deal with the Simon/Bess relationship so we can all move forward. I would love to see this series continuing with the two of them married and working together as a team.
February 18, 2023
I've always enjoyed this series, but this one had too many characters who were impossible to like or pity. It also ended with a serious loose end. Very disappointing.
February 4, 2023
Bess is embroiled in a mystery that eventually will come close to home
Bess Crawford’s home from Ireland. 1919, a year after the war is over. A letter arrives from cousin Melinda asking her to check out the employer/companion of an acquaintance from her South African days whose about to have surgery. Lady Beatrice is about her mother’s age older and a force to be reckoned with. She basically decides Bess will stay to help her with her recovery.
Whilst there a message comes that the Lady Beatrice’s godson, Gordon Neville, has been in an accident.
Lady Beatrice is unable travel so she sends her companion, Lillian Taylor, and Bess into the wilds of Yorkshire to help.
What they find is Gordon injured, having fallen from a small, yet rugged rise, the Knob, whilst looking for stray sheep. Another man is dead and Gordon is accused of murder. When they get to the Hall they find a particularly obnoxious policeman, Inspector Wade, trying to cart Gordon off to prison. The Doctor and Bess are worried the wound will turn septic and refuse to let him go.
What follows is a dangerous dance of snarling men (and a dog), devious meetings, unreal expectations and the past rushing up to envelop them all.
The title says it all for those forced to stay together in a house where a murderer might be.
Add to that that half the men of the village of Scarfdale went to war with Gordon. Few came home. There’s anger.
Believable characters in a village decimated by the number of men they’ve lost.
And at the end Bess is left balancing on a metaphorical cliff’s edge as Simon’s past rushes up to meet him.
A Willian Morrow ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Bess Crawford’s home from Ireland. 1919, a year after the war is over. A letter arrives from cousin Melinda asking her to check out the employer/companion of an acquaintance from her South African days whose about to have surgery. Lady Beatrice is about her mother’s age older and a force to be reckoned with. She basically decides Bess will stay to help her with her recovery.
Whilst there a message comes that the Lady Beatrice’s godson, Gordon Neville, has been in an accident.
Lady Beatrice is unable travel so she sends her companion, Lillian Taylor, and Bess into the wilds of Yorkshire to help.
What they find is Gordon injured, having fallen from a small, yet rugged rise, the Knob, whilst looking for stray sheep. Another man is dead and Gordon is accused of murder. When they get to the Hall they find a particularly obnoxious policeman, Inspector Wade, trying to cart Gordon off to prison. The Doctor and Bess are worried the wound will turn septic and refuse to let him go.
What follows is a dangerous dance of snarling men (and a dog), devious meetings, unreal expectations and the past rushing up to envelop them all.
The title says it all for those forced to stay together in a house where a murderer might be.
Add to that that half the men of the village of Scarfdale went to war with Gordon. Few came home. There’s anger.
Believable characters in a village decimated by the number of men they’ve lost.
And at the end Bess is left balancing on a metaphorical cliff’s edge as Simon’s past rushes up to meet him.
A Willian Morrow ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
August 15, 2022
lots of sheep, lots of confusing angst about Simon.
February 26, 2023
This installment of the Bess Crawford series finds our protagonist once again landing in the middle of a house full of strangers, family secrets, and murders. When she arrives at the remote Yorkshire estate, a house guest, Frederick Caldwell, has died following a fall, and the estate owner, Gordon Neville, is badly injured. He's suspected of being the killer, although his family wants to protect him and insists that although the two men had difficulties in the past, they'd reconciled just before the war. Then another body is found ...
The mystery itself is rather good, and this time, Bess isn't rescued by Simon Brandon and must rely on her own wits and get out of her own scrapes.
Unfortunately, the story is marred by a lot of poor writing:
"The drop was approximately just over twenty feet, I judged. If someone falling was lucky, he might land on a thick carpet of heather—rough, but better than striking where smaller stones were and appeared to be unforgiving."
Descriptions of settings or characters' actions are often muddy or repetitious:
"The manor house sat just outside the village, close to a mile away, and a man stepped quickly out of the gatehouse to open the gates for us to pass through, waiting to close them behind us."
Commas are sprinkled liberally throughout the text, breaking sentences in odd places:
"Only, I was the sole guest."
The same words are used too often within sentences or paragraphs:
"Mrs. Neville. Would you please ask Mrs. Caldwell to step in this room for a moment, please?"
Long after characters are first introduced, they are referred to by both their first and last names, perhaps in an attempt to capture the manners and speech of the English upper class just after World War I. It leads to awkwardness throughout:
"As I started up down the passage, I heard someone else going up before me, and slowed my pace a little. I was at the foot of the stairs when I was fairly sure that I heard Mark Caldwell's door open and close."
Instead of being able to focus on the story, a reader is forced to pause and straighten out what is meant. At one point, we read this from Bess:
"But first I went into the room where Frederick Caldwell had been taken, and died."
The placement of the comma has set off my spelling/grammar checker in Microsoft Word, and makes it appear that she has gone into this room to die. Of course we know this isn't the author's intent, but it trips up the mind.
Elsewhere, it seems the author forgets details from characters' previous conversations. On page 127, Gordon Neville tells Bess where he'd gone when he left his room earlier that night. But on page 144, Bess tells us Gordon refused to say where he'd gone. And then on page 162, during a conversation with a different character, Bess mentally compares Gordon's whereabouts (that he revealed to her in their conversation on the previous night ) with the place currently being discussed.
All these issues should have been caught and addressed long before a manuscript made it into print. This isn't a self-published book by a first-time author. No matter how eager readers are to get their hands on the next title in a popular series, they deserve something that's given the proper attention by the publisher so that the final result is a book that's both accurate and enjoyable, that everyone can be proud of.
Sadly, The Cliff's Edge is not that book.
The mystery itself is rather good, and this time, Bess isn't rescued by Simon Brandon and must rely on her own wits and get out of her own scrapes.
Unfortunately, the story is marred by a lot of poor writing:
"The drop was approximately just over twenty feet, I judged. If someone falling was lucky, he might land on a thick carpet of heather—rough, but better than striking where smaller stones were and appeared to be unforgiving."
Descriptions of settings or characters' actions are often muddy or repetitious:
"The manor house sat just outside the village, close to a mile away, and a man stepped quickly out of the gatehouse to open the gates for us to pass through, waiting to close them behind us."
Commas are sprinkled liberally throughout the text, breaking sentences in odd places:
"Only, I was the sole guest."
The same words are used too often within sentences or paragraphs:
"Mrs. Neville. Would you please ask Mrs. Caldwell to step in this room for a moment, please?"
Long after characters are first introduced, they are referred to by both their first and last names, perhaps in an attempt to capture the manners and speech of the English upper class just after World War I. It leads to awkwardness throughout:
"As I started up down the passage, I heard someone else going up before me, and slowed my pace a little. I was at the foot of the stairs when I was fairly sure that I heard Mark Caldwell's door open and close."
Instead of being able to focus on the story, a reader is forced to pause and straighten out what is meant. At one point, we read this from Bess:
"But first I went into the room where Frederick Caldwell had been taken, and died."
The placement of the comma has set off my spelling/grammar checker in Microsoft Word, and makes it appear that she has gone into this room to die. Of course we know this isn't the author's intent, but it trips up the mind.
Elsewhere, it seems the author forgets details from characters' previous conversations. On page 127, Gordon Neville tells Bess where he'd gone when he left his room earlier that night. But on page 144, Bess tells us Gordon refused to say where he'd gone. And then on page 162, during a conversation with a different character, Bess mentally compares Gordon's whereabouts (that he revealed to her in their conversation on the previous night ) with the place currently being discussed.
All these issues should have been caught and addressed long before a manuscript made it into print. This isn't a self-published book by a first-time author. No matter how eager readers are to get their hands on the next title in a popular series, they deserve something that's given the proper attention by the publisher so that the final result is a book that's both accurate and enjoyable, that everyone can be proud of.
Sadly, The Cliff's Edge is not that book.
February 5, 2023
Thanks to Goodreads Giveaways I was back with old friends in the Bess Crawford series. Another book, another murder mystery that engaged me as a reader. The ending was well worth the read. Now to get more Simon in the next book. Hopefully.
April 8, 2024
Thirteenth in the Bess Crawford amateur sleuth in a vintage mystery series revolving around Bess, a former nursing sister during World War I. The focus is on a family feud in which Bess gets involved.
My Take
Poor Bess. Peacetime is so boring, which we learn from Todd using first person protagonist point-of-view from Bess’ perspective. It’s also a great way to info dump on Bess’ past. It does make her wonder if her mother also misses the excitement of an active life.
Something went wrong in Ireland and I missed that story. A potential lover, her resignation from the Queen Alexandra’s, and an estrangement from Simon! I must read An Irish Hostage , 12, as I hate not knowing!
I do love history and occasionally wonder how people lived back then. The day’s technology and that is one thing that vintage stories do — take me back to those days. In this case, it’s the early twentieth century and when Bess talks of whether a house was on the telephone, it makes me appreciate what we have. The Cliff’s Edge also makes me appreciate women’s lib what with the talk about how hard women had it if they were single. Heck, even if they were married, their husbands were allowed to abuse them! Sorry, not “allowed”, but it was an accepted “practice”.
Todd brings a different perspective on Lenin and the Russian Revolution while the deaths of the Czar, Czarina, and their children is current news. That bit on the doctor and his reaction to treating those injured on the Somme was heartbreaking.
It’s World War I that starts the social changes in England. That and income tax. Todd makes good use of the declining awe on the part of the “lower” classes to ramp up the drama. Of course, that past history of stealing someone’s girlfriend and the enmity between families contributes quite a bit to that. It doesn’t help that Joe Harding had been a stalker before the war and left three different groups in the story unhappy about it. Then there was the exposure of men who had never before left their village or their farms to another way of life when they went on leave to Paris.
Inspector Wade is so suspicious of anyone connected to the Nevilles, and he certainly doesn’t believe a word that Sister Crawford says about Gordon’s medical status. She must be covering something up! What a jerk!
Gordon isn’t much help with his sneaking about. As for Grace Caldwell. What is her deal with Harding?
It’s dang sad when a wife waits through years of war, praying that her husband comes home, only to lose him when he does.
Nothing has changed as far as soldiers returned from the end of a war. It makes me so sad how little we value their service. Sure, we pay lip service by saying “thank you for your service”, but that doesn’t translate into making medical care easy to get, help in transitioning to a peacetime life, or jobs.
Mark Caldwell is so incredibly RUDE!?! And then the incredible, horrible, shocking truth comes out. Oy.
There’s an interesting bit of Neville history related to Bosworth Field and Henry Tudor. I mean this was hundreds of years ago and is still so relevant!
Action. Yeah. There’s action all right. Lots of it. And so much of it doesn’t make any sense, until Todd pulls it together at the end. Oh. My. God. Just, oh my god.
Yeah, then there are the characters and all of the action is definitely driven by the people. I think you’d have to include World War I as a character as the effects of it definitely affect the characters and their actions.
It was a pip of a story. My only annoyance was the lack of clarity about some of the characters.
And now I have to wait for #14?? After that cliffhanger!!!??? Argh . . .
The Story
Oh, no. Bess knows women like Lady Beatrice and how they treat “the hired help”. But circumstances intervene and Bess is trapped into assisting. And yet more assistance when Lady Beatrice’s godson is hurt . . . and he’s killed a man.
The Characters
Bess Crawford, a former battlefield nurse in WWI, is home now in Somerset and wondering what to do. Her father is the supposedly retired Colonel Richard Crawford, a.k.a. Colonel Sahib. Her mother, Clarice, no long the Colonel’s lady for the regiment, still corresponds with regiment wives. Cook needs help from Dr Johnston for her hand. Iris is the Crawford maid. Melinda Crawford, a cousin of the Crawfords, lives in Kent.
Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon has been with the colonel for years. His father had been Andrew Brandon.
The colonel mentions an Ian who was injured on the Somme, patched up, and sent back (and I’m wondering if it’s Ian Rutledge in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series??).
The Lintons
The widowed Lady Beatrice (a cousin of the governor of Kenya), the Dowager Countess de vere Linton, needs her gallbladder removed. Hugh, an earl, had been her husband. Jonathan is her son. I think Sylvia is his wife. Bartlett. Linton Hall is home. Lillian Winfield Taylor, a nanny to an officer Melinda knew, is now a companion to Lady Beatrice. Lillian had trained as a governess at the Misses Quinns’ School. Wilson is a chauffeur. Mrs Bennett is the housekeeper. Dr Halliday is Lady Beatrice’s insistent physician. Mrs Foster is the village seamstress.
The Nevilles
Gordon Neville, Lady Beatrice’s godson (and Hugh’s sister’s grandson), had an accident. Gordon lives with his mother, Lady Neville? Mrs Neville? (Anne is definitely Mrs Neville.) in Scarfdale. Arthur, Gordon’s brother, is a solicitor married to Margaret. He takes after their uncle Harry, another solicitor. Davies is the enterprising butler. Mrs Roper is the housekeeper. Stevens manages the sheep. Ruth is one of the maids. I think Mrs Jenkins is the cook and Matthews is the chauffeur. Dr Menzies is the local physician.
Frederick Caldwell, who had been a childhood friend to Gordon and Arthur, is married to Grace, and they live at Maris Hall in Peterborough. Lieutenant Mark Caldwell is Frederick’s major jerk of a brother. Their mother had been a Lindsay.
Constable Woods doesn’t care for the Neville brothers. Inspector Wade hates anyone with land, money, and standing. Danny, Lord Broadhurst, is the Chief Constable; he’d been a friend of Hugh’s.
Chester and Sons. The Sheep Fold is a local pub. Lieutenant Joe Harding brought back a dog — now called Cooper and not Gladys — from France; he’d been in Gordon’s regiment. Ed is one of the farmers. Judith had been the daughter of Lettie Bowman. Judith’s brother, Jamie, and sweetheart, Teddy, had gone to war and not come back. Drake is the one who put up the cross in the village square.
Florence Dunstan had been a schoolmate of Bess’. Bruce is Florence’s barrister husband. Sergeant Lassiter, an Australian Bess met in An Unwilling Accomplice , 6, keeps proposing marriage to her. I believe Terrence is the young man from An Irish Hostage . Diana had been Bess’ wartime flatmate at Mrs Hennessey’s in London. Sir Robert Pearson had been a surgical doctor in London. The Burtons are the family with whom Lillian traveled home from Africa.
The Cover and Title
The cover certainly suits the story with its gloomy gray sky. In the background are the grayed green hills, a subtle reference to that fateful cliff. In the foreground is Bess in quarter profile looking out over the landscape and wearing a black coat and cloche. At the very top is a testimonial in white with an info blurb under it in a dark brown. Under that is the author's name in white. The title is below that in orange, above Bess's head. At the bottom is the series info in white.
The title is too true, for it was The Cliff's Edge that was the inciting incident and where the drama hangs.
My Take
Poor Bess. Peacetime is so boring, which we learn from Todd using first person protagonist point-of-view from Bess’ perspective. It’s also a great way to info dump on Bess’ past. It does make her wonder if her mother also misses the excitement of an active life.
Something went wrong in Ireland and I missed that story. A potential lover, her resignation from the Queen Alexandra’s, and an estrangement from Simon! I must read An Irish Hostage , 12, as I hate not knowing!
I do love history and occasionally wonder how people lived back then. The day’s technology and that is one thing that vintage stories do — take me back to those days. In this case, it’s the early twentieth century and when Bess talks of whether a house was on the telephone, it makes me appreciate what we have. The Cliff’s Edge also makes me appreciate women’s lib what with the talk about how hard women had it if they were single. Heck, even if they were married, their husbands were allowed to abuse them! Sorry, not “allowed”, but it was an accepted “practice”.
Todd brings a different perspective on Lenin and the Russian Revolution while the deaths of the Czar, Czarina, and their children is current news. That bit on the doctor and his reaction to treating those injured on the Somme was heartbreaking.
It’s World War I that starts the social changes in England. That and income tax. Todd makes good use of the declining awe on the part of the “lower” classes to ramp up the drama. Of course, that past history of stealing someone’s girlfriend and the enmity between families contributes quite a bit to that. It doesn’t help that Joe Harding had been a stalker before the war and left three different groups in the story unhappy about it. Then there was the exposure of men who had never before left their village or their farms to another way of life when they went on leave to Paris.
Inspector Wade is so suspicious of anyone connected to the Nevilles, and he certainly doesn’t believe a word that Sister Crawford says about Gordon’s medical status. She must be covering something up! What a jerk!
Gordon isn’t much help with his sneaking about. As for Grace Caldwell. What is her deal with Harding?
It’s dang sad when a wife waits through years of war, praying that her husband comes home, only to lose him when he does.
Nothing has changed as far as soldiers returned from the end of a war. It makes me so sad how little we value their service. Sure, we pay lip service by saying “thank you for your service”, but that doesn’t translate into making medical care easy to get, help in transitioning to a peacetime life, or jobs.
Mark Caldwell is so incredibly RUDE!?! And then the incredible, horrible, shocking truth comes out. Oy.
There’s an interesting bit of Neville history related to Bosworth Field and Henry Tudor. I mean this was hundreds of years ago and is still so relevant!
Action. Yeah. There’s action all right. Lots of it. And so much of it doesn’t make any sense, until Todd pulls it together at the end. Oh. My. God. Just, oh my god.
Yeah, then there are the characters and all of the action is definitely driven by the people. I think you’d have to include World War I as a character as the effects of it definitely affect the characters and their actions.
It was a pip of a story. My only annoyance was the lack of clarity about some of the characters.
And now I have to wait for #14?? After that cliffhanger!!!??? Argh . . .
The Story
Oh, no. Bess knows women like Lady Beatrice and how they treat “the hired help”. But circumstances intervene and Bess is trapped into assisting. And yet more assistance when Lady Beatrice’s godson is hurt . . . and he’s killed a man.
The Characters
Bess Crawford, a former battlefield nurse in WWI, is home now in Somerset and wondering what to do. Her father is the supposedly retired Colonel Richard Crawford, a.k.a. Colonel Sahib. Her mother, Clarice, no long the Colonel’s lady for the regiment, still corresponds with regiment wives. Cook needs help from Dr Johnston for her hand. Iris is the Crawford maid. Melinda Crawford, a cousin of the Crawfords, lives in Kent.
Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon has been with the colonel for years. His father had been Andrew Brandon.
The colonel mentions an Ian who was injured on the Somme, patched up, and sent back (and I’m wondering if it’s Ian Rutledge in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series??).
The Lintons
The widowed Lady Beatrice (a cousin of the governor of Kenya), the Dowager Countess de vere Linton, needs her gallbladder removed. Hugh, an earl, had been her husband. Jonathan is her son. I think Sylvia is his wife. Bartlett. Linton Hall is home. Lillian Winfield Taylor, a nanny to an officer Melinda knew, is now a companion to Lady Beatrice. Lillian had trained as a governess at the Misses Quinns’ School. Wilson is a chauffeur. Mrs Bennett is the housekeeper. Dr Halliday is Lady Beatrice’s insistent physician. Mrs Foster is the village seamstress.
The Nevilles
Gordon Neville, Lady Beatrice’s godson (and Hugh’s sister’s grandson), had an accident. Gordon lives with his mother, Lady Neville? Mrs Neville? (Anne is definitely Mrs Neville.) in Scarfdale. Arthur, Gordon’s brother, is a solicitor married to Margaret. He takes after their uncle Harry, another solicitor. Davies is the enterprising butler. Mrs Roper is the housekeeper. Stevens manages the sheep. Ruth is one of the maids. I think Mrs Jenkins is the cook and Matthews is the chauffeur. Dr Menzies is the local physician.
Frederick Caldwell, who had been a childhood friend to Gordon and Arthur, is married to Grace, and they live at Maris Hall in Peterborough. Lieutenant Mark Caldwell is Frederick’s major jerk of a brother. Their mother had been a Lindsay.
Constable Woods doesn’t care for the Neville brothers. Inspector Wade hates anyone with land, money, and standing. Danny, Lord Broadhurst, is the Chief Constable; he’d been a friend of Hugh’s.
Chester and Sons. The Sheep Fold is a local pub. Lieutenant Joe Harding brought back a dog — now called Cooper and not Gladys — from France; he’d been in Gordon’s regiment. Ed is one of the farmers. Judith had been the daughter of Lettie Bowman. Judith’s brother, Jamie, and sweetheart, Teddy, had gone to war and not come back. Drake is the one who put up the cross in the village square.
Florence Dunstan had been a schoolmate of Bess’. Bruce is Florence’s barrister husband. Sergeant Lassiter, an Australian Bess met in An Unwilling Accomplice , 6, keeps proposing marriage to her. I believe Terrence is the young man from An Irish Hostage . Diana had been Bess’ wartime flatmate at Mrs Hennessey’s in London. Sir Robert Pearson had been a surgical doctor in London. The Burtons are the family with whom Lillian traveled home from Africa.
The Cover and Title
The cover certainly suits the story with its gloomy gray sky. In the background are the grayed green hills, a subtle reference to that fateful cliff. In the foreground is Bess in quarter profile looking out over the landscape and wearing a black coat and cloche. At the very top is a testimonial in white with an info blurb under it in a dark brown. Under that is the author's name in white. The title is below that in orange, above Bess's head. At the bottom is the series info in white.
The title is too true, for it was The Cliff's Edge that was the inciting incident and where the drama hangs.
March 14, 2023
Well, after the last book, I thought that there would *have* to be movement on the Simon front, but this was a whole bunch of nothing, with a coincidence that strained credulity linking a random character to Simon in a way that, despite the back cover copy, doesn't look to change Bess' life at all. I'm beyond annoyed.
Oh, the story! Is fine. Now that WWI is over, I'm in this series for the characters, because the mysteries are not as good as the historical fiction aspect, and in a domestic mystery like this, there's not much historical detail to appreciate. I don't really care about the family, I wasn't invested in the whodunnit, and I really only rated this three stars because I do still care about Bess herself.
I'm sorry to hear that the mother of the mother-son writing team that is Charles Todd passed away after this book was drafted. What a lovely partnership. Is it mean to hope that she is the one who attended some writer's seminar in the 90s where a speaker with only moderate success himself insisted that dragging on romances over 12+ books is the best way to keep readers engaged and thus refused to let Bess and Simon move forward as characters? And that the son of this partnership will keep writing these books but will see that this obnoxious practice actually enrages and alienates readers who have faith that a good writer could let his main characters get married and keep solving mysteries together? Because if not, this series has gone past its expiration date, and I'm out.
Oh, the story! Is fine. Now that WWI is over, I'm in this series for the characters, because the mysteries are not as good as the historical fiction aspect, and in a domestic mystery like this, there's not much historical detail to appreciate. I don't really care about the family, I wasn't invested in the whodunnit, and I really only rated this three stars because I do still care about Bess herself.
I'm sorry to hear that the mother of the mother-son writing team that is Charles Todd passed away after this book was drafted. What a lovely partnership. Is it mean to hope that she is the one who attended some writer's seminar in the 90s where a speaker with only moderate success himself insisted that dragging on romances over 12+ books is the best way to keep readers engaged and thus refused to let Bess and Simon move forward as characters? And that the son of this partnership will keep writing these books but will see that this obnoxious practice actually enrages and alienates readers who have faith that a good writer could let his main characters get married and keep solving mysteries together? Because if not, this series has gone past its expiration date, and I'm out.
March 27, 2023
Bess doesn’t know what to do with herself after the war, and this novel has the same problem. I gave up on it 20% of the way through.
March 16, 2023
Spoilers.
This book was a disappointment. The tension between Simon and Bess has gone on too long. Having no one to bounce ideas off of, no one to banter with . . . This story line is ever so thin . . . the plot dragging on and on . . . and then the revelation at the end. It did not flow. The reasons for Simon and Bess not pursuing their love for each other in the prior book just do not make sense . . . and then Simon, for the most part, is excluded in this book. Giving it one more shot - with the next book. Please have your characters use common sense when it comes to their relationship.
This book was a disappointment. The tension between Simon and Bess has gone on too long. Having no one to bounce ideas off of, no one to banter with . . . This story line is ever so thin . . . the plot dragging on and on . . . and then the revelation at the end. It did not flow. The reasons for Simon and Bess not pursuing their love for each other in the prior book just do not make sense . . . and then Simon, for the most part, is excluded in this book. Giving it one more shot - with the next book. Please have your characters use common sense when it comes to their relationship.
September 1, 2022
Through a series of contrived incidents, former WWI nurse Bess Crawford ends up alone in deepest Yorkshire. She tends to Mr. Gordon Neville, who may or may not have accidentally on purpose killed Mr. Frederick Caldwell, his former rival in love. Both families are trapped in the claustrophobic manor house until the upper class-hating Inspector Wade can pin the murder on one of them.
Bess doesn't actually do much in this installment of the long-running series. The stakes are low because really, who cares about some unknown Nevilles or Caldwells? After 13 books, I want to know what the deal is with Simon. Stop stringing it out. I'm tired of Bess pining away like she's a teenage girl in Forks, Washington. The woman just spent three years in the Queen Alexandra's Nursing Corps on the front lines in France, for crying out loud. Respect her character!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Bess doesn't actually do much in this installment of the long-running series. The stakes are low because really, who cares about some unknown Nevilles or Caldwells? After 13 books, I want to know what the deal is with Simon. Stop stringing it out. I'm tired of Bess pining away like she's a teenage girl in Forks, Washington. The woman just spent three years in the Queen Alexandra's Nursing Corps on the front lines in France, for crying out loud. Respect her character!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
March 21, 2023
I've always thought that this series was less compelling that the Ian Rutledge series, but felt that the perspective on nursing and trench warfare and the Homefront during WWI was engaging. I agree with the readers who thought that the relationship with Simon needed to change and missed him from this book. I don't read this for the plot so don't care that there were few clues along the way that could have allowed the reader to figure out the denouement.
I recognize that this book was finished during a horrible time for Charles Todd who lost his mother and cowriter during its construction, and was glad to see that he was still writing, but to me the writing was less polished than in previous and it made me sad. I am looking forward to the next Rutledge book promised maybe early in 2024?
I recognize that this book was finished during a horrible time for Charles Todd who lost his mother and cowriter during its construction, and was glad to see that he was still writing, but to me the writing was less polished than in previous and it made me sad. I am looking forward to the next Rutledge book promised maybe early in 2024?
February 24, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this book enough to just sit and read, oblivious to everything else.
I thought the way Bess got into the situation was believable, the murders and reasons for the murders were well done, and a wide range of likable and not so likable characters abounded. I missed Simon, but he shall return. Even if I found it entertaining, there wasn’t a lot of meat to the story. Bess spent a lot of time just doctoring wounds and getting fresh air.
I thought the way Bess got into the situation was believable, the murders and reasons for the murders were well done, and a wide range of likable and not so likable characters abounded. I missed Simon, but he shall return. Even if I found it entertaining, there wasn’t a lot of meat to the story. Bess spent a lot of time just doctoring wounds and getting fresh air.
March 13, 2023
I have always enjoyed this series, but this book moved very slowly, and it ended with a cliff hanger, which I resent. I will read the next book, but I am not happy about feeling forced into it.
January 22, 2025
The Cliff's Edge
3.5 Stars
Bess Crawford continues her post WWI sleuthing when she is asked to assist Lady Beatrice during her surgical convalescence. Bess seizes the opportunity to avoid dealing with her falling out with long-time friend, Simon Brandon, but her desire for a quiet getaway is soon marred when Lady Beatrice receives disturbing news that her godson has been in an accident, or has he?
Series Note: This is an ongoing series with references to past characters and events. Thus, it should be read in order.
The investigation into the alleged accident is the focus of the book as Bess attempts to ascertain whether Frederich Caldwell died as a result of the fall or whether his injuries came later. There are only a couple of possible suspects, and as the most likely one is obviously not the villain, it is pretty easy to guess the culprit. The main problem with the eventual explanation is the lack of foundation, both for the supposed feud between the families as well as .
In contrast, the mystery surrounding Lillian's conflict with the Caldwells is more intriguing, but the resolution is presented as an afterthought, and it also creates a cliffhanger ending, which is disappointing as the next book has yet to be written and may not be for a while.
Overall, this is an entertaining read, and Bess is a likeable heroine. Nevertheless, the time has come to end the series. Hopefully, the next book, if and when it is written, will provide the closure needed.
3.5 Stars
Bess Crawford continues her post WWI sleuthing when she is asked to assist Lady Beatrice during her surgical convalescence. Bess seizes the opportunity to avoid dealing with her falling out with long-time friend, Simon Brandon, but her desire for a quiet getaway is soon marred when Lady Beatrice receives disturbing news that her godson has been in an accident, or has he?
Series Note: This is an ongoing series with references to past characters and events. Thus, it should be read in order.
The investigation into the alleged accident is the focus of the book as Bess attempts to ascertain whether Frederich Caldwell died as a result of the fall or whether his injuries came later. There are only a couple of possible suspects, and as the most likely one is obviously not the villain, it is pretty easy to guess the culprit. The main problem with the eventual explanation is the lack of foundation, both for the supposed feud between the families as well as .
In contrast, the mystery surrounding Lillian's conflict with the Caldwells is more intriguing, but the resolution is presented as an afterthought, and it also creates a cliffhanger ending, which is disappointing as the next book has yet to be written and may not be for a while.
Overall, this is an entertaining read, and Bess is a likeable heroine. Nevertheless, the time has come to end the series. Hopefully, the next book, if and when it is written, will provide the closure needed.
April 10, 2023
Charles Todd, once again, has surpassed himself with this recent "Bess Crawford Mystery Novel.
Bess was a Army Nurse during World War One in Europe. She has witnessed much horror and bloodshed that came from those infamous trenches.
Now Bess lives in Somerset; and it is July 1919. She has been asked by her cousin, Melinda, to care for a Lady Beatrice in Yorkshire who is recovering from a recent surgery. But all does not go as planned. Several murders have occurred in a nearby village of Scarfdale. The local police constable is out of his element. Bess and Lady Beatrice are more competent, it appears, to solve these murders and the reason(s) behind them.
Mr. Todd is a talented writer who has created a strong willed and most competent character in Bess Crawford. He also manages to accurately recreate the history of the times.
Bess was a Army Nurse during World War One in Europe. She has witnessed much horror and bloodshed that came from those infamous trenches.
Now Bess lives in Somerset; and it is July 1919. She has been asked by her cousin, Melinda, to care for a Lady Beatrice in Yorkshire who is recovering from a recent surgery. But all does not go as planned. Several murders have occurred in a nearby village of Scarfdale. The local police constable is out of his element. Bess and Lady Beatrice are more competent, it appears, to solve these murders and the reason(s) behind them.
Mr. Todd is a talented writer who has created a strong willed and most competent character in Bess Crawford. He also manages to accurately recreate the history of the times.
February 23, 2023
3.25⭐
January 23, 2023
First and foremost by deepest condolences at the loss of the matriach Carolyn's passing in '21. It was heartbreaking to hear upon the completion of this duo team's novel for publication.
Charles Todd has a legion of fans and in the 13th series of Bess Crawford it will not change.
The writing is so strong that I couldn't put this darn thing down and I'm easily distracted. I honestly wasn't able to flip the pages quick enough on Kindle (better on my aging eyes than Netgalley) and so I was enamored from the start.
My last reading was, "A Divided Loyalty" from the Ian Rutledge series, as I didn't read during '21 for a much needed reviewer break. https://thesecretbooksleuth.blogspot....
For me, Nurse Bess is such a strong yet sweet and sensitive character that it's hard not to fall in love with her empathetic yet nurturing ways. She takes on quite a bit in each story but she manages to pull through and grasp the heavy weighted emotions that always surround her activities.
Bess agrees in this novel to travel to help cousin Melinda during surgery.
However, nothing goes as planned in love and war. She finds herself in a crossroads between two families- Neville's and Caldwell's.
Both of these families bring judgement, accusations, deaths, and theories that are as wild as they're complexing.
Much guilt and blame is being tossed around as quickly as the characters falls and sudden slips but then again who shall we believe is responsible?
Who would kill Frederick Caldwell while hunting for sheep with Gordon Neville?
Protective issues, familial issues, and romantic issues all rise to the surface both literally and figuratively.
Relationships begin to become questioned by the proper authorities with everyone pointing fingers. Is all this emotion nothing more than a mere lover's quarrel?
The enjoyment with the engagement situation was quite unique and the family digressions and discussions seem to shadow such outbursts.
There's plenty to excite the palate from murder, to attempted murder, to assault, and the shocker in the end surrounding a popular character.
I've read other reviews that were concerned about love lost or lack of such between certain characters but for me I'm fine with the pace of it all. Heck, I'll wait should anything come about with Bess no matter who might be involved.
Thank you to Charles and Carolyn for providing so many readers pure joy and excitement over the years. This is not the end as Charles Todd will be just fine to carry the legacy.
I can't wait to see what's next in this wonderful Bess Crawford series.
I'm beyond chuffed to have received this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Charles Todd has a legion of fans and in the 13th series of Bess Crawford it will not change.
The writing is so strong that I couldn't put this darn thing down and I'm easily distracted. I honestly wasn't able to flip the pages quick enough on Kindle (better on my aging eyes than Netgalley) and so I was enamored from the start.
My last reading was, "A Divided Loyalty" from the Ian Rutledge series, as I didn't read during '21 for a much needed reviewer break. https://thesecretbooksleuth.blogspot....
For me, Nurse Bess is such a strong yet sweet and sensitive character that it's hard not to fall in love with her empathetic yet nurturing ways. She takes on quite a bit in each story but she manages to pull through and grasp the heavy weighted emotions that always surround her activities.
Bess agrees in this novel to travel to help cousin Melinda during surgery.
However, nothing goes as planned in love and war. She finds herself in a crossroads between two families- Neville's and Caldwell's.
Both of these families bring judgement, accusations, deaths, and theories that are as wild as they're complexing.
Much guilt and blame is being tossed around as quickly as the characters falls and sudden slips but then again who shall we believe is responsible?
Who would kill Frederick Caldwell while hunting for sheep with Gordon Neville?
Protective issues, familial issues, and romantic issues all rise to the surface both literally and figuratively.
Relationships begin to become questioned by the proper authorities with everyone pointing fingers. Is all this emotion nothing more than a mere lover's quarrel?
The enjoyment with the engagement situation was quite unique and the family digressions and discussions seem to shadow such outbursts.
There's plenty to excite the palate from murder, to attempted murder, to assault, and the shocker in the end surrounding a popular character.
I've read other reviews that were concerned about love lost or lack of such between certain characters but for me I'm fine with the pace of it all. Heck, I'll wait should anything come about with Bess no matter who might be involved.
Thank you to Charles and Carolyn for providing so many readers pure joy and excitement over the years. This is not the end as Charles Todd will be just fine to carry the legacy.
I can't wait to see what's next in this wonderful Bess Crawford series.
I'm beyond chuffed to have received this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
October 23, 2023
I've enjoyed this series up until now, but this last book was a bit disappointing, not because of the writing but because of the terrible editing. No one caught several inconsistencies and errors that I just couldn't overlook. The glaring mistakes made the story line confusing. I expected better of a large publishing house. The editor's failure doesn't do this good writer justice.
February 21, 2023
I like Bess better in the thick of war - lovesick at a country estate isn’t quite the same story. This whole book (except for the postcard and the final two chapters) was dull. I’m still rooting for her eventual happy ending!
February 1, 2023
3.5 stars
The latest entry in the Bess Crawford historical mystery series featuring a former WWI nurse. I am a big fan of both Charles Todd series. They are atmospheric and intricately plotted, sometimes unbelievably so.
Bess is summoned by her close friend Melinda to help wrangle a dowager duchess into having and resting after a surgery. But nothing in Todd's books is ever straightforward. No sooner has Bess gotten the strong-willed woman settled after her surgery then (through an implausible plot mechanism) she is sent, along with a lady's companion, to yet another household on an emergency summons.
She discovers a household of inter-related sons, mothers, brothers and in-laws. One of the sons of the house lies severely injured from a fall out in the countryside which killed his companion, who also is part of the household party. But there is some question as to whether his death was a result of the fall or murder. The son falls under suspicion and Bess investigates while tending his wounds and trying to keep the local hostile inspector at bay.
The story gets very complicated after that. Spurned lovers, wartime grievances, and even a decades old secret from another continent have a role to play. Todd's plots get an A for complexity but sometimes a C for clarity and plausibility. But the narrative keeps rolling at a good pace and finishes with several stunning surprises. Note: Bess's odd relationship with Simon, who served under her father in the war, has been unresolved forever and this book doesn't solve that but rather introduces another strange twist to be worked out later. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The latest entry in the Bess Crawford historical mystery series featuring a former WWI nurse. I am a big fan of both Charles Todd series. They are atmospheric and intricately plotted, sometimes unbelievably so.
Bess is summoned by her close friend Melinda to help wrangle a dowager duchess into having and resting after a surgery. But nothing in Todd's books is ever straightforward. No sooner has Bess gotten the strong-willed woman settled after her surgery then (through an implausible plot mechanism) she is sent, along with a lady's companion, to yet another household on an emergency summons.
She discovers a household of inter-related sons, mothers, brothers and in-laws. One of the sons of the house lies severely injured from a fall out in the countryside which killed his companion, who also is part of the household party. But there is some question as to whether his death was a result of the fall or murder. The son falls under suspicion and Bess investigates while tending his wounds and trying to keep the local hostile inspector at bay.
The story gets very complicated after that. Spurned lovers, wartime grievances, and even a decades old secret from another continent have a role to play. Todd's plots get an A for complexity but sometimes a C for clarity and plausibility. But the narrative keeps rolling at a good pace and finishes with several stunning surprises. Note: Bess's odd relationship with Simon, who served under her father in the war, has been unresolved forever and this book doesn't solve that but rather introduces another strange twist to be worked out later. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
February 2, 2024
I used to listen to all the Bess Crawford books, then I disliked #9 so intently I stopped. Since half of the Charles Todd author team has died, I thought I'd listen to the 13th (which should be the last but apparently isn't based on the cliffhanger).
Hoo boy, this book is a mess. Illogical and inconsistent, repetitive and boring, with dialog that does not make sense, and everyone jumping to conclusions all over the place (why would anyone think the first death was a murder?). A wealthy landowner was HIGHLY unlikely to be mistreated even if he WERE the murderer. And Bess has EVERY reason to distrust the suspected wealthy landowner and yet keeps lying for him.
So many instances of saying, for example, "Gordon Neville," when the speaker would naturally have just said "Gordon." Do you go around identifying your nearest and dearest by their first and last names?
On top of that Bess really is a meddling busybody. Keep your nose out and go home. Mark Crawford is right about that. The baddest of the bad actors was so obvious from the beginning I thought it must be someone else. It wasn't.
Even if this is not the end, I don't see myself reading any more books in the series. Somehow the Ian Rutledge series seemed to stay better longer, but maybe that's just because I loved Simon Prebble narrating them so much. (And alas, he has been replaced.)
Hoo boy, this book is a mess. Illogical and inconsistent, repetitive and boring, with dialog that does not make sense, and everyone jumping to conclusions all over the place (why would anyone think the first death was a murder?). A wealthy landowner was HIGHLY unlikely to be mistreated even if he WERE the murderer. And Bess has EVERY reason to distrust the suspected wealthy landowner and yet keeps lying for him.
So many instances of saying, for example, "Gordon Neville," when the speaker would naturally have just said "Gordon." Do you go around identifying your nearest and dearest by their first and last names?
On top of that Bess really is a meddling busybody. Keep your nose out and go home. Mark Crawford is right about that. The baddest of the bad actors was so obvious from the beginning I thought it must be someone else. It wasn't.
Even if this is not the end, I don't see myself reading any more books in the series. Somehow the Ian Rutledge series seemed to stay better longer, but maybe that's just because I loved Simon Prebble narrating them so much. (And alas, he has been replaced.)
August 3, 2022
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 14th, 2022.
Number 13 in the Bess Crawford series. Bess served as a nursing sister on the battlefields of WWI in France. Now it is 1919 and the war has ended. Bess is asked to nurse a formidable (and delightful) Countess Dowager through a gall bladder surgery in Yorkshire. But when the Dowager’s godson is gravely injured and another man killed during a terrible accident, Bess goes to help and becomes enmeshed in a bitter feud.
Oddly enough I find this series very calming (for me, not the characters!). The pace of life was slower at that time, and the authors (a mother and son team who go by the pseudonym “Charles Todd”) do an excellent job of blending action, context, interactions, and scene setting to keep the interest of different types of readers. This particular story was more gripping than usual, and I found myself wildly swiping my kindle pages to get to the end. Complete closure on the mystery but an additional little cliffhanger about the personal background of one of the series’ main characters has me wriggling with anticipation.
Number 13 in the Bess Crawford series. Bess served as a nursing sister on the battlefields of WWI in France. Now it is 1919 and the war has ended. Bess is asked to nurse a formidable (and delightful) Countess Dowager through a gall bladder surgery in Yorkshire. But when the Dowager’s godson is gravely injured and another man killed during a terrible accident, Bess goes to help and becomes enmeshed in a bitter feud.
Oddly enough I find this series very calming (for me, not the characters!). The pace of life was slower at that time, and the authors (a mother and son team who go by the pseudonym “Charles Todd”) do an excellent job of blending action, context, interactions, and scene setting to keep the interest of different types of readers. This particular story was more gripping than usual, and I found myself wildly swiping my kindle pages to get to the end. Complete closure on the mystery but an additional little cliffhanger about the personal background of one of the series’ main characters has me wriggling with anticipation.
March 11, 2023
The writing team known as Charles Todd has penned another absolutely wonderful tale for “Sister” Crawford in post World War I England. Bess is grudgingly convinced to attend to one of Melinda’s friends who is scheduled for a gall bladder surgery. While said friend recuperates from her surgery, she receives a mysterious summons to the home of her godson and being unable to travel engages Bess to go in her place and help if or where needed. There is a compelling mystery and a well detailed cast of characters that drew me in to the story and an intriguing conclusion to the mystery that will involve Simon, hopefully, in a highly anticipated future book. My only quibble with this book was that we did not directly see Simon in the mystery. He was missed by this reader and Bess. As always the descriptions of the characters are marvellously done and the settings created are evocative. The mystery is a little slow to develop but I appreciated the need to set the scene. All in all, this is one of my favourite reads of the year.
February 10, 2023
The cliff’s edge of the title is both literal and figurative in this 13th entry in the Bess Crawford series.
Former battlefield nurse Bess Crawford finds herself in Yorkshire in her latest attempt to put off making firm decisions about what she will do now that her war is over. While she has resigned from QAIMNS, (Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service), that itself was out of a sense of duty. She has a secured future, whether it’s one she wants or not. Bess’ dilemma is either that she does not want the future that would have been hers if there had never been a war – or more likely that she either doesn’t want to give up the freedom and purpose that came with her wartime service or believes that what she really wants is not possible for her.
Or perhaps that should be “who” she wants. Or all of the above, wrapped in a great big ball of angst, recriminations and regrets.
Her cousin Melinda asked her to see Lady Beatrice through her gallbladder surgery. Lady Beatrice asked her to go to Scarfdale to make sure that her adult godson was alive after a terrible accident and to help in any way that she could – as well as send back a great deal more information than was supplied in the initial, alarming telegram.
When Bess arrives in Scarfdale she learns all about that cliff’s edge. The edge that two men fell over, or were pushed over, or pulled each other over. One man is dead under these rather murky circumstances, while the other is alive, severely injured, and suspected of the other’s murder.
While Bess’ first responsibility is to her new patient, and her second to Lady Beatrice, still recovering at her home, as usual Bess can’t stop herself from becoming at least curious if not downright involved in the mysteries and tensions that swirl around the house AND the village that depends upon it.
The family and ‘friends’ that had gathered in the house clearly can’t stand each other. The local police seem all too willing to rush the survivor to judgment for reasons that no one is willing to tell a stranger – namely Bess.
And the injured survivor is not in nearly as desperate straits as first appeared. It will be up to Bess to learn what she can – and protect whom she feels she must – in order to bring this thorny case to some kind of conclusion.
Preferably without bringing too many others, including Bess herself, to theirs.
Escape Rating B-: As much as I have enjoyed this series, I believe that it is time for it to come to an end unless it makes a major change in direction. Because Bess has been in limbo for several entries now – at least since book 10, A Forgotten Place and perhaps as long ago as book 9, A Casualty of War. That limbo that makes sense in her circumstances – but her limbo of indecision has sunk into a slough of despond and it feels like it’s simply time for her to get on with her life.
But first she has to decide what that life is going to be, which means she needs to come to a whole bunch of resolutions that may be outside of her control.
What made Bess such a terrific choice of protagonist back in her first adventure, A Duty to the Dead, has reached a kind of expiration date now that the war is over. As a battlefield nurse, Bess had agency, responsibility and purpose. It was necessary for her to be able to think for herself, do for herself, and take charge of her own actions. That her sense of responsibility and inability to leave a puzzle unsolved led her into investigating murder worked intensely well.
But her war is over, she’s resigned from the service. She’s no longer in that position of independence and agency and looking for a new purpose. It stretches the long arm of coincidence – or perhaps that’s the willing suspension of disbelief – that in her decision-making paralysis about the shape of her post-war life she keeps tripping over and into murder investigations one after another – which feels like a bridge too far.
She could return to nursing, in a hospital or in private service, and perhaps run across more such mysteries among her duties. She could become a private investigator as Maisie Dobbs has done, but it seems less likely. Or she could marry. And that’s where Bess’ personal dilemma runs headlong into this rather murky mess of a case.
Because Bess is angsting over the state of her relationship with her father’s aide-de-camp Simon Brandon. Not that their relationship has ever been romantic. When Simon first entered her life, he was fourteen and on the run from some mysterious fate or abusive situation and Bess was still a child. But they’ve both grown up and Bess has come to see Simon in a different light while Simon seems to have distanced himself over something Bess said or did and won’t either acknowledge that distance or explain it.
So Bess is in Yorkshire in the midst of this case, which is quite a muddle that doesn’t seem much clearer at its end. Not that the cause of the whole thing isn’t found, but rather that the solution isn’t terribly cathartic and doesn’t seem to resolve much of the surrounding tension.
What it does do is re-open the situation that brought Simon Brandon to Colonel Crawford’s door and regiment so many years ago – even if Simon is not yet aware of it when The Cliff’s Edge ends. But that ending does give me hope that Simon’s past desperation, Bess’ present angst and the question of both of their futures will finally be resolved in the next book in the series.
Originally published at Reading Reality
Former battlefield nurse Bess Crawford finds herself in Yorkshire in her latest attempt to put off making firm decisions about what she will do now that her war is over. While she has resigned from QAIMNS, (Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service), that itself was out of a sense of duty. She has a secured future, whether it’s one she wants or not. Bess’ dilemma is either that she does not want the future that would have been hers if there had never been a war – or more likely that she either doesn’t want to give up the freedom and purpose that came with her wartime service or believes that what she really wants is not possible for her.
Or perhaps that should be “who” she wants. Or all of the above, wrapped in a great big ball of angst, recriminations and regrets.
Her cousin Melinda asked her to see Lady Beatrice through her gallbladder surgery. Lady Beatrice asked her to go to Scarfdale to make sure that her adult godson was alive after a terrible accident and to help in any way that she could – as well as send back a great deal more information than was supplied in the initial, alarming telegram.
When Bess arrives in Scarfdale she learns all about that cliff’s edge. The edge that two men fell over, or were pushed over, or pulled each other over. One man is dead under these rather murky circumstances, while the other is alive, severely injured, and suspected of the other’s murder.
While Bess’ first responsibility is to her new patient, and her second to Lady Beatrice, still recovering at her home, as usual Bess can’t stop herself from becoming at least curious if not downright involved in the mysteries and tensions that swirl around the house AND the village that depends upon it.
The family and ‘friends’ that had gathered in the house clearly can’t stand each other. The local police seem all too willing to rush the survivor to judgment for reasons that no one is willing to tell a stranger – namely Bess.
And the injured survivor is not in nearly as desperate straits as first appeared. It will be up to Bess to learn what she can – and protect whom she feels she must – in order to bring this thorny case to some kind of conclusion.
Preferably without bringing too many others, including Bess herself, to theirs.
Escape Rating B-: As much as I have enjoyed this series, I believe that it is time for it to come to an end unless it makes a major change in direction. Because Bess has been in limbo for several entries now – at least since book 10, A Forgotten Place and perhaps as long ago as book 9, A Casualty of War. That limbo that makes sense in her circumstances – but her limbo of indecision has sunk into a slough of despond and it feels like it’s simply time for her to get on with her life.
But first she has to decide what that life is going to be, which means she needs to come to a whole bunch of resolutions that may be outside of her control.
What made Bess such a terrific choice of protagonist back in her first adventure, A Duty to the Dead, has reached a kind of expiration date now that the war is over. As a battlefield nurse, Bess had agency, responsibility and purpose. It was necessary for her to be able to think for herself, do for herself, and take charge of her own actions. That her sense of responsibility and inability to leave a puzzle unsolved led her into investigating murder worked intensely well.
But her war is over, she’s resigned from the service. She’s no longer in that position of independence and agency and looking for a new purpose. It stretches the long arm of coincidence – or perhaps that’s the willing suspension of disbelief – that in her decision-making paralysis about the shape of her post-war life she keeps tripping over and into murder investigations one after another – which feels like a bridge too far.
She could return to nursing, in a hospital or in private service, and perhaps run across more such mysteries among her duties. She could become a private investigator as Maisie Dobbs has done, but it seems less likely. Or she could marry. And that’s where Bess’ personal dilemma runs headlong into this rather murky mess of a case.
Because Bess is angsting over the state of her relationship with her father’s aide-de-camp Simon Brandon. Not that their relationship has ever been romantic. When Simon first entered her life, he was fourteen and on the run from some mysterious fate or abusive situation and Bess was still a child. But they’ve both grown up and Bess has come to see Simon in a different light while Simon seems to have distanced himself over something Bess said or did and won’t either acknowledge that distance or explain it.
So Bess is in Yorkshire in the midst of this case, which is quite a muddle that doesn’t seem much clearer at its end. Not that the cause of the whole thing isn’t found, but rather that the solution isn’t terribly cathartic and doesn’t seem to resolve much of the surrounding tension.
What it does do is re-open the situation that brought Simon Brandon to Colonel Crawford’s door and regiment so many years ago – even if Simon is not yet aware of it when The Cliff’s Edge ends. But that ending does give me hope that Simon’s past desperation, Bess’ present angst and the question of both of their futures will finally be resolved in the next book in the series.
Originally published at Reading Reality
May 9, 2023
I’ve read the entire series, and some are definitely better than others. The Cliff’s Edge dragged and was extremely repetitive. The repeated descriptions of Bess changing the dressing for another character drove me crazy — enough! The suspense found in earlier ones was missing in this one — it felt forced. The end suggested a possible next one, but sadly I doubt I’ll read another.
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