A Casualty of War audiobook

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. 4.5 stars I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!

I think this may be my favorite in the series so far! (I say "so far" because I'm really hoping there will be more Bess Crawford books!)I would seriously love to see this series made into a tv series! Listening to the audiobooks makes me feel like I'm watching movies anyway and I have been thoroughly enjoying myself!!

Charles Todd is an American mother-son writing team who have two WW1-era series going on. The first, "Inspector Ian Rutledge", is set slightly after the war but with frequent flashbacks to the horror of the war. The second, "Bess Crawford", is set in WW1, though by their newest book, "Casualty of War", the war has finally(!) ended and Bess is tasked with some duties that include following up on an attempted murder at the front. The shooting was of a British officer, by a suspected British officer.I almost didn't accept the readers' copy of "Casualty of War", because I have felt for a while now that the quality of writing was disinigrating in the three or so most recent books. In fact, I thought their latest book, "The Shattered Tree" was basically unreadable. So I began reading "Casualty of War" and was very pleased to find that while the book is not equal to their first few books, it is returning to the high quality of those first books. It's almost if two different people (or teams of people) wrote the two last books.Bess is winding down her wartime nursing at the front as the book opens. She has met a Barbadian soldier fighting with the British Army. Captain Alan Travis was from an old British family whose grandfather had left England and settled on Barbados where he prospered and raised a family. Alan has come to England to fight for his anscestral land. However, the next two times Bess meets Captain Travis, he has been wounded by "friendly fire". He suspects he was shot by a relative from the English branch of the family. Bess decides to help Alan Travis untangle this mess, along with help from her ever-present admirer Sargeant-Major Simon Brandon and her parents.Okay, it isn't so much that "Casualty of War" is a five-star read, but that it is so much better plotted and peopled than the previous one. IF you're a long-time Charles Todd reader who's been getting a bit disgusted as the series has unrolled, you might want to give the Bess Todd #9 a chance. You might be pleased; I know I was.

A Casualty of War is another fast-paced, intricately woven tale of murder and war set during the days just before and after Armistice Day, ending combat in WWI. A patient's claim that his distant cousin tried to kill him on the battlefield leads Bess and family friend, Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon, into a village in Suffolk where all is not as it seems. As she and Simon try to prove her patient is right about what he saw, the villagers try to close ranks to protect the Lady of the manor. But someone is hiding a secret and will kill to keep it. Loved the mystery. And despite my forthcoming rant, it's still a great read. Now...romance element rant:Darn you, Charles Todd, with your satisfying mysteries mixed with glacially-paced romance. I can't quit you, but I'm pretty sure Bess will solve three more mysteries before she even gets kissed. Throw your romance mystery readers a bone, y'all! I am shipping Simon, but at this point I'd be ok with Bess having romantic feelings for almost anyone. A doctor. An orderly. The next wounded soldier she ends up saving from a murder rap. Come. On. Everybody around Bess falls in love but Bess. I get she's a serious person. She has a strong sense of duty. I don't want her to move to Australia. I don't expect her to make out in a closet. I just want her to have some butterflies in her stomach about a dude when he touches her hand. *weeps*

Another enjoyable mystery from the Todds. The puzzle of Captain Travis and who shot him was engaging and, as always, it was wonderful to spend time with Bess and Simon. I'm left wondering what will come next. Which of Bess's wartime friends will we see again? Will she ever figure out that Simon Brandon is in love with her? Might she still meet the Todd's other protagonist, Ian Rutledge (I posed this question to Caroline at Magna cum Murder this year)?

The term war casualty refers to anyone who dies of injuries sustained in battle. The phrasing seems almost benign, as if the horrible loss were simply a mild byproduct of a causal event. In A Casualty of War the writing duo of Charles Todd brings home the fact that war is not in the least casual but awful, exhausting and debilitating and that the causalities of that event are not just those who fall on the battlefield or are wounded there, but all those who stand on those bloody fields and everyone who has ever cared for those who do.This is the ninth book in the Bess Crawford series and I would strongly suggest reading them in order. While this book could be read as a standalone, I think the tale is enhanced by being familiar with the recurring characters, not just Bess but also Simon, Sgt. Lassiter and Colonel Crawford. That said, there are no spoilers in this review for the series.It’s been a long day and army nurse Bess Crawford is happy to grab a cup of tea and bowl of soup in the canteen at the end of it. Unfortunately, there are no empty tables but she is able to snag a seat across from the congenial Captain Alan Travis. Bess and the amiable Captain have a great conversation and part as friendly acquaintances when the ambulance arrives that will serve as her ride to the aid station she is being transferred to. She doesn’t give the captain another thought through the weeks that follow as she keeps busy with the business of trying to keep men engaged in brutal combat alive from the wounds received during battle.Then the Captain is brought in to her aid station having sustained an injury to his head – a heavily bleeding groove that cuts through his hair on the left side, deep enough that the skull is showing although it clearly wasn’t penetrated. The doctor judges that no brain damage has occurred but the Captain tells a story that has others skeptical of that fact. Captain Travis is convinced that he was wounded by deliberate friendly fire and that the man who shot him was none other than his cousin from an estranged branch of the family. No one believes him; all seem convinced that he simply became confused as a result of the injury and the violent disorder of the battle in which he was hurt. Bess is disturbed by the tale but when the Captain returns to the front she puts him from her mind. Then he comes back – once more having been shot, once more convinced that his cousin did the shooting. She patches him up again and sends him on his way, though this second time she is deeply disturbed by the tale he tells. However, there’s nothing she can do about it and she soon becomes busy once more with the hard work of caring for the latest of her patients. And possibly the last of her patients, for while the hospitals and aid stations remain busy, the war has officially ended. Then something thoroughly unexpected happens; Bess is given leave to go home to England. But while there, Bess finds Captain Tavis strapped to his bed in a clinic for patients suffering from shell shock and mental incapacitation due to head wounds. It seems the Captain has continued with his story of the murderous cousin and the powers that be have determined it’s a result of battle fatigue. The tale has always seemed improbable but the fact that all evidence points to said cousin having been killed in battle over a year ago place it firmly in impossible territory. Horrified by the poor treatment he is receiving, Bess and Sergeant Major Simon Brandon, a lifelong friend and confidant, travel to Suffolk to learn more about the deceased cousin and the mysterious events surrounding the Captain’s injuries. See the rest of my review at https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...

Title: A Casualty of War (A Bess Crawford Mystery #9)Author: Charles ToddPages: 378Year: 2017Publisher: William MorrowMy rating is 4 out of 5 stars.Bess Crawford is once again called on to help a soldier in need. This time the soldier, Alan Travis, claims that a soldier in a British uniform tried to kill him, a British soldier himself and not once, but twice. The soldier looks very much like Alan’s cousin. Alan suffers a head wound that causes the aid station to doubt his claims. He is returned to active duty after being cleared by the Base Hospital. When he is returned to the aid station with a bullet wound in his back, claiming the same soldier tried to kill him again, the authorities investigate his claims. It is discovered that the man Alan claims tried to kill him is dead. Now, the hospital staff begins to doubt his sanity and perhaps the first wound to his head was more serious than they thought. He is transferred to a mental hospital until he can be further evaluated. Bess feels responsible and tells Alan she will see what she can discover.Bess is home for two weeks leave after the war is finally over. However, instead of spending the time with her parents, she ends up chasing clues as the mystery surrounding Captain Travis goes deeper than she originally thought. She has Simon Brandon at her side for protection and help, but can he truly keep her safe when a murder happens in the small village of the Travis family? Bess is convinced Captain Travis is sane and won’t rest until justice for him clears his name, freeing him, but at what cost?In her role as a nurse, Bess has been involved in quite a few mysteries so now that the war is over I am very curious to see how this series will continue. I thoroughly enjoy the time frame of this series as well as the setting. I love reading about all the small villages and their intricacies of life, how townspeople interact with one another and strangers. Bess leaves no stone unturned, even though many times she has no authority, in her investigations. She just can’t leave a mystery alone, even when she should for her own safety. I also liked seeing more of Simon in this story and would like to know more about his background. Maybe there might be a mystery with Simon and his past as the focus? I’m looking forward to seeing how Bess encounters her tenth mystery!

I love Bess Crawford war mysteries. This one was a gem. She is with Simon trying to help a soldier who was shot two different times by the same British officer, that looks like a member of his family. The severe head injury has the doctors feeling he is suffering with some form of shell shock, which lands him into a military psyche ward. Bess believes him, and on her time home she is bound to prove he is not mentally disturbed. He is also an heir to a large estate, through a cousin he got to know in the war. His cousins mother, though does all she can to keep him away There are murders, and attacks, and embezzlement, and deception. It is also a look at what PTSD was like ,and how it was treated during World War Two I only wish Beth had a certain someone to come home to . There have been hints of servicemen, but non have come close to her heart. Simon watches over her, but is he more of a brother ? An Australian that has come to her aid more than once, with loads of charm. I hope now that the war is ending the writers will allow her some personal time. Working as a nurse on the front, and her detection on her leaves gives little time for romance.

May I highly recommend the Bess Crawford series. It is a period series which takesq place during World War I. Sister Bess Crawford is a military Nurse who serves on the front line. She comes from an upper echelon military family. In each of the books, Nurse Crawford becomes personally involved in events and with people she encounters as a result of her military assignments. This enables her to use her “detective mind” to bring about a resolve to each isssue. There is the detective/mystery element to each story, but there is historical color as we live through the awfulness of war. There is romance. Nurse Crawford is a single lady but she seems to be drawn to an officer who has served her father for many years and lives in a cottage on her parents estate. He seems to always show up to pick up the pieces or assist with the puzzle when he is needed. Casualty of War takes place near the end of the war and follows an intriguing story of mistaken identity, murder, fear, jealousy, inheritance, all as seen through the eyes of the residents and visitors in a small English village.

The Great War is coming to an end, but the casualties are still trickling in to the aid station in France. Nurse Bess Crawford meets a charming young soldier, Captain Adam Travis, just before he heads into battle. She sees him in the casualty ward twice more. His first wound is not serious; the second gets him a place on the ship back to England. Bess can hardly recognize the man she meet just weeks ago. He is disturbed, insisting that the man who shot him both times was his cousin.Bess encounters him again in a nursing home. He is being as a mental case. The man he claimed shot him could not possibly have done so, but he will not be convinced. Bess and her friend Simon Branson believe something is very wrong, not just with Adam but with the way he's being treated, and they are determined to get to the bottom of the situation before it's too late.

Very good entry in Bess Crawford series, as she tries to help an officer investigate if another British officer tried to kill him, or if he’s going mad. The mother, Mrs. Travis made me crazy that she was so ridiculous in her denial of her son’s will because of a past family feud but I suppose it could be realistic in the time period. (Library)

The Bess Crawford series is so, so good! Great story elements to be found in this series. Captivating characters, realistic/historical settings (WWI Battlegrounds/cities), well constructed plot with an intriguing mystery and a satisfying solution! I loved each and every one of these novels!