A Cruel Deception

The mother and son team writing under the pseudonym Charles Todd have launched their 11th mystery in the Bess Crawford series, about a young English nurse during and after WWI. This latest offering has Bess tracking the son of the Head of the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps. [The Corps was established in 1902 when Queen Alexandra was named to preside over it.] Lieutenant Lawrence Minton was posted in Paris during the peace talks when he disappears from the meetings. Bess finds him in rough shape, addicted to opium, and attempts to improve his health. But when a murder attempt is made on both her life and his, she needs to step up her efforts. A good read…