An Unmarked Grave: A Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles Todd

             Can you tell I really like this series?  In a matter of only two or three months I have already read and written about four of the books.  An Unmarked Grave is the fourth installment of the Bess Crawford mystery series and it took me less than twenty-four hours to read.  Now, part of that may be because this book is about 100 pages shorter than those that came before it, but that’s not the full reason.  As per usual, I didn’t want to stop reading and that is why I got it done so fast.

                Bess Crawford, World War I nurse, is in France when the Spanish flu hits.  She is doing her best to care for all the injured and sick that come her way, but she can only do so much.  The illness is sweeping through the troops and it isn’t long until Bess catches it herself.  She is near death and everyone thinks they will lose her until Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon comes to take care of her.  Once she is strong enough to travel, Simon takes Bess back to England where she fully recovers.  Bess knows she is one of the lucky ones.  She could have easily died like so many before her, but she didn’t.  Now that she is healthy, Bess wants to return to France, but her family wants her to stay in England.  This is the second time they could have lost her during the war, and they do not want to tempt a third.

                Frustrated, Bess tries to figure out how she can get herself back to France.  That, however, is not the only thing she is thinking about.  While Bess was sick, she kept having a dream.  It was about the death of a family friend, Major Vincent Carson.  The problem is there was not any way for Bess to know Major Carson died since it happened when she was sick.  Then Bess realizes the death she sees is not a dream at all.  It is a memory.

                Right before Bess fell ill, her assistance was requested by Private Wilson, the man who took charge of carrying the dead.  He has a habit of counting how many bodies he should have and when he finds one body too many he asks for Bess’s help.  The situation that Private Wilson needs help with isn’t just that he has one extra body, but it’s that the body did not die of natural causes or from an injury of war.  This soldier was murdered.

                When Bess sees the dead soldier, she recognizes it as Major Carson.  She also agrees that he did not die as the other men did and they should bring it to the attention of the Matron.  Bess is scheduled to wake the Matron in one hour and plans on telling her then, but Bess doesn’t end up telling the Matron anything.  Before the hour is up, Bess falls ill.  She’s fighting for her life and it isn’t until she’s recovering that Bess can tell anyone what happened. 

                The person Bess trusts with the information is Simon.  He looks into the matter and discovers that Private Wilson has died from an apparent suicide.  Bess does not believe Private Wilson would ever kill himself and suspects the two deaths are connected.  Unfortunately there is not much she can do about her suspicions because she is stuck in England having agreed to a new assignment.

                Fortunately for Bess, her assignment in England doesn’t last long.  The doctor she is working for realizes how skilled Bess is and recommends she serve in France.  Her orders come through, and despite her family’s concerns, Bess returns to the front.  Bess is happy about this.  Not only can she be where she really wants to be, but also it is in France where Bess feels she can get to the bottom of things.  At least it is until someone tries to take her life.  Now Bess knows everything is connected and she is going to do whatever she can to figure out who is trying to kill her and why. 

                In my view, An Unmarked Grave has been the most angst ridden book of the series. Along with the Spanish flu, there are multiple attempts on Bess’s life. She never knows where she’s safe and where she isn’t. Then Simon is shot and almost dies. The series can’t exist without Simon! Fortunately I think these incidents have made Bess and Simon realize how important they are to each other. But, alas, there isn’t any romance between the two of them yet. In the meantime, another man has shown up in Bess’s life. This time it’s an American soldier fighting with the Canadians. Captain Thomas Barclay is an injured soldier determined to get back to the front. While he awaits the approval, Captain Barclay acts as a sort of bodyguard for Bess and freely admits he is jealous of Bess’s relationship with Simon. Sergeant Larimore is also still in the picture, and I wonder about Captain Grayson. He worked with Bess on the Britannic and pops up quite frequently. Personally, if something did have to happen to Simon, I would select Captain Grayson as the best person for Bess to have a relationship with (implying he is not married, of course). I don’t think that will happen, though. Simon and Bess are meant for each other and I think they’re finally starting to figure that out.