A Forgotten Place: A Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles Todd

             I give up.  I just give up.

            The war is over, but World War I nurse Bess Crawford isn’t done working.  She has been assigned to a military hospital where she will attend to amputees.  Some of the soldiers she is working with are a group of Welshmen.  They all fought together, and with the injuries they suffered, are struggling to figure out their lives after the war.  In despair over the thought their injuries have turned them useless, some of the soldiers try to commit suicide.  One is successful.

                When the soldier dies, Bess tries to keep the spirits of the others up.  Despite her efforts, Bess knows she cannot do this without the help of the group leader, Captain Hugh Williams.  Distraught himself, Captain Williams tries to pick up his men’s spirits, but the outcome is unclear.  Concerned about his men even after all of them have left the hospital, Captain Williams writes to Bess letting her know how each one is doing.

                Captain Williams’s news is not good.  Concerned herself, Bess takes leave to find the men and check on them.  She does this without letting anyone know where she is going. 

Out on her own, Bess finds out that nearly all of the men of Captain Williams’s hospital group have died and that Captain Williams has moved on from where she thought he was living.  Still wanting to check on Captain Williams’s well-being, Bess tracks him down in a far-off Welsh village where he is living with his sister-in-law, Rachel.                    

                Bess expects the trip to Captain Williams to be a quick one.  Then her ride leaves in the middle of the night, leaving Bess stranded.  She must rely on Captain Williams and Rachel’s hospitality until a new ride out of the village can be arranged.  For Bess, this can’t happen soon enough. 

That is because the village is making Bess uneasy.  More than one body has been found dead, washed in by the sea.  Captain Williams and another man get beaten up.  Then, after a storm, Bess witnesses the villagers scavenging for treasure from a long-ago sunken ship.  It is this event that has the villagers really turn on Bess. 

Already under suspicion because she is an outsider, the men of the village begin to follow Bess around.  They also prevent her from leaving when she has the opportunity.  Now a hostage, Bess can only hope someone realizes she did not come back from leave and comes looking for her.

Family friend Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon is the person who comes looking for Bess.  He is also the reason I am giving up on something with this series.  He and Bess still haven’t gotten together.  In fact, in this book, their relationship seems to go backwards and be more platonic than ever.  It is a relationship I have been cheering on for many books now.  With things moving so slowly in that direction, and there being zero progress in this book, I give up.  Moving forward, I will concentrate on the mysteries only (which are very good), and cast aside any hope of these two getting together.  It’s driving me too crazy to do otherwise.