never fail to entertain and enlighten while rapidly becoming bestsellers.
A Casualty of War is a bit of a departure as Bess is not found in a battlefield hospital but rather
fighting for the rights of an appealing young soldier, Captain Alan Travis. While the Great War is
close to its end the fighting still goes on and we find a weary Bess waiting for transportation north.
She steps into a crowded canteen which is where she meets Captain Travis, an Englishman whose family made its fortune on the Caribbean Island of Barbados. He describes his island home to her and shares photographs - his love for Barbados is obvious. Their conversation is brief but a pleasant
switch from the war.
Then months later Bess is surprised to see Travis again when he is brought to her aid station. He is no longer the strong smiling young man she remembers but bloodied and disoriented from a head wound. He says that the man who shot him was an English officer, in fact a distant cousin named James Travis. He asks Bess to help him find the man who shot him. Of course, she will help him but
can find no trace of a James Travis. She wonders if her young friend has suffered a concussion that
has affected his mind.
But some time later Travis is again wounded and once more accuses James of shooting him - this time accusing him of being a murderer. The pleasant young man she remembers is now a furious
person bent on revenge. As the war comes to an end Bess is given leave and she looks for Travis only to find him suicidal and strapped to his bed in an English clinic. No one will listen to his ravings let alone believe him. What can she do?
Enlisting the help of family friend Simon Brandon she travels to James Travis's home in Suffolk
little knowing the danger that awaits her there.
One more can't-put-down Bess Crawford mystery. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment