An Impartial Witness, Charles Todd
An Impartial Witness, Charles Todd
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An Impartial Witness

Author: Charles Todd

Narrator: Rosalyn Landor

Unabridged: 10 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/31/2010


Synopsis

Tending to the soldiers in the trenches of France during the First World War, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford can’t help but notice the photo of a young pilot’s wife every time she tends to him. But then at the railway station, in a mob of troops leaving for the front, Bess glimpses a familiar face—the pilot’s wife? Back in France, Bess sees a newspaper with a drawing of the woman’s face on the front page. She’d been murdered—the very day Bess saw her. Bess is soon on the search for a devious and very dangerous killer—a search that will put her own life in jeopardy.

About Charles Todd

Charles Todd is a pen name used by the American authors Caroline (1934-2021) and Charles Todd, a mother-and-son writing team who write the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries and the Bess Crawford mysteries, as well as stand-alone novels. Their novel Proof of Guilt was a New York Times bestseller, and A Test of Wills was named one of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association’s 100 favorite mysteries of the 20th Century and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year selection. Their novels have won the Agatha Award, the Barry Award, and the Anthony Award, as well as being finalists for several other awards. Charles is continuing the series.

About Rosalyn Landor

Rosalyn Landor is an English-born television, theater, and multiple-award-winning audiobook narrator. Her television credits include Love in a Cold Climate, Rumpole of the Bailey, Sherlock Holmes, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She has won numerous Audie awards and AudioFile magazine Earphones awards.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nell

I'm having a little trouble with the conceit of this series. A young woman goes around asking questions that are none of her business of people, who are sometimes hostile to the investigation, who answer those questions even against their own interests. I don't recall that other mystery series I rea......more

After reading most of the book, I found myself awarding four stars to An Impartial Witness. I thought soon after, that if the fate of Michael Hart is not written in the book, it will be a perfect score. Maybe that was a too weird ending to hope for, since one way or another, the reader must be shown......more

Goodreads review by Vintage

I think Bess and I are going to have to part ways. Mysteries were my first love starting with Nancy Drew then the Grande Dame of all, Agatha Christie, as well as Patricia Wentworth and more than a few American mystery writers: Elizabeth Peters, Margaret Maron, Louise Penny, Martha Grimes and the lis......more

An Impartial Witness is the sequel to A duty to the Dead and I was eager to read this book since this series has become a favorite of mine. It's the early summer of 1917 and Bess Crawford is returning home from the trenches of France with a convoy of wounded men. One of the patients is Lt. Meriwethe......more

Goodreads review by Emma

I know I should be admiring Bess Crawford for her determination and perseverance in trying to prove a man innocent, but I have to say I found her intensely annoying! The mystery despite this was interesting and engaging. I find something very more-ish in the writing of the Charles Todd team.......more


Quotes

“Remarkable.” New York Times Book Review

“Although the use of coincidence in a murder mystery is generally frowned upon, Todd takes one giant coincidence and builds a plot around it to great effect. This second book in the Bess Crawford series places this mother-son writing duo at the top of their plotting game, with intricate twists and plenty of viable suspects. The meticulously realized period detailing is an intrinsic part of a story that is much more than a whodunit.” RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, Top Pick!)

“A book rich in atmosphere and dense with plot.” St. Louis Post-Dipatch

“A superb whodunit…and a moving evocation of a world at war.” Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Finely plotted and full of meticulous period detail and deft characterizations.” Strand