Book Review: ‘An Irish Hostage: A Bess Crawford Novel’ By Charles Todd

The year is 1919 and Nurse Bess Crawford in back in England waiting and hoping for a new assignment. She’s been invited to Ireland and to the wedding of her friend Eileen Flynn, who she save during The Great War. She’s marrying an Englishman/Irish man named Michael. It’s not safe to go there after Ireland tried to succeed from England. Bess is determined to go and gets a ride via the airplane of Grant’s friend Captain Jackson, who will drop her off and pick her up. When they arrive things don’t seem right. It turns out Michael has vanished and no one knows what happened to him. Was he killer, kidnapped and being held for questioning. Captain Jackson insists Bess return with him to London but she is staying and going to investigate and hopefully find Michael. This is unfamilar land for Bess and she doesn’t know it or the people and they don’t take kindly to an English stranger asking questions. And of course that leads to a dead body and Bess doesn’t know who she can trust and it could be the end of her.

Another solid mystery from the Mother/Son writing team (they also write the Ian Rutledge series). This is the 12th novel with Bess and they keep getting better and better. The setting of Ireland and the after affects of the Irish uprising of the 2016 Easter Rising still are in play. The writers have captured the time perfectly.

You can pick up An Irish Hostage in stores Tuesday, July 6th from William Morrow.