South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
‘Cliff ’s Edge’ a fine Bess Crawford mystery; ‘Smile Beach Murder’ launches new series
Charles Todd’s fine novels set in Great Britain during and after World War I continue to escalate with solid plots, in-depth character studies and a look at how the war affected and changed the culture of the times.
These high standards continue in “The Cliff ’s Edge,” the 13th novel about front-line nurse Bess Crawford, whose skills and compassion are a series hallmark.
Set during the summer of 1919, “The Cliff ’s Edge” finds a restless Bess, unsure of her professional and personal future. The war ended about eight months earlier, along with it her duties as a nurse because she has resigned her position. But being at home in England with her mother, whom she dearly loves, deciding on new curtains for her bedroom, working in the garden and making jam, add to Bess’ anxiety.
Her skills are in demand when she is asked to go to Yorkshire to assist the employer of a cousin’s close friend. Lady Beatrice needs to have her gallbladder removed, and her surgeon insists a nurse be in attendance when she returns home. The aristocrat is a handful, accustomed to having her own way and insisting she doesn’t need help, but she learns to trust and respect Bess.
Recovering nicely, Lady Beatrice further imposes on Bess to travel to a remote village to help her beloved godson Gordon Neville. He was injured in a fall from a cliff, an accident that killed his childhood friend Frederick Caldwell.
But police wonder if it was an accident. Bess learns that a simmering feud and a need for revenge between the Nevilles and the Caldwells goes back decades.
Skillful plotting delving into both families’ distrust of the other adds to the tension of “The Cliff ’s Edge.” A raging storm and a local police detective’s insistence keep the characters at the mansion, creating a near-perfect locked-room mystery.
“The Cliff ’s Edge” is a story about how soldiers, nurses and other first-responders involved in intense WWI battles now deal with civilian life. The lives of each — whether on the battlefield or in hospital or with their families at home — have been shaped by their war efforts. “Served in France” becomes shorthand to describe how powerful and long-reaching those experiences and memories have been.
Charles Todd is the pseudonym of the mother and son writing team of Charles and Caroline Todd, whose two WWI-centered series have become best-sellers known for their meticulous research. In addition to the Bess Crawford series, they have written 24 novels about Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge, who suffers from shell shock.
Caroline Todd died at age 86 on Aug. 28, 2021, the month after she and Charles turned in the rough draft of “The Cliff ’s Edge,” the last book she participated in. Charles Todd recently turned in the manuscript for the next Rutledge, his solo effort.
The absorbing “The Cliff ’s Edge” shows the strength and emotional insight of the Bess Crawford series.
A light ‘Beach’ read
Alicia Bessette delivers a few smiles — as well as appealing characters, a strong sense of place and a solid plot — in her energetic “Smile Beach Murder.”
The launch of a new series, “Smile Beach Murder” works well as a story about a woman rebuilding her life after losing her dream job while making peace with her past and reconnecting with her small hometown.
Journalist Callie Padget achieved her career goal working as a reporter at the Charlotte Times. But after
several years, Callie, along with 62 of her colleagues, was laid off. Now back in her hometown of Cattail Island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the single 38-year-old writes articles for her blog that she hopes publications will pick up as freelance work while she plans her next career move.
Meanwhile, she needs a job, so she begins working at the MotherVine Bookstore, where her late mother spent many hours devouring Mary Higgins Clark novels. Callie views it as “somewhat-professional temporary employment.”
Soon after she starts at MotherVine, her old school friend Eva Meeks is found dead at the bottom of the Cattail Lighthouse — 26 years to the day from when Callie’s mother also fell from the lighthouse. The day before, Callie had spoken to Eva, who was excited about following a legend that Cattail Island contains a cache of pirate Blackbeard’s buried treasure. Callie’s journalistic instincts kick in, as well as her refusal to believe Eva committed suicide and her devotion to her mother’s memory.
Briskly paced, “Smile Beach Murder” combines a believable, light plot enhanced by appealing characters whom readers will want to befriend. Bessette’s depiction of the Outer Banks is akin to a mini vacation to the North Carolina coast, where “if heat had a sound it would be waves crashing and insects clicking and leaves stirring in undetectable breezes.”
“Smile Beach Murder” already has proven its impact on the amateur sleuth category of mysteries with its nomination for The Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Award, which will be presented during Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Awards on April 27. Bessette continues her new series with “Murder on Mustang Beach” to be published in May.
Meet the author
Alicia Bessette (“Smile Beach Murder”) will be among the authors at the Literary Feast, sponsored by the Broward Public Library Foundation. She will discuss her work during LitLive’s free mystery fiction panel 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. March 31 at the Barnes & Noble, 2051 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, 954-561-3732. Visit bplfoundation.org for details on LitLive and the Night of Literary Feast.