Accompanied by her friend Simon Brandon, she heads north to find the missing man herself.Ĭarefully questioning suspicious locals, Bess and Simon follow a trail of clues across England. The moral implications - that a patient in her charge has committed murder - become more important to Bess than her own future. But the sergeant has disappeared again and neither the Army nor the police can find him. If Bess is to clear her name and return to duty in France, she must prove that she was never his accomplice. More disturbing news complicates her already difficult situation: The Army now considers Wilkins a deserter, and Scotland Yard questions her when Wilkins is suspected of killing a man in cold blood. There is a humiliating inquiry, and the incident is noted in her record. Both the Army and the Nursing Service hold Bess to blame for losing the war hero.

But on the morning after the ceremony when Bess goes to collect her charge for his return journey, she finds the room empty. Heavily bandaged and confined to a wheelchair, the soldier will be in her care for barely a day. Though she is certain she's never met or nursed Sergeant Jason Wilkins, she cannot refuse the honor. She's been requested to accompany a wounded soldier to Buckingham Palace, where he's to be decorated for gallantry by King George himself. World War I battlefield nurse Bess Crawford's career and life are in jeopardy when a murder is committed on her watch, in this absorbing and atmospheric historical mystery from New York Times best-selling author Charles Todd.Īrriving in London on leave, Bess Crawford receives an unusual summons from the War Office.

An unwilling accomplice by charles todd