A Bitter Truth (Bess Crawford, #3)

A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I actually liked the one book I read in the Ian Rutledge Series better but am finding it impossible to find the 2nd book in the series Wings of Fire, which is very annoying. To me Bess Crawford's involvement in all these mysteries seems a bit contrived. Even so I do enjoy the series.

Bess arrives home unexpectedly and finds a complete stranger (Lydia) asleep on her door step and invites her in. Lydia eventually reveals that she fled to London after a fight with her husband (Roger Ellis) and that she doesn't know anyone in the city. Bess puts her plans to visit her family on hold in order to accompany Lydia (who has a concussion) back to Vixen Hall and they contrive a long friendship to make her appearance with Lydia seem normal. Luckily Lydia's Mother in law remembers that her late husband meet Bess's Father. With Bess's pedigree established she is invited to stay at the hall, for a memorial service for Roger's elder brother. After the service George blurts out that Roger has an illegitimate daughter in France that looks just like his late sister. Shortly after George has a long conversation with Bess revealing more about the girl. (Bess is in the parlor after everyone retires for the night because Lydia fled to Bess's room after the announcement). The next morning George is found murdered.

Bess has to go back to France for her nursing duties and promises Lydia she will look for the girl (Sophie). Bess confides her mission to her patient, Sergeant Larimore (I like him a lot and hope he appears in later books). Larimore takes it upon himself to find the girl and when Bess in called back to England for the inquest Larimore smuggles Sophie into England after rescuing her and the nuns from a fire. Larimore gets a message to Bess via her Mother and Bess rushes to Dover to rescue Larimore. She manages to get Larimore back on a ship to France with no trouble claiming he has a head injury and didn't understand what he was doing when he followed her to England and takes Sophie back to Vixen Hall with her. (No one else knows of Sophie's presence in England, apparently Larimore is a very good smuggler).

Lydia finds Bess feeding Sophie in the kitchen and insist on taking over the care of the child and is determined she will stay at Vixen Hall. Simeon comes to protect Bess (it seems to be the Colonel and Simon's main job after retiring is to keep Bess out of trouble along with some mysterious doings at the War Office). While the police are centering their investigation on the Ellis family Simon and Bess uncover the true motive for the murders (as more people were killed after George) was to keep the identity of a deserter hidden. When the deserter kidnaps Sophie in an effort to get Simon to leave they track him down.

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