Mysteries Galore.com

Reviewed by Nancy Eaton

Nurse Bess Crawford is returning to England with a number of severely wounded soldiers from the battlefields in France. Among them was a severely burned victim, a pilot. His bandages had to be changed every hour and the way he looked would be enough to make anyone cringe due to the fact that he had several open burn wounds. It was believed that the one thing that kept this soldier alive was the photo of his wife that was pinned to his tunic.

While at London’s Waterloo train station, Bess notices a woman and a soldier. The woman appears to be very upset and crying. Bess could not get over the fact that the soldier did not seem to reach out to the woman to provide some kind of comfort. As Bess caught a glimpse of the woman’s face, she could not believe what she saw. There was no mistake about it. This woman is the same person in the photo the burn victim has pinned to his tunic. What is going on?

Almost by accident, Bess discovers that the mysterious woman has been murdered. The murder happened the same day that Bess saw the woman and the soldier at the train station. When her husband is told this tragic news, he commits suicide. Bess is granted leave to give her information to Scotland Yard.

Bess now finds herself involved deeper and deeper in the case. Will she be able to help solve this case?

From the moment I started reading An Impartial Witness, it just had the feel of an eerie story. It is one that is haunting and stays with the reader for a time after one is finished reading the book. The writing team of Charles Todd does an excellent job of presenting the historical facts of the time and this makes for a very interesting read. The storyline moves along at a good pace and keeps the reader intrigued. There are several characters involved in the story and the authors do a good job with their descriptions so the reader can keep track of everyone. An Impartial Witness is a great read from an excellent writing team.