Additional information
by Charles Todd (Author)
Though the Great War has ended, Bess Crawford finds herself caught in deadly circumstances on a remote Welsh headland in this tenth entry from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author.
The fighting has ended, the Armistice signed, but the war has left wounds that are still agonizingly raw. Battlefield Nurse Bess Crawford has been assigned to a clinic for amputees, and the Welsh patients worry her. She does her best to help them, but it's clear that they have nothing to go home to, in a valley where only the fit can work in the coal pits. When they are released, she fears that peace will do what war couldn't--take their lives.
Their officer, Captain Williams, writes to describe their despair, and his own at trying to save his men. Bess feels compelled to look into their situation, but the Army and the clinic can do nothing. Requesting leave, she quietly travels to Wales, and that bleak coal mining village, but she is too late.
Captain Williams' sister tells Bess he has left the valley. Bess is afraid he intends to kill himself. She follows him to an isolated, storm-battered peninsula--a harsh and forgotten place where secrets and death go hand in hand. Deserted by her frightened driver, Bess is stranded among strangers suspicious of outsiders. She quickly discovers these villagers are hiding something, and she's learned too much to be allowed to leave. What's more, no one in England knows where she is.
Why is there no Constable out here? And who is the mysterious Ellen? Captain Williams and his brother's widow are her only allies, and Bess must take care not to put them at risk as she tries to find answers. But there is a murderer here who is driven to kill again and again. And the next person in his sights is Simon Brandon, searching for Bess and unaware of his danger. . . .
Front Jacket
Though the Armistice has been signed and the guns silenced, the suffering has not ended. Many soldiers carry wounds that are still agonizingly raw. Back in England, battlefield Nurse Bess Crawford has been reassigned to a clinic for the severely injured. Among these patients are Welsh soldiers who will return home to their valley utterly changed. Bess knows the future will be difficult for them and their families. She fears that peace will do what war could not--take their lives.
A few weeks after the soliders return home, their officer, Captain Hugh Williams, writes to describe their despair, and his own at trying to save his men. But the Army and the clinic can do nothing. So Bess quietly travels to the bleak coal-mining village in Wales. But she is too late. His men now dead, Captain Williams has fled the valley. Fearing that he intends to kill himself, Bess follows him to an isolated, storm-battered peninsula--a harsh and forgotten place where sinister secrets and death seem to go hand in hand. Deserted by her frightened driver in the middle of the night, Bess is stranded among strangers suspicious of outsiders. She quickly discovers these villagers are hiding something, and she's learned too much to be allowed to leave.
Why is there no Constable out here? Why were two bodies that mysteriously washed ashore buried in unmarked graves without an inquiry or even a prayer? Captain Williams and his brother's widow, Rachel, are her only allies, and Bess must take care not to put them at risk as she tries to find answers. But there is a murderer here who is driven to kill again and again.
--Richmond Times-Dispatch on The Shattered TreeBack Jacket
Though the Armistice has been signed and the guns silenced, the suffering has not ended. Many soldiers carry wounds that are still agonizingly raw. Back in England, battlefield Nurse Bess Crawford has been reassigned to a clinic for the severely injured. Among these patients are Welsh soldiers who will return home to their valley utterly changed. Bess knows the future will be difficult for them and their families. She fears that peace will do what war could not--take their lives.
A few weeks after the soliders return home, their officer, Captain Hugh Williams, writes to describe their despair, and his own at trying to save his men. But the Army and the clinic can do nothing. So Bess quietly travels to the bleak coal-mining village in Wales. But she is too late. His men now dead, Captain Williams has fled the valley. Fearing that he intends to kill himself, Bess follows him to an isolated, storm-battered peninsula--a harsh and forgotten place where sinister secrets and death seem to go hand in hand. Deserted by her frightened driver in the middle of the night, Bess is stranded among strangers suspicious of outsiders. She quickly discovers these villagers are hiding something, and she's learned too much to be allowed to leave.
Why is there no Constable out here? Why were two bodies that mysteriously washed ashore buried in unmarked graves without an inquiry or even a prayer? Captain Williams and his brother's widow, Rachel, are her only allies, and Bess must take care not to put them at risk as she tries to find answers. But there is a murderer here who is driven to kill again and again.
