Nurse Bess Crawford is back in the twelfth novel in the series, AN IRISH HOSTAGE. With the Great War over and Bess's nursing services no longer in need in battlefield hospitals, she has returned home to England and is trying to figure out the next step in her life. To fulfill a promise made early on in the war, Bess travels to Ireland to serve as the Maid of Honor at a fellow nurse's wedding. Upon Bess's arrival, she is subjected to hostility from the local Irish. The Irish are hoping for Home Rule, and they are hostile against anyone who is English or who fought for England. Eileen Flynn and her fiancé, Michael Sullivan, have been on the receiving end of the hostility—including from the bride's extended family. Not long before Bess arrives in Ireland, the groom goes missing. Bess joins in on the search to find Michael before the wedding. When Michael does show up, he is badly beaten and in need of Bess's nursing skills. Instead of fleeing Ireland for her own safety, Bess decides to remain and care for Michael. While trying to get Michael healed enough to leave Ireland, his best man goes missing. Bess, along with the help of Simon Brandon and Eileen's cousin who staunchly supports the Home Rule, go in search of the missing English officer before he meets a fate worse than Michael's.

AN IRISH HOSTAGE is a great addition to the Bess Crawford series. With the war over and Bess's days as a nursing sister almost over, it is good to see her growing and making decisions based on the future. It's also interesting to see Bess in another hostile environment outside of France or England. Charles Todd weaves the history of the 1916 Easter Rising throughout the novel and shows Bess (and the reader) why the Irish are so angry with England and why they feel betrayed by some of the Irish who fought for England during the war. Some sections of the novel dragged at times, and sometimes it was a bit unbelievable as to why Bess would remain in Ireland where she was clearly in danger when she could have easily escaped back to England. That being said, I enjoyed the novel. And, considering the way AN IRISH HOSTAGE ended, I can't wait to see what happens next between Bess and Simon.

I have enjoyed all of the Bess Crawford novels, including this one. I wasn't sure about it at first, since it takes in Ireland, after the end of the First World War. However, once I started reading, I really enjoyed it.
I was afraid that this might be the last book in the series, but the ending makes it clear that the series will continue-excellent news! I recommend this series to our patrons on a regular basis.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this title.

Charles Todd takes us on another intriguing adventure with Bess Crawford in their latest mystery An Irish Hostage!

As the title implies, this time we see Bess in Ireland, visiting the Emerald Isle to attend a wedding of a friend, amid the tensions after the Easter Rising. While I preferred the mysteries with the World War I setting, this one still was a page turner for me.

Perhaps my favorite part, though, is the character development with Bess. Now that the war is over, she has been afraid to think, let alone plan, for her future, and she has a realization towards the end of this installment that makes me very excited for the next one! Overall, a very enjoyable read.

I recommend this series to lovers of historical mysteries.

4.5 stars, rounded up 5

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for this copy, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Bess has been asked to serve as bridesmaid for a fellow nurse - a duty she intends to accomplish despite the current hostilities in southern Ireland. When she arrives the groom is missing, other family members hate her simply because she is English and an artist is found dead. A wonderful story and a great addition to this series. loved it!

This book was really good! It was a mystery that was actually eventful and curious. It was historical, it was entertaining and even gave hint to some romance!

I enjoyed the many facets of this book and the characters as well. Some of them were quite odd and the mystery itself really quite shocked me! There was some action in this book that kept me thinking and it was inclusive of historical aspects that were accurate. I am rarely surprised by a book but this was a great read and I would most definitely recommend it!

World War One nurse Bess Crawford is at a crossroads. The war is over and instead of being assigned to a convalescent hospital, she has been placed on leave and begins to consider a future outside the nursing service. Her leave gives her the opportunity to travel to Ireland to be maid of honor at another nurse's wedding, but the groom disappears a few days before the wedding, reappearing bloody and beaten at the church just in time for the ceremony.

The English are not popular in an Ireland struggling to gain independence and Bess is not welcomed by the family or the neighbors as she investigates the disappearance of the groom and his best man, an English officer.

The postwar books in this long running series have fallen into a pattern with Bess in a remote, hostile environment, unable to depart or seek help to solve a mystery, saved by Simon, her father's sargeant, at the last minute. The plot of this book is hard to believe, especially Simon's appearance and the events that save the missing major and extricate them from Ireland. The series needs to move in a new direction to keep readers coming back.

I have long been a fan of Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge books but have never read any of the Bess Crawford mysteries. So I decided to try one of these. Bess is a wonderful character. Resourceful, intelligent, compassionate, she has survived the Great War and is on her way to Ireland for a wedding. Upon her arrival, she is told that the groom has gone missing. Awash with the politics of 1916 after the Easter Rising, as an Englishwoman, Bess is suspect and in danger. Of course, she will try to find the absent groom.

The mother/son duo of Charles Todd as a good job of explaining to a new reader what has happened in the first eleven books. I probably should have started with the first book in the series and not jumped in on the twelfth.

With World War 1 fighting over, nurse Bess Crawford heads to Ireland to celebrate the wedding of a grateful patient.

She lands in the middle of a conflict just as fierce. A determination to be free pits the Irish against England but also against each other. It is no place for an English nurse or the English soldier who also braved the conflict to attend the wedding.

This latest in the Bess Crawford series paints a beautiful picture of Ireland.

I’m a Bess Crawford fangirl, and #12 in this hf series is my fav yet! Bess, a nurse who served for the Brits in WWI France, goes to Ireland for a friend’s wedding and finds herself in a rat’s nest. With the Irish suspicious of any Brit, Beth is in danger as she susses out the bridegroom’s disappearance and unravels intrigues and murder. She’s a wonder!

Charles Todd’s novels make history a joy, and here we learn about the Irish Troubles and the tense relationship with England. But what I love most is how much Bess has grown. FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY she realizes her feelings for family friend Simon. So many readers have BEGGED for them to marry. Will they? That’s the magnetic pull that hooks me most. Book #13 can’t come soon enough!

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 06 Jul 2021
#AnIrishHostage #NetGalley

Grateful to Charles Todd, William Morrow and Custom House, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

Todd's latest Bess Crawford mystery finds Bess headed to Ireland to serve as maid of honor for a friend's wedding. It would be innocuous enough - except for the fact that Ireland is in turmoil after The Rising, and English folks are vilified. Especially British army officers and nurses.

As always, the setting and history are wonderful, and the mystery explores contemporary emotions at the time. Bess must find the bridegroom who's disappeared and solve a murder, all while examining hr own prejudices and the complex issues surrounding the Troubles.

Though the mystery plot is predictable, if reasonable, the real treat for series fans is Bess's realization of her feelings for Simon. She's at a crossroads in life - in her career and her relationships - and fans will be wondering what comes next.

I couldn’t wait to read this ARC edition of the Bess Crawford Mystery, An Irish Hostage. I’m a huge fan and have read all the novels and short stories. They are engaging, fast-paced mysteries with just enough grit to keep them from being “cozy.” The depictions of WWI and its after-effects are well-researched and educational without being too bogged down with information. What sets them apart from other war-time mysteries is their constant shifts between the main character’s life on the battlefield and the homefront.

AIH takes place just after war’s end and strong-willed nursing sister, Bess, is struggling with the decision of what to do with her future. (We fans who have similar opinions as to what Beth should do with her future, may be pleasantly surprised by some of the developments). She is invited to be the wedding attendant of another nursing sister in an Irish village still seething from the outcome of The Rising.

Why Bess is so determined to go into such danger for a woman more selfish than smart is the real mystery to me. The bride, who seems little more than a co-worker, alternates between whiny and hostile, but Bess refuses to abandon her. The groom, an Irishman who is viewed as a traitor because of his enlistment in the British army, is missing. His groomsman, a British officer who has the bad sense to go out walking by himself in a village full of murderous Rebels, is abducted. One unfortunate witness is murdered, and Bess, with the help of her ever-loyal Simon (sadly missed in the last book), brings everything to a satisfying conclusion.

Bess’s character can be annoying at times—stubborn, sometimes willfully-blind, and loyal to a fault. She becomes too emotionally involved with the problems of strangers, often at the expense of her loved ones. I would dearly love to see someone say “no” to her once in a while, but then we probably wouldn’t have our mystery. Still, she’s quick-witted, warm-hearted, and brave, and one can’t help but love her.

Another strong story in this long-running and wonderfully reliable series. This time the action is in Ireland and the unrest there is at a boiling point, endangering the lives of Bess and others who are visiting for a wedding. The reader does wonder why in the world two English people (one a British soldier!) would decide to go to a wedding in the middle of the intense Irish turmoil and deep, violent resentment of the British. And why the bride, who is a surprisingly unpleasant character, would insist on having English people at her wedding is a mystery. In any case, the story is compelling enough, even if the premise is a bit shaky. All in all, it is good reading for fans, and we advance bit more into the complex relationship between Bess and her faithful Simon. That is probably the most tantalizing piece of the story!

We always buy Charles Todd for our library. He's our go to for patrons looking for well written, compelling historical mysteries.

Historical fiction is not my usual genre but I was very interested in reading something by Charles Todd.

Bess Crawford finds herself in a situation in Ireland after the Great War and Easter Rising of 1916.
Eileen Flynn and Michael Sullivan plan to wed in the small village of Ireland where Eileen was raised. Michael has been kidnapped due to beliefs that anyone that had served in France is a traitor.

Bess had made a promise to Eileen to be there for her wedding, in which this also puts Bess in danger. No one can be trusted until Bess puts her faith in Terrence Flynn, Eileen's cousin. Terrence helps Bess and the others in danger leave Ireland to safety.

I've read the entire "Bess Crawford" series and this is the most realistic book yet! Great read and much more believable than previous books. Bess is invited to Ireland to be a part of the wedding of a former nursing sister while she is waiting to find out if her military nursing job is going away or will continue, but things don't go as planned. All her training, including that from Simon and as a surgical nurse, is needed (and tested) on this trip. My only complaint is the cliffhanger ending! :)

A fairly engaging Bess Crawford mystery (#12). It’s June 1919, WWI is over, and Bess has promised to stand up at her friend’s wedding in Ireland. This is three years after the Easter Rebellion (or Rising) in 1916 and tensions are still very high. When the groom disappears two days before the wedding, Bess finds herself in danger as well.

I’d say the last third of the book was very exciting and I definitely had no trouble finishing. There was a lot of filler and repetition — kind of like Anne Perry novels — and I feel like I learned a lot about the Irish situation from reading this book (it was more of a background for the story but I would have preferred to gain a little more knowledge). The characters were well done and the writing decent. I had a little trouble with the premise — why would two Irish people who had served in the British army insist on having a wedding in a place where tensions were so high and have two English people standing up for them? Still, I like the Bess Crawford character and there is a bit of an emotional cliffhanger at the end so I will of course have to read #13!

Started reading the book, but I quickly lost interest. This author is extremely popular but I got too bogged down with the characters.. Maybe try at a later time.