An Impartial Witness (Charles Todd)

This second story of the intrepid WWI nurse Bess Crawford is as gentle and as strong as she is. Gentle, not in the sense that nothing bad ever happens, for there are murder and mayhem and life-and-death knife fights, but in the sense that Bess herself is a good soul, struggling to see that right triumphs in a dark world. There is an interesting mystery beginning with the murder of a young woman, where Bess is an impartial witness to some of her last hours. From there, the mystery spirals, taking in additional people and additional crimes. There were a few spots where I was annoyed at how much she pushed other people to accept her view of things because she knew she was right, only to have her view overturned moments later, and now she knows her new view is right. In the end she did wind up solving the mystery, so it all came to a satisfactory conclusion. I enjoyed the feeling of England during this bloody, heart-tearing war and the stoicism of the people determined to keep finding the best in life despite everything.