A Bess Crawford Mystery #1 September 2009On Sale: September 1, 2009Featuring: Bess Crawford; Jonathan Graham336 pages ISBN: 0061791768EAN: 9780061791765Hardcover$24.99 Mystery, Mystery Historical Buy at Amazon.com A Duty To The Deadby Charles Todd From the brilliantly imaginative New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd comes an unforgettable new character in an exceptional new series England, 1916. Independent-minded Bess Crawford’s upbringing is far different from that of the usual upper-middle-class British gentlewoman. Growing up in India, she learned the importance of responsibility, honor, and duty from her offi­cer father. At the outbreak of World War I, she followed in his footsteps and volunteered for the nursing corps, serving from the battlefields of France to the doomed hospital ship Britannic. On one voyage, Bess grows fond of the young, gravely wounded Lieutenant Arthur Graham. Something rests heavily on his conscience, and to give him a little peace as he dies, she promises to deliver a message to his brother. It is some months before she can carry out this duty, and when she’s next in England, she herself is recovering from a wound. When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother’s last wishes with surprising indifference….

This last week I read Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs. I picked this book because the DFW TeaReaders is having Ms. Childs as a call in guest in May, and I decided that a different genre would be fun to read, and what if I discovered a new fun author in the process. I really enjoyed Death by Darjeeling, and look forward to continuing with this series, and perhaps exploring the other series that Laura Childs writes. Had it not been for my desire to more fully participate in the conversation I would have missed a delightful series. I got lucky and Laura Childs was an author that worked for me. However not every new author I try does that. A friend in book club read and loved Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl…. I mean to the point where she wasn’t participating in pre dinner conversation because she was so engrossed in the book (and no Ms. Dahl wasn’t the phone in guest that night). Her enthusiasm for Talk Me Down and the newly published author had me thinking I needed to read it for myself. I did, and have read at least one other book by Ms….