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There are currently 31 member reviews
for A Bitter Truth
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Mary O. (Boston, MA)
a historic yarn
I highly recommend this historic novel for perfect summer beach reading! It is a well written description of a complicated family situation during World War I with murder as the backdrop. There is good character development and twists and turns that make you love and hate some characters at the same time! It would make a great discussion for a book group. ENJOY!
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Juliet F. (clarendon hills, IL)
a very fun read!
I love this series. The character of Bess Crawford continues to solve mysteries in her typical demure-yet quietly awesome- way. I love how the other characters seem to consistently underestimate her, until they realize how sharp she is. This series also does a great job of painting the era in which it takes place, without feeling dated or stodgy. There a few plot points which are kind of a stretch, but it's well worth it in the end. Great plot, great characters, well paced- I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Penny P. (Santa barbara, Calif)
A Good Read
I read this book in one sitting. I have never read any of the other Kim Crawford books so I have nothing to compare this one to. I do not normally read mystery books but I do think this book was very interesting.
The characters were well developed and the plot was twisty. The time covered in history was something I know little about so that too was sort of fun to learn about. I will recommend it to the members of my book club that enjoy mysteries and may explore the other Kim Crawford mysteries.
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Marie D. (Waretown, NJ)
Oh, what tangled webs we weave!
The book splendidly recreates the period during World War I in England. The coming together of the protagonist, Bess Crawford, and the household of murder suspects – one wonders if it will be determined that the butler did do it - was totally random, yet it all seems to work.
The young nursing sister from a “good” family finds herself center stage in the dysfunctional, wealthy world of the Ellis family at Vixen Hill in the foreboding Ashdown Forest in Sussex. The bleak, twisted landscape and the cold, rainy damp in the house and its environs had me reaching for a cup of hot tea!
The constraining life for women at that time, defined as it was by money, position, and, most certainly, their choice of husbands, played a significant role in the story. The reader may be motivated to slap Lydia Ellis for her behavior at several points in the book. All the characters are delineated fully and all seemed to have a motive for murder!
I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
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Anat S. (Sharon, MA)
Page turner murder mystery
Set at the time of WWI in Britain with a nursing sister as a hero, this is a fast pace, page turner murder mystery written in the "Agatha Christie" style where everyone has a motive for murder and the end is unexpected. It is well written and entertaining.
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Virginia W. (Cloverdale, CA)
Crime during WWI
I really enjoyed this charming mystery story about a WWI nurse who becomes entangled with a woman who has run from her soldier husband and his family after he slapped her. The family of the soldier is complicated by previous and current deaths. It is engaging to read about a simpler time and description of crimes that not a gory as those depicted by authors who write about modern day crimes. I think this would be an excellent book to read on the beach or elsewhere during a vacation.
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Nancy E. (Sturgeon Bay, wi)
A Bitter Truth
It was with great anticipation that I approached this book. I had read the preceding two books in the series and have to say that I enjoyed them and their plucky heroine Bess Crawford. While the plot was good, the characters were not as well drawn as in the previous two books. The setting, however, was well done. I would read more in this series, but would not recommend this particular title to mystery fans.
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