The Girl on the Beach

Bess Crawford #1.1

by Charles Todd

Book description to come.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Historical, Mystery Thriller, Historical Mystery

Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2010

About the author

Charles Todd was the pen name used by the mother-and-son writing team, Caroline Todd and Charles Todd. Now, Charles writes the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford Series. Charles Todd ha spublished three standalone mystery novels and many short stories.

Reviews

[Magdalena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bess Crawford finds a dead body on a beach in “The Girl on the Beach” and she and the local police try to find out who the dead girl is and who took her life. I liked the story. I got introduced to Bess for the first time and I instantly liked her and felt that I wanted to know more about her.

3.5 stars

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very fast read - even shorter than a "novella" - it's a nice way to start the bess crawford series, but the story lacks something that i could not define, this is probably due to the fact it was so short - but this introduction to the character of bess crawford has me thinking that i shall become a big fan of hers

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this short story did its job. I now want to read the first book in the series.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story, but got me interested in reading other books in this series.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

While on leave from nursing on the floating hospital, Britannic... Bess took a walk along the Sussex coast of Easterly and found the body of a pretty well~dressed girl on the beach... it turned out that she was murdered... stabbed at the back... by a pair of scissors so they were later informed by the coroner. A very short narrative... the case's resolution was then relayed to Bess by a letter from the Inspector in charge. Still a nice enough prose to keep a fan interested as well as a warm "Hello" to a dear and beloved heroine.

P.S. ~ Judging from the comments below... This very short and FREE publication generated enough Blurb to titillate as well as enough hype for new readers... so Congratulations!... that was a Brilliant move... considering that Bess might be embarking on a new 'career' after 12 books and some short stories and/or novellas and given the end of the Great War... ergo the dire need for nurses had largely been diminished... although it must be mentioned here that Britain would still need dedicated nurses of Bess Crawford's calibre... Bess' future from this point on could then maybe include Simon Brandon.

[Brian Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It was 1916, the war to end all wars was now two years old, and Britain was getting tired.....we had all done our bit as the King had asked, but the human body wasn't a machine, it needed rest and good food and peace. Who still had the energy for anger, much less murder?"

Army nurse Bess Crawford is on an R & R break from the war in France and takes a trip to the English shore. There she finds the body of a young woman and insinuates herself into the subsequent police investigation. It's an excellent prequel to her later investigations. It is also an excellent short story and showcases the writing talents of Charles Todd.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

The puzzle isn't very puzzling and seems to be solved primarily by Bess's conjectures. The ending is abrupt and cursory and not very satisfying. I can't fathom how any editor would have thought the story was ready for publication.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Bess Crawford is a great character in this series as a nurse/detective.

[SFrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay story.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small story with a big punch.

[Louise Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute but short. I wanted more 😀

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick short story on my kindle that brings me back to the beginning of the Bess Crawford series. Always good to catch up with her.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will be reading this in a paperback edition which is not a listed option on goodreads. I never use Kindle or ebooks!!!! Bess Crawford finds the body of a young woman on the beach. We eventually learn that two individuals are in on the scheme. One member of the duo panics when asked the age of her "brother". This did not seem to hold water for me. Even if her partner in crime is not really her brother, she could easily know the birthdate of her partner in crime. I guess with a short story you have to wrap things up quickly, but I think the "solution" should make sense. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This morning I was looking through the list Charles Todd’s books and discovered this short story. The title sounded familiar. I could not find it at amazon.com and then checked my Kindle. It is one of many free books I picked up when my kindle was new. I had not read it. Interestingly, this title is no longer listed at amazon.com.

The story is just a brief introduction to British sleuth Bess Crawford. Bess identifies with the body she finds on the beach, because she and the dead woman are both young. And because of that closeness, when she meets with the police, she is good at evaluating what might have happened.

In addition to this brief and rather bland introduction to Bess, this ebook contains the first chapter to two Bess Crawford books and one Inspector Rutledge book. If it isn't deep within your Kindle, then I suggest you not waste your time trying to find a copy.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A promising tale that, along with the first chapters of others in the Bess Crawford series, managed to hook me. I think I'll have to read others in this mystery series involving an English army nurse in WWI.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather disappointing to download this and find it just a short story of a few pages. The copy I bought contains another couple of short stories by the Todd Team. I'm not into short stories so could have easily skipped over these.

[Jennie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah, no. The title "short story" is maybe ten pages long, and not much of a mystery. Most of this is just excerpts from the author's other novels, which are intriguing enough, I suppose.

[Lesli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short. Maybe 15 pages. Long enough that I'm curious about Bess Crawford.

[Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

So enjoyed this short story and wanted more!