The Shattered Tree – The Story
The Shattered Tree is the eighth book in the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd. We’re still in World War I here but rather than shuttling back and forth between France and England, Bess spends her time between the front and Paris. Not that that’s bad. It just leaves out many of the regular characters. Simon Brandon barely appears. Her mother only shortly (and a bit unbelievably). Her father? Not at all that I recall.
In this story, a soldier is found beneath a shattered tree, with torn up feet and suffering from loss of blood. He’s brough to an aid station where he runs into our heorine, Bess. It’s not long though before mystery ensues as this soldier, French, not British, actually yells in German. Is he a spy?
Quick explanations are offered. The soldier originates from Alsace but that does not satisfy Bess. She dives in headfirst to solve the mystery.
The Shattered Tree – My Thoughts
The Shattered Tree is the eighth book in the series but the first for which I paid. Previously, I was able to checkout the books from my library. I had to pay for this one and am a bit upset that I did. I keep reading these books, waiting for the war to end. I’m curious about Bess’s transition to civilion life. Will she continue as a nurse? Will she ever hook up with Simon Brandon? Yet this is the longest last year of the war ever!
Not to mention, the seventh book, A Pattern of Lies, took place in the fall of 2018 and seemed to run long enough to get us to the armistice. I expected this book for sure would carry us there. No such luck. I guess I should say, it’s the longest season of the war ever!
That’s just one issue I had with this story. The others dealt purely with all the coincidences that had to occur to advance the story. In the end, it seemed as if the author pulled the “big reveal” out of a hat. Not sure how to end the story, they (the author is a mother-son team), went for the easiest and probably the least believable solution.
It’s my least favorite of the series so far. And looking ahead to the ninth book, A Casualty of War, the war still goes on. Though apparently, the tenth book, A Forgotten Place, will finally take place after the war. Whether I stick around long enough to read that one when it’s released remains to be seen.
On the GoodReads scale, I’m giving this two stars. It was just okay.