The Irish question

An Irish Hostage (Bess Crawford Mysteries #12) by Charles Todd        

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Bess becomes embroiled in the Irish Troubles—after the 1916 Easter Uprising, and some of those involved. Having said she’d be bridesmaid for an Irish friend and nurse, Eileen Flynn, whose leg she saved when the ship they were on sank, she flies to Ireland despite her father’s (Colonel Sahib) misgivings. Eileen’s cousin, a leader with the Defenders during the Dublin Post Office stand, wanted for his actions by the British, stands as surety for Bess’s safety. When the groom goes missing and then later the best man, Bess finds herself in house where the matriarch is rampantly anti British. Who could be trusted, who was at the bottom of the kidnapping. Then Bess has a run in with the Constable. Should she confess her identity or try to solve the problem?

Bess has some close calls. My heart was in my mouth. Simon Brandon is on hand fortunately—in a very different guise. But just exactly what is their relationship. The old ways of being are changing and Bess is unsure.

Another historically accurate, defining episode in Bess’s story!

A William Morrow and Custom House ARC via NetGalley