A
Forgotten Place
by Charles Todd is a suspenseful story with engaging characters.
Their best books are the ones that flesh out the hero and
heroine, allowing readers to get to know more and more of
the beloved characters, in this case, Bess Crawford. The story
delves into the very dark aftermath of WW1 that has left many
embittered and broken men.
It is a story about amputees. “We Wrote how German machine
gunners took people out from their knees down, basically mowing
them down. They did this knowing an injured solider would
take two fit men to take them off the battlefield. A lot of
men lost legs as a result of these machine gunners. We wanted
to show the psychological burden these men had to go through
because back then many did not have a way to regain their
place in society. These men did the physical work of mining
and their injuries prevented them from being employed. We
wrote this book quote, “Their wounds had done what the
Germans never could-broken their spirits.” A prayer
of almost every man in the Great War, ‘I don’t
mind dying, but please don’t maim me.’”
The plot compassionately relates how the war has ended, but
the suffering and agony of the injured has not disappeared
Bess is tending to soldiers who lost limbs and are suicidal.
A group of Welsh soldiers, whose serious injuries make their
future employment doubtful, feel they have no reason to live.
Worried about being a financial drain upon their families,
they often commit suicide to eliminate the problem. Coal miners
by profession, they are now unable to perform the grueling,
physical labor required. This includes Captain Hugh Williams,
someone Bess has built a bond with. After being discharged,
he writes Bess a letter detailing the suicides of some soldiers
she nursed back to health and asks for her help in preventing
others from taking their life. Able to get a few days leave,
Bess seeks out Williams, ending up in a desolate, secretive,
and isolated town on the Welsh coast. When bodies wash ashore,
it becomes clear, that the villagers have a secret, one that
they are willing to kill for. Because she assumes it is her
responsibility to investigate, she puts her life in danger
as the villagers’ hostility towards her increases.
“We incorporated how Bess had to solve the mystery by
putting the clues together bit by bit. The townspeople didn’t
want strangers to come down and take everything away. They
were desperate to keep their secrets. They live their lives
by their own set of rules where everyone knows each other’s
business. They resent newcomers coming in and spoiling their
world. The mystery is centered around “The Worm,”
the isolation of the small town, and a shipwreck during the
Charles II era that we twisted to make a story.”
The vivid description of the Gower Peninsula in southern Wales
creates the right atmosphere for a suspenseful story. Its
stormy weather, harsh, unforgiving landscape and unfriendly
citizens adds a level of menace to the mystery.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Duty
to the Dead, #1 [review]
Impartial Witness, #2 [review]
Bitter Truth, #3 [review
1] [review
2]
An Unmarked Grave, #4 [review]
A Question of Honor #5 [review]
An Unwilling Accomplice #6 [review]
A Pattern of Lies #7 [review]
The Shattered Tree # 8 [review]
A Casualty of War #9 [column/review]
The Forgotten Place #10 [review]
Cruel Deception #11 [review]
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