An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Bess Crawford has been summoned by the War Office to accompany a wounded soldier from Shropshire to Buckingham Palace, where he's to be decorated for gallantry by King George himself.

Heavily bandaged and confined to a wheelchair, Sergeant Jason Wilkins will be in her care for barely a day. But on the morning after the ceremony when Bess goes to collect her charge for his return journey, she finds the room empty. How could such a severely wounded man vanish without a trace?

Both the Army and the Nursing Service hold Bess to blame for losing the war hero. The Army now considers Wilkins a deserter, and Scotland Yard questions Bess when Wilkins is suspected of killing a man in cold blood. If Bess is to clear her name and return to duty in France, she must prove that she was never his accomplice. But the sergeant has disappeared again and neither the Army nor the police can find him.

Following a trail of clues across England, Bess is drawn into a mystery that seems to grow darker with every discovery. But will uncovering the truth put more innocent people in jeopardy?"

My Thoughts:

All I can say after finishing this book is that I definitely don't read enough historical mysteries.  I really enjoyed this one and am excited to have finally started this series.  This was one of those books that I just found myself immersed in.  It wasn't one of those books that causes you to fly through the pages or read as fast as you can.  Instead, I immersed myself in Bess' life and the mystery that she finds herself caught up in.  I took my time with this book and enjoyed it all the more because of it.  I loved how this book really brought  me into this world and me feel like I was part of this time period.  I'm not a huge history buff but I do really love learning about different things.  I felt like I learned different things from this book in regards to nurses and the war.  The difficulties that they faced.  The life they lived.  I found all of the different details so intriguing and I really couldn't get enough!

The mystery portion of this book was very interesting and I could never quite figure out what was going on.  I liked that I was kept guessing although for me it wasn't the mystery that really pulled me in.  Instead it was all of the historical details and the characters that made this book such a winner for me.  My one complaint was there was a point where I really had no idea what was going on and who Bess and Simon were following.  I won't share any more than that so I don't spoil anything.  I will say that it turned around for me not too long after that and I felt much less confused.  

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am so excited to continue on with this series.  Yes, I started it out of order and no this didn't affect my enjoyment in the slightest.  This is one of those books that should be enjoyed and relaxed with.  One of those books to take your time with.  And that is exactly what I did.  I can easily recommend this one to mystery lovers and historical fiction fans as well.  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  One of those mysteries that should be savored!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of a TLC book tour.  Thoughts are my own!