I enjoy reading mysteries, especially when I can find a good series where each book is more compelling than the next. One of my favorite mystery authors is the mother and son team Charles Todd. They have written two intriguing mystery series. In their newest series, the Bess Crawford series, the main heroine Bess lives in England and is the daughter of a soldier. She signs up to go overseas as a nurse during the Great War.

Her main care is for the sick and wounded but in the first book, A Duty to the Dead, she finds herself embroiled in a mystery that she has to solve in order to find rest from the pleading of a dying soldier who asks her to set things right. The backdrop of having to nurse in the middle of wartime at the beginning of the twentieth century gives a historical depth to these novels.

So far there are three books in the Bess Crawford series, with the promise of more to come from the prolific duo Charles Todd. Charles Todd has also written a holiday tale titled the Walnut Tree about a titled young Scottish woman (who knows Bess Crawford) who finds her life turned upside down with the start of the war. While Bess Crawford does not figure in this story, this perspective of a young woman who is titled and protected yet wants to do her part to help during the war gives perspective in a fictionalized account of history.

The other series the Charles Todd team writes, and my personal favorite, is the Inspector Ian Rutledge series. It is quite unique in that Inspector Ian Rutledge is haunted by the ghost and memories of a man he killed while leading a regiment of soldiers in the Great war. His subordinate refused to fight, and as the commanding officer, it was up to Rutledge to deliver the killing shot, even though he himself wished to give up as well. His curse is the burden of living with this for the rest of his life.

The stories in this series are set in post-war England and Wales. Through Ians experiences and recollections as he tries to put himself together while still suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder the character of a man full of doubts and struggles yet full of integrity and capacity for growth is revealed. To Ian, the man he killed in the war is still alive, and often helps him as he solves mysteries in his capacity as inspector.

Disliked by his colleagues and struggling with his demons, the authors have created in Inspector Rutledge a fragile and damaged man who is likeable in his struggle to recapture a sense of normalcy in his life. I enjoy both of these series although I found the Ian Rutledge series to be far more compellingly layered and unique. The first book in the Rutledge series is titled A Test of Wills. The latest book in this series, Proof of Guilt will be available after Jan.29 at the Seaside Library. Both series are available at the Seaside Public Library.