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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
An unexpected pleasure. World War I's impact on individuals explored and a great mystery.
One of my top favorite authors for historical mysteries.
Some very innovative plot lines and character development and research of topic are quite well done.
Both this series and the Bess Crawford series are outstanding.
Some very innovative plot lines and character development and research of topic are quite well done.
Both this series and the Bess Crawford series are outstanding.
I wasn't sure until the very end who the culprit was in this 1st Ian Rutledge mystery.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I find Hamish tedious. Perhaps he will grow on me if I read others in this series.
I enjoyed "A Test of Wills" very much and found it a captivating experience. The narrative's vivid construction of time and place transported me to another era, making the story genuinely immersive. As someone who appreciates well-crafted prose, I found Todd's writing style engaging and evocative. While the ending was a tad gimmicky and unconvincing for my taste, I am keen to read the subsequent books in the series, which is generally a sound endorsement of a genre novel!
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
A fascinating premise--a British WWI veteran returns from the trenches suffering from vicious shell shock and tries to reclaim his life as a detective. The book is a lovely psychological study that left me curious to know more about the main character--I see he has nine other books, so I might delve into them as well.
I'm not a big mystery fan, so I'm not the best judge of that side of the story. The book features a wonderfully vivid cast of interesting characters, but a couple of the twists I spotted far too early (I suspect they were meant to be obvious in order to be red herrings) and the actual solution came out of left field entirely. There were some clues, and it certainly fit thematically, but I don't particularly see how anyone could have put that one together. Still, it was very enjoyable and interesting and I'd like to read some more about Ian Rutledge.
I'm not a big mystery fan, so I'm not the best judge of that side of the story. The book features a wonderfully vivid cast of interesting characters, but a couple of the twists I spotted far too early (I suspect they were meant to be obvious in order to be red herrings) and the actual solution came out of left field entirely. There were some clues, and it certainly fit thematically, but I don't particularly see how anyone could have put that one together. Still, it was very enjoyable and interesting and I'd like to read some more about Ian Rutledge.
I read a lot of mystery fiction and this book is much better than average. Inspector Ian Rutledge is home from the trenches of France and has reclaimed his job at Scotland Yard, but he is haunted by the voice of a Scottish soldier he executed on the battlefield. Rutledge struggles to maintain his composure and equilibrium and fears he will sink back into the depths of shell-shock if he cannot continue to work.
A colleague who hopes to destroy Rutledge's career sends him to the countryside to investigate the murder of a retired military officer, and the chief suspect is a decorated pilot and friend of the King. Rutledge finds himself immersed in village politics as he struggles to uncover secrets, and as mystery readers know, no one keeps secrets better than English villagers.
I normally would think the number of significant characters high for a short novel but Rutledge keeps them in balance, ties up most loose ends and illustrates the sorrow of post-WWI Britain without (usually) coming up maudlin. I guessed only part of the twisty ending. I read a few things that felt anachronistic but I can't remember them now--otherwise the book flows well, with a few abrupt changes in POV.
This series came highly recommended and I cannot wait to read more of Charles Todd's books.
A colleague who hopes to destroy Rutledge's career sends him to the countryside to investigate the murder of a retired military officer, and the chief suspect is a decorated pilot and friend of the King. Rutledge finds himself immersed in village politics as he struggles to uncover secrets, and as mystery readers know, no one keeps secrets better than English villagers.
I normally would think the number of significant characters high for a short novel but Rutledge keeps them in balance, ties up most loose ends and illustrates the sorrow of post-WWI Britain without (usually) coming up maudlin. I guessed only part of the twisty ending. I read a few things that felt anachronistic but I can't remember them now--otherwise the book flows well, with a few abrupt changes in POV.
This series came highly recommended and I cannot wait to read more of Charles Todd's books.
A 3.5 for me. This is the first book in another mystery series I decided to try based on the books Chelsea Clinton mentioned in a recent NYT interview. (Clearly, she's a big mystery fan.) Given the post World War I England setting, "A Test of Wills" reminded me a bit of the Maisie Dobbs series but this time the detective, Ian Rutledge, is a Scotland Yard inspector who's returned to duty after treatment for PTSD. The only trouble is, despite the best efforts of his doctors, he's still hearing voices--or more specifically one voice, that of his dead Scottish sergeant, who also seems to double as Rutledge's conscience. That voice is about the only companion the detective has left, since he's been abandoned by the love of his life who found his post-war transformation too frightening to bear. He spends much of the book wondering if he's still a good detective or if his sixth sense for figuring out who-done-it is another casualty of the war. Although I liked Rutledge (and rather enjoyed the Sergeant's voice) many of the secondary characters felt one-dimensional. And there's no evidence yet of a world of characters for Rutledge to interact with. I may try the next one, in hopes it will avoid the overly elegiac tone that plagues the Maisie Dobbs series.