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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Torn between four and three stars--let's say four-minus. I can see promise in this as the first book in a series, as well as an author (two, actually--a mother and son) trying to find a coherent voice. I look forward to another Ian Rutledge book, filling the in the blanks on a character who isn't completely fleshed out, at this point.
The problem with the book--and it's a real issue--is the number of characters and the complexity of the plot. You find yourself thinking 'Who's Mrs. Grayson, again? Where does she fit in?' I am not a fan of books where you have to flip back a chapter or two to remind yourself of just where this person fits into the grand scheme.
The strength of the book, conversely, is Rutledge himself, struggling to stay upright and suppress the shell shock that still devils him (as, we find out mid-book, it would anyone who's lived through what Rutledge experienced). He will be a compelling character in future books, as the Todds hit their stride.
The problem with the book--and it's a real issue--is the number of characters and the complexity of the plot. You find yourself thinking 'Who's Mrs. Grayson, again? Where does she fit in?' I am not a fan of books where you have to flip back a chapter or two to remind yourself of just where this person fits into the grand scheme.
The strength of the book, conversely, is Rutledge himself, struggling to stay upright and suppress the shell shock that still devils him (as, we find out mid-book, it would anyone who's lived through what Rutledge experienced). He will be a compelling character in future books, as the Todds hit their stride.
Good character development and nice start to a series; it takes a bit more concentration than an Agatha Christie, but a bit less than, say, Dashiell Hammett.
A decent mystery, but nothing really grabbed me. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series or not. I may pick up book 2 if I find myself in the mood for a mystery.
Man comes back to London after WWI with PTSD and having conversations with a voice in his head, to return to being a detective. Lead officer who hates him sends him to a challenging case outside of London where the typical occurs and an abused trope is core to solving the problem. Above average, but not by much. About a 3.5.
I picked this one up because the premise and the period were intriguing; the immediate aftermath of The Great War isn't often explored. I stayed up until 2am last night, racing along with Rutledge to finally resolve the mystery. The story is tight, the characters are interesting, and the clues keep you guessing all the way to the end. If you like hard-boiled detective novels, this is for you.
A nicely crafted mystery, full of interwar period details. Making the sidekick a voice in the protagonist's head is a new one. Todd has a tendency to draw the plots out longer than seems strictly necessary, inserting delaying tactics and occasionally frustrating blindness to key details, but the writing is good enough to keep pulling me through.
Ian Rutledge is home from the War and back at Scotland Yard, but he is not the same brilliant detective who left five years earlier. He is secretly suffering from shell shock. The taunting voice of young corporal Hamish, who was executed on Rutledge's orders, is the policeman's constant companion. After World War 1 those with shell shock were often seen as cowards and lunatics. Imagine then Rutledge's horror when his first solo case after returning to the Yard seems to depend on the testimony of a man with severe shell shock who is implicating a decorated war hero and friend of the Royal family in the murder of another upstanding career soldier. It's a case that could ruin his career - which is just what his jealous superior at the Yard is hoping it will do.
Rutledge finds that everyone in the village seems to know something about the murder of Colonel Harris, but that nobody wants to talk. Are they all afraid that evidence is pointing to the hero, Captain Wilton? Though he senses that everybody is keeping secrets, Rutledge's formerly sharp intuition seems to fail him as it replaced by Hamish's constant mockery.
This was a tough mystery to solve because it seemed like there should be no reason that anybody would want to hurt Harris. Everybody liked and admired the man, and yet he was most certainly murdered and quite brutally. However, the clues were there all along; I just didn't realize it until the end of the book. The characters were well-developed and the smaller story lines were interesting. My biggest complaint was that it dragged a bit in parts and could perhaps have been shortened to remove some of the slower bits. However, the slower bits did help develop an understanding of characters.
I love Charles Todd's series with Bess Crawford, and I initially found myself wishing that she was the focus of this book instead of Ian Rutledge. However, I soon came to appreciate the Inspector and the special approach that he brought to investigation. It was painful watching him struggle with his PTSD and trying to keep it a secret, and I felt his frustration when nobody wanted to cooperate with his investigation. I think it was an excellent first book and I will read more in the series.
Rutledge finds that everyone in the village seems to know something about the murder of Colonel Harris, but that nobody wants to talk. Are they all afraid that evidence is pointing to the hero, Captain Wilton? Though he senses that everybody is keeping secrets, Rutledge's formerly sharp intuition seems to fail him as it replaced by Hamish's constant mockery.
This was a tough mystery to solve because it seemed like there should be no reason that anybody would want to hurt Harris. Everybody liked and admired the man, and yet he was most certainly murdered and quite brutally. However, the clues were there all along; I just didn't realize it until the end of the book. The characters were well-developed and the smaller story lines were interesting. My biggest complaint was that it dragged a bit in parts and could perhaps have been shortened to remove some of the slower bits. However, the slower bits did help develop an understanding of characters.
I love Charles Todd's series with Bess Crawford, and I initially found myself wishing that she was the focus of this book instead of Ian Rutledge. However, I soon came to appreciate the Inspector and the special approach that he brought to investigation. It was painful watching him struggle with his PTSD and trying to keep it a secret, and I felt his frustration when nobody wanted to cooperate with his investigation. I think it was an excellent first book and I will read more in the series.
Pretty good mystery. Set in England, just after the first world war, so its an old-style mystery, no forensic stuff going on. The most interesting part of the overall mystery, is that the Inspector working the case just cannot find anyone who disliked the victim. So establishing motive becomes his toughest task.
This is the first in the series about Inspector Rutledge, himself a war veteran, fighting the devils he has brought back from the war. The author pitches us right into the action, and we know about the murder from the first three paragraphs of the book! Its also well established that Rutledge is expected to fail by his superiors, and this might be something of a running theme through the series, as its not completely explained why Rutledge's boss doesn't like him.
However, the problem i faced with the book is that it sort of loses the urgency at times, and its a bit repetitive at times, with the same facts being reiterated by several characters, over several chapters. But the writing is pretty good, and it wasn't so bad that i lost interest. The climax was pretty satisfying for me, and suddenly a lot of the buildup started to make sense!
So ya, liked it. Will definitely try more from the series. But my current favorite mystery writers still remain Colin Cotterill, Henning Mankell and Andrea Camilleri!
This is the first in the series about Inspector Rutledge, himself a war veteran, fighting the devils he has brought back from the war. The author pitches us right into the action, and we know about the murder from the first three paragraphs of the book! Its also well established that Rutledge is expected to fail by his superiors, and this might be something of a running theme through the series, as its not completely explained why Rutledge's boss doesn't like him.
However, the problem i faced with the book is that it sort of loses the urgency at times, and its a bit repetitive at times, with the same facts being reiterated by several characters, over several chapters. But the writing is pretty good, and it wasn't so bad that i lost interest. The climax was pretty satisfying for me, and suddenly a lot of the buildup started to make sense!
So ya, liked it. Will definitely try more from the series. But my current favorite mystery writers still remain Colin Cotterill, Henning Mankell and Andrea Camilleri!
As I was listening to the audiobook, I was thinking that I wasn’t particularly impressed. The story was a slow moving, there were far too many characters all with bland British names that were too easy to mix up, and it felt like the solution was obvious.
Once it was over, I had a slightly different perspective. On the plus side, I hadn’t even begun to suspect the actual solution to the murder. Although I’d be surprised if anyone did, given the number of characters and side plots.
But more than anything I found myself rooting for inspector Rutledge and his battle with his personal demons. I’m not sure these books are going to get more exciting, and I’m certainly hoping that the authors find a better way to disguise the secret than by burying us in characters, but I am willing to give it another go just to see how the inspector’s character develops.
Once it was over, I had a slightly different perspective. On the plus side, I hadn’t even begun to suspect the actual solution to the murder. Although I’d be surprised if anyone did, given the number of characters and side plots.
But more than anything I found myself rooting for inspector Rutledge and his battle with his personal demons. I’m not sure these books are going to get more exciting, and I’m certainly hoping that the authors find a better way to disguise the secret than by burying us in characters, but I am willing to give it another go just to see how the inspector’s character develops.