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leavingsealevel's review against another edition
2.0
Giving at least the first few books of this series a try. Not sold yet, but mainly because it's all so different from the Bess Crawford series. Not a bad thing in and of itself.
reasonpassion's review against another edition
Slow and methodical
I was surprisingly intrigued as I went through, then it began to slog down and then the ending came so swiftly I didn't know what to think. Rutledge's character is nuanced and complicated and the depth of human story is well done. I'm just not sure it's enticing enough to continue.
I was surprisingly intrigued as I went through, then it began to slog down and then the ending came so swiftly I didn't know what to think. Rutledge's character is nuanced and complicated and the depth of human story is well done. I'm just not sure it's enticing enough to continue.
ljstrain28's review against another edition
3.0
More like a 3.5! I liked it and want to read the next one.
annakim's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the mystery, even though I felt that the ending was a little rushed and a bit too convenient. Ian Rutledge is a promising detective who has his share of troubles (which fictional detective doesn't?), but his demons are a bit more personal.
dibot's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
I kind of flipped flopped between 3 and 4 stars for this one. But it boiled down to being entertaining despite some plodding plot points.
It's difficult when a book has a great setting, main character, and intriguing concept, but the to-ing and fro-ing of that likeable main character within the cozy and oh-so-British town of Upper Streetham wears on your nerves.
I love the BBC. I'm a fan of cozy mysteries, and this book reads almost like a BBC detective story set just after the Great War. And the main character? Such potential for brooding angsty, and I won't ruin it for you, but a very cool psychological tic that makes for great inner conversations and really makes the murder mystery plot (whose main witness is a shell-shocked veteran much like Inspector Rutledge himself) extremely emotionally precarious for Rutledge.
But.....that pay off of delicious emotional angst isn't very deep. It kind of skims the shallows. Part of that for me was that, and especially for the female characters, there just wasn't much there. We get female POV charaters that we are TOLD have lots of depth and artistic talent (independent artist German-love Catharine Tarrant) and who are lovely, porcelain dolls who can only sit in dark drawing rooms and suffer pains of love and grief withholding secrets that can't possibly be kept secret forever when a Scotland Yard Inspector is there (Lettice Woods).
Then there's the bone-numbing repetition of certain phrases. I stopped counting how many times Rutledge or another character called him "the man from London". How many times do we have to have him go to some shop or house, introduce himself, have that minor character think to themselves "oh its the man from London" and then give him no new information but cast doubt on village trouble maker Mavers?
One or two of those would have been enough.
But like I said, I wavered. Rutledge himself has such potential, and I really liked his psychological tic, I just wanted more fleshed out characters around him and more emotional to-ing and fro-ing then actual physical him walking around the village so much (do these people not have jobs? everyone seems able to meet to exchange pleasantries in a dark room at any given moment)
I might pick up the next one hoping for some better characters, and just to see how Rutledge survives.
It's difficult when a book has a great setting, main character, and intriguing concept, but the to-ing and fro-ing of that likeable main character within the cozy and oh-so-British town of Upper Streetham wears on your nerves.
I love the BBC. I'm a fan of cozy mysteries, and this book reads almost like a BBC detective story set just after the Great War. And the main character? Such potential for brooding angsty, and I won't ruin it for you, but a very cool psychological tic that makes for great inner conversations and really makes the murder mystery plot (whose main witness is a shell-shocked veteran much like Inspector Rutledge himself) extremely emotionally precarious for Rutledge.
But.....that pay off of delicious emotional angst isn't very deep. It kind of skims the shallows. Part of that for me was that, and especially for the female characters, there just wasn't much there. We get female POV charaters that we are TOLD have lots of depth and artistic talent (independent artist German-love Catharine Tarrant) and who are lovely, porcelain dolls who can only sit in dark drawing rooms and suffer pains of love and grief withholding secrets that can't possibly be kept secret forever when a Scotland Yard Inspector is there (Lettice Woods).
Then there's the bone-numbing repetition of certain phrases. I stopped counting how many times Rutledge or another character called him "the man from London". How many times do we have to have him go to some shop or house, introduce himself, have that minor character think to themselves "oh its the man from London" and then give him no new information but cast doubt on village trouble maker Mavers?
One or two of those would have been enough.
But like I said, I wavered. Rutledge himself has such potential, and I really liked his psychological tic, I just wanted more fleshed out characters around him and more emotional to-ing and fro-ing then actual physical him walking around the village so much (do these people not have jobs? everyone seems able to meet to exchange pleasantries in a dark room at any given moment)
I might pick up the next one hoping for some better characters, and just to see how Rutledge survives.
dave37's review against another edition
3.0
A very good mystery set in post-WWI England. I love books set before the rise of modern forensic science, as it seems to leave more of the mystery in the mystery. Inspector Routledge is a compelling character - just returned from the horrors of the trenches himself, and profoundly changed by the horrors he experienced there. He is battling to find out who he is now, and whether he can still muster the mental strength to find a murderer. I look forward to reading more of this series.
roshk99's review against another edition
3.0
Set in post-World War I, this book describes the trauma felt by returning soldiers, a trauma that it is difficult to fully comprehend. Rutledge seems "damaged" by the war, which is why his superior puts him on a case that could potentially be political suicide, an easy scapegoat. But Rutledge patiently pounds away at the mystery, though the solution comes upon him quite accidentally