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majkia's review
I love this series. It is written by a mother and son duo and I think that gives so much emotional depth to it. The Inspector is struggling with shell shock and memories of WWI as he attempts to find his place back in the normal world of Scotland Yard and find a way to have a fairly normal life outside of it. Since he has a ghost living in his head, it ain't easy.
Colorful characters, vivid descriptions of the lesser known countryside of Britain and Scotland, and convoluted plots made more complex by people who lie for many reasons, most of it not at all related to murder.
I was not sure at all who was the culprit in this one in particular.
Colorful characters, vivid descriptions of the lesser known countryside of Britain and Scotland, and convoluted plots made more complex by people who lie for many reasons, most of it not at all related to murder.
I was not sure at all who was the culprit in this one in particular.
cleheny's review
3.0
I purchased this book in a Kindle sale, believing that I had read it before, but I think I confused the title with an earlier Rutledge mystery. I enjoyed it, though I'm not sure I'd seek out other Rutledge mysteries if this was the only one I'd read.
Here, Rutledge is sent north to the Lake Country, to a small village that has just been shocked by the brutal murder of a young family, and the oldest child has gone missing during a freak snowstorm. Rutledge faces the familiar challenge of trying to tease out the truth from locals who don't want to share secrets or imagine a killer in their midst. The pace of this mystery is slow, and I think that's because Rutledge is thrust into a largely sedentary role. He arrives at least 3-4 days after the murders, during a storm, and after the locals have been searching for the missing boy for a couple of days. He can't go with the searchers because he doesn't know the land and will be more of a hindrance than a help in the snow. Instead, he is forced to remain in the village, getting reports and trying to tease apart the truth from the lies, as he repeatedly talks to the same few people. Even his excursions from the village have a repetitive quality.
It's not an unrealistic course of action, given the setup, but it becomes a bit tedious. The claustraphobic feeling that Rutledge feels in the valley is mirrored in the narrow set of characters and locations that he visits.
I also found the reveal a bit frustrating. The killer isn't obvious, and I'm glad of that, but the motive isn't clear, either. There's a crucial dynamic between the killer and a victim that is critical to the plot but is never explained. Certain things can be inferred, of course, but it's a bit frustrating, particularly when, after Rutledge discovers who the killer is, and he thinks that another investigator, "digging into the past," would have found something out. But there's no indication of what was in the killer's past that would have revealed his culpability. It's not a cheap resolution to the mystery, just an incomplete one.
Here, Rutledge is sent north to the Lake Country, to a small village that has just been shocked by the brutal murder of a young family, and the oldest child has gone missing during a freak snowstorm. Rutledge faces the familiar challenge of trying to tease out the truth from locals who don't want to share secrets or imagine a killer in their midst. The pace of this mystery is slow, and I think that's because Rutledge is thrust into a largely sedentary role. He arrives at least 3-4 days after the murders, during a storm, and after the locals have been searching for the missing boy for a couple of days. He can't go with the searchers because he doesn't know the land and will be more of a hindrance than a help in the snow. Instead, he is forced to remain in the village, getting reports and trying to tease apart the truth from the lies, as he repeatedly talks to the same few people. Even his excursions from the village have a repetitive quality.
It's not an unrealistic course of action, given the setup, but it becomes a bit tedious. The claustraphobic feeling that Rutledge feels in the valley is mirrored in the narrow set of characters and locations that he visits.
I also found the reveal a bit frustrating. The killer isn't obvious, and I'm glad of that, but the motive isn't clear, either. There's a crucial dynamic between the killer and a victim that is critical to the plot but is never explained. Certain things can be inferred, of course, but it's a bit frustrating, particularly when, after Rutledge discovers who the killer is, and he thinks that another investigator, "digging into the past," would have found something out. But there's no indication of what was in the killer's past that would have revealed his culpability. It's not a cheap resolution to the mystery, just an incomplete one.
majkia's review against another edition
I love this series. It is written by a mother and son duo and I think that gives so much emotional depth to it. The Inspector is struggling with shell shock and memories of WWI as he attempts to find his place back in the normal world of Scotland Yard and find a way to have a fairly normal life outside of it. Since he has a ghost living in his head, it ain't easy.
Colorful characters, vivid descriptions of the lesser known countryside of Britain and Scotland, and convoluted plots made more complex by people who lie for many reasons, most of it not at all related to murder.
I was not sure at all who was the culprit in this one in particular.
Colorful characters, vivid descriptions of the lesser known countryside of Britain and Scotland, and convoluted plots made more complex by people who lie for many reasons, most of it not at all related to murder.
I was not sure at all who was the culprit in this one in particular.
bethnellvaccaro's review
3.0
This was slow to start and a lot could have been cut out, but the end was exciting.
thatrabbitgirl's review
2.0
Read this one in two days. I'm not a big mystery reader, but this book was fine for its genre. Enjoyed the description of Urksdale--Todd develops a nice sense of time and place. Inspector Rutledge comes off as a flat character, despite his running conversations with the dead Hamish. I'd recommend this book to Brit mystery lovers.
nonna7's review
5.0
When a farmer and his family are found brutally murdered by the farmer's brother, everyone in the small village of Urksdale in northern England is horrified. The only one who seems to have escaped is the older son, Josh. A brutal blizzard makes it even harder to find him, and after a while it is assumed he is dead. He was only ten, so nobody thinks he could have been the murderer, but nobody knows what to think. The local police call in Scotland Yard, and Rutledge is sent because he is in the area. This is one of the earlier ones. Like other series, I read the first, then started reading newer ones. Now I'm catching up. This one is particularly interesting. There are so many twists and turns, more motives than would be obvious and several prime suspects. This is an excellent series.
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
4.0
I shivered a lot while reading A Cold Treachery. Not because of the suspense particularly, but because of the description of the weather during which the action takes place.
Inspector Ian Rutledge had been testifying in a case in the north of England when he was contacted by Scotland Yard to get himself to the remote village of Urskdale where a horrendous crime has taken place. Five members of a family have been murdered and the sixth member of the family, an almost ten-year-old boy, has disappeared. Did he do the killing? Or was he a witness who escaped the carnage but can tell who did it? But if he escaped, did he manage to find shelter and survive the merciless storm lashing the dells?
Rutledge heads to Urskdale in the middle of a violent blizzard. Barely able to see where he is going, he comes upon an accident on the road. A carriage is overturned. The horse that had been pulling it is dead and a woman lies seriously injured amidst the wreckage.
Rutledge manages to get the woman to his car and sets out in search of the nearest farmhouse where they might get shelter in the storm. He finally manages to find help and leaves the woman with the farm family while he continues on toward the place where the savage murders have taken place.
On arriving, Rutledge finds that the Elcott family had been slaughtered around their kitchen table with no sign of there having been a struggle. It seems that the murderer must have been someone they knew and trusted. But who could have possibly wanted this apparently inoffensive family - including two babes in arms and a small girl - dead?
When it is discovered that the boy is missing, all the able-bodied men of the village head out into the storm to try to find him, but after days of searching, no trace is found.
Inspector Rutledge pursues his investigation, asking questions and looking into possible motives. Surprisingly, he finds this family had been formed when the tragedy of war had splintered the woman's first marriage. Her husband had been presumed dead, but, in fact, he was alive and a prisoner. After the war, he returned to find his wife had married another man and taken their two children north to live on a sheep farm.
Rutledge finds that there are actually several possible motives of murder, including revenge, greed, jealousy, even love, and there are more suspects than he can make heads or tails of. Will he ever be able to sort through all the clues, figure out who is lying, and solve this heinous crime? And will he be able to find the boy - or his body_ and figure out what has happened to him?
I was kept guessing throughout this well-plotted mystery. I was just as confused as Inspector Rutledge concerning what had happened and why it had happened. It seemed that everyone was lying to him or trying to hide something. I wondered how he was ever going to find the perpetrator of this crime.Of course, in the end, he did unmask the culprit and give us hope that justice may prevail after all.
I think this has been my favorite entry in this series so far. Charles Todd seems to be hitting his stride as a writer.
Inspector Ian Rutledge had been testifying in a case in the north of England when he was contacted by Scotland Yard to get himself to the remote village of Urskdale where a horrendous crime has taken place. Five members of a family have been murdered and the sixth member of the family, an almost ten-year-old boy, has disappeared. Did he do the killing? Or was he a witness who escaped the carnage but can tell who did it? But if he escaped, did he manage to find shelter and survive the merciless storm lashing the dells?
Rutledge heads to Urskdale in the middle of a violent blizzard. Barely able to see where he is going, he comes upon an accident on the road. A carriage is overturned. The horse that had been pulling it is dead and a woman lies seriously injured amidst the wreckage.
Rutledge manages to get the woman to his car and sets out in search of the nearest farmhouse where they might get shelter in the storm. He finally manages to find help and leaves the woman with the farm family while he continues on toward the place where the savage murders have taken place.
On arriving, Rutledge finds that the Elcott family had been slaughtered around their kitchen table with no sign of there having been a struggle. It seems that the murderer must have been someone they knew and trusted. But who could have possibly wanted this apparently inoffensive family - including two babes in arms and a small girl - dead?
When it is discovered that the boy is missing, all the able-bodied men of the village head out into the storm to try to find him, but after days of searching, no trace is found.
Inspector Rutledge pursues his investigation, asking questions and looking into possible motives. Surprisingly, he finds this family had been formed when the tragedy of war had splintered the woman's first marriage. Her husband had been presumed dead, but, in fact, he was alive and a prisoner. After the war, he returned to find his wife had married another man and taken their two children north to live on a sheep farm.
Rutledge finds that there are actually several possible motives of murder, including revenge, greed, jealousy, even love, and there are more suspects than he can make heads or tails of. Will he ever be able to sort through all the clues, figure out who is lying, and solve this heinous crime? And will he be able to find the boy - or his body_ and figure out what has happened to him?
I was kept guessing throughout this well-plotted mystery. I was just as confused as Inspector Rutledge concerning what had happened and why it had happened. It seemed that everyone was lying to him or trying to hide something. I wondered how he was ever going to find the perpetrator of this crime.Of course, in the end, he did unmask the culprit and give us hope that justice may prevail after all.
I think this has been my favorite entry in this series so far. Charles Todd seems to be hitting his stride as a writer.
brookepalmer796's review
2.0
This one was just so-so for me. I was glad for the little tidbit about how things worked out for Fiona.