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plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
4.0
A London financial advisor named Quarles is respected and admired by his compatriots in the City, but he lives a different life altogether in the small village where he maintains a second home where he can "rusticate" to get away from business. There, he is known as a man who pursues women against their wishes, often married women or very young girls. He is just about universally hated by his neighbors there and so when he turns up dead in rather appalling circumstances, most of them will freely admit that they are glad he is dead and would have been happy to kill him themselves. All of which does not make the work of the police investigating the crime any easier.
The man was very important in the business world and lived as the local squire in the village and so when he is murdered the local constable calls on Scotland Yard for assistance. If it means a trip to the provinces, it's another chance for his superior to get Inspector Ian Rutledge out of his hair and his sight for a while. Rutledge is therefore dispatched to deal with the crime.
There is a bit of a twist in the telling of this story. At the beginning of the book, we meet Quarles and his later business partner Penrith as they are serving in South Africa during the Boer War at the turn of the twentieth century. Something happens at that time which will be the precipitant of later events. We also meet the brother of the lieutenant with whom Quarles and Penrith served. The lieutenant and all the others under his command, except for Quarles and Penrith, had died in a Boer ambush. Knowing all of these facts in advance, we are far ahead of Rutledge and the local police in determining motive for the murder and seeing how it was planned and executed.
We get to watch as Rutledge wades through all the false trails and possible suspects, including those who are all too willing to admit to the crime for reasons of their own. It's easy to feel his frustration as it becomes clear that no one is really telling him the whole story, including the obviously not grieving widow. It's hard for him to hold on to his temper as he has to deal with their obstructionism, as well as the lack of support from his superiors in London. But he is tenacious in his quest for the truth and for justice, even for a victim who was an odious example of humanity.
Once again, Rutledge is hounded and in some instances aided by the presence in his mind of the Scottish soldier Hamish whom he had had to execute during his time in the trenches in World War I. Hamish's voice is much more active in this book than in the most recent one of the series that I read, and he helps to explicate what Rutledge is thinking and why his mind works the way that it does.
All in all, this was an interesting and enjoyable read. There was one incident that seemed entirely anomalous and unnecessary to me and I never really figured out why it was a part of the story. During the investigation, Rutledge, lacking sleep, had made a late-night run from the village to London and he had an accident in which he received an almighty bump on the head and possible concussion. But it really played no part in the plot. What was the purpose? That part of the mystery remains a mystery to me.
This, by the way, was the eleventh entry in the series. I accidentally read it out of sequence. Now, at some point, I'll need to go back and pick up number ten, obsessive reader that I am.
The man was very important in the business world and lived as the local squire in the village and so when he is murdered the local constable calls on Scotland Yard for assistance. If it means a trip to the provinces, it's another chance for his superior to get Inspector Ian Rutledge out of his hair and his sight for a while. Rutledge is therefore dispatched to deal with the crime.
There is a bit of a twist in the telling of this story. At the beginning of the book, we meet Quarles and his later business partner Penrith as they are serving in South Africa during the Boer War at the turn of the twentieth century. Something happens at that time which will be the precipitant of later events. We also meet the brother of the lieutenant with whom Quarles and Penrith served. The lieutenant and all the others under his command, except for Quarles and Penrith, had died in a Boer ambush. Knowing all of these facts in advance, we are far ahead of Rutledge and the local police in determining motive for the murder and seeing how it was planned and executed.
We get to watch as Rutledge wades through all the false trails and possible suspects, including those who are all too willing to admit to the crime for reasons of their own. It's easy to feel his frustration as it becomes clear that no one is really telling him the whole story, including the obviously not grieving widow. It's hard for him to hold on to his temper as he has to deal with their obstructionism, as well as the lack of support from his superiors in London. But he is tenacious in his quest for the truth and for justice, even for a victim who was an odious example of humanity.
Once again, Rutledge is hounded and in some instances aided by the presence in his mind of the Scottish soldier Hamish whom he had had to execute during his time in the trenches in World War I. Hamish's voice is much more active in this book than in the most recent one of the series that I read, and he helps to explicate what Rutledge is thinking and why his mind works the way that it does.
All in all, this was an interesting and enjoyable read. There was one incident that seemed entirely anomalous and unnecessary to me and I never really figured out why it was a part of the story. During the investigation, Rutledge, lacking sleep, had made a late-night run from the village to London and he had an accident in which he received an almighty bump on the head and possible concussion. But it really played no part in the plot. What was the purpose? That part of the mystery remains a mystery to me.
This, by the way, was the eleventh entry in the series. I accidentally read it out of sequence. Now, at some point, I'll need to go back and pick up number ten, obsessive reader that I am.
colibookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy reading about Ian Rutledge. I am curious to see how his story goes.
madmadammim's review against another edition
4.0
That was the saddest of this series yet, I think. And, well, this series has been pretty sad throughout. That ending was pretty sad. Not what I'd expected. Awesome book, as always. C=
margardenlady's review against another edition
4.0
This audiobook was very well done. Reader was excellent and the story moved right along. A tale of old mistakes haunting the present, as much as a murder mystery.
emtobiasz's review against another edition
3.0
I shouldn't have listened to two of these audiobooks in a row-- the Inspector was starting to get on my nerves, and every suspect he met repeats "Leave me alone!!" in a way that makes me think no one was really required to comply with a murder investigation in 1920s England.
Not that I blame them. Inspector Rutledge seems to rely on repeat visits-- daily, or multiple times a day-- to wear down his suspects. Also badgering them with all their past secrets, in as sensational a way as possible. Sometimes it seems appropriate, but most of the time he just sounds like a bully. And he should certainly have his drivers license revoked.
Anyway, this mystery was all right, although it kind of spun out of control at the end, which I'm not sure was entirely believable. Still enjoyable and we did find out what had happened by the end, which is sometimes all I can ask. I think I'm taking a break from Charles Todd, though. Barbara Cleverly's Inspector Joe Sandilands is a little more to my taste, if I'm going to stick with British mysteries set between the wars.
Not that I blame them. Inspector Rutledge seems to rely on repeat visits-- daily, or multiple times a day-- to wear down his suspects. Also badgering them with all their past secrets, in as sensational a way as possible. Sometimes it seems appropriate, but most of the time he just sounds like a bully. And he should certainly have his drivers license revoked.
Anyway, this mystery was all right, although it kind of spun out of control at the end, which I'm not sure was entirely believable. Still enjoyable and we did find out what had happened by the end, which is sometimes all I can ask. I think I'm taking a break from Charles Todd, though. Barbara Cleverly's Inspector Joe Sandilands is a little more to my taste, if I'm going to stick with British mysteries set between the wars.
canadianbookworm's review
4.0
This is the 11th in the series featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, a man shell-shocked in WWI and haunted by one of his men whose death he feels responsible for.
In this case, Rutledge is called to a small village to investigate a murder where the victim's body has been displayed in an unusual way. He has just come from the wedding of a good friend and is the nearest inspector to the village. He finds the local inspector not entirely open about all the local feelings surrounding the victim, and the two sometimes seem to work at odds to each other. The victim is a London businessman, who has taken on the role of squire in the village and yet seems to have the animosity of most of the inhabitants including his estranged wife.
We are given information early on in the book about the early history of Quarles, the victim, and his business partner, Penrith, and the crime that drew them together during the Boer War. We also see the animosity of the brother of the man they betrayed and his plan to take them both down.
From this point we see the story from Rutledge's view and see how he works to find the truth behind the feelings against Quarles in the village and the juxtaposition of his reputation in London. We see how Rutledge is tenacious about this case, as he has been about his previous cases, and how Hamish, the voice in his head, affects his actions.
An interesting story of justice, and its side effects.
In this case, Rutledge is called to a small village to investigate a murder where the victim's body has been displayed in an unusual way. He has just come from the wedding of a good friend and is the nearest inspector to the village. He finds the local inspector not entirely open about all the local feelings surrounding the victim, and the two sometimes seem to work at odds to each other. The victim is a London businessman, who has taken on the role of squire in the village and yet seems to have the animosity of most of the inhabitants including his estranged wife.
We are given information early on in the book about the early history of Quarles, the victim, and his business partner, Penrith, and the crime that drew them together during the Boer War. We also see the animosity of the brother of the man they betrayed and his plan to take them both down.
From this point we see the story from Rutledge's view and see how he works to find the truth behind the feelings against Quarles in the village and the juxtaposition of his reputation in London. We see how Rutledge is tenacious about this case, as he has been about his previous cases, and how Hamish, the voice in his head, affects his actions.
An interesting story of justice, and its side effects.
margaretpinard's review
4.0
Very well done mystery. At first the reveal at the beginning had me searching for how the detective was going to uncover the evidence, since I was as much in the dark as he was. But then by the very end, there was one twist too many, and I kind of lost respect for the abrupt timing at the end... not to say that the bulk of the story was not interesting and most compelling- I couldn't put it down for 5 hours! Much enjoyed.
Definitely thought it better than the other Charles Todd I read about the disabled persons' house in the south.
Definitely thought it better than the other Charles Todd I read about the disabled persons' house in the south.
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