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jcbmathcat's review
4.0
I have read several books in the Inspector Rutledge series and enjoyed them all. Charles Todd, in my opinion, wrote a very tight mystery and I did not figure out the identity of the murderer. Rutledge is flawed, having suffered much during the war, and Hamish, his inner voice, continues to hound him.
I don't know if reading these sequentially matters; I have read several of them out of order.
I don't know if reading these sequentially matters; I have read several of them out of order.
exurbanis's review
1.0
WINGS OF FIRE** by Charles Todd (Mystery Fiction, 1920s England) 1 star rating
In 2010, I also greatly enjoyed Charles Todd’s first Ian Rutledge mystery, A Test of Wills. I was excited to find a new series set in a period that fascinates me (WWI and shortly after) and to root for the protagonist, who suffers from shell-shock.
This entry, Wings of Fire, was agonizing to read and I would have dumped it early on but that the title satisfied a reading challenge category. There was a not-quite mystery of a murder-suicide, but it wasn’t enough to fill a book. The same material was presented over and over, in different ways, and then in the same ways, until I was ready to scream on several occasions. The only content remark I made for myself was to note the meaning of ordure. Go ahead: look it up.
I know this series is highly acclaimed, and I know that first sequels are often weak, so I may try another. I’d really love a series with the promise that first book had.
Read this if: honestly – don’t bother. 1 star
In 2010, I also greatly enjoyed Charles Todd’s first Ian Rutledge mystery, A Test of Wills. I was excited to find a new series set in a period that fascinates me (WWI and shortly after) and to root for the protagonist, who suffers from shell-shock.
This entry, Wings of Fire, was agonizing to read and I would have dumped it early on but that the title satisfied a reading challenge category. There was a not-quite mystery of a murder-suicide, but it wasn’t enough to fill a book. The same material was presented over and over, in different ways, and then in the same ways, until I was ready to scream on several occasions. The only content remark I made for myself was to note the meaning of ordure. Go ahead: look it up.
I know this series is highly acclaimed, and I know that first sequels are often weak, so I may try another. I’d really love a series with the promise that first book had.
Read this if: honestly – don’t bother. 1 star
deannah's review
3.0
3.5 stars. I really enjoy this series. However, this one seemed to be written in a way to deliberately confuse the reader. Unnecessarily. This won't prevent me from reading the other books.
luffy79's review
4.0
Wings Of Fire is a sensibly better book than its predecessor and kick starter, A Test Of Wills. The common thing between them are the descriptions of forceful personalities, natures, if not mettle. Another similar chord that struck with me is the aloofness, the cold, the distant colors put in use in the books. Alas that the author does not deem it necessary to go step by step to the primordial murders, and pertinently glosses over them. There was neither sorrow nor much fun in the fiber of this story. That's why its score is not perfect. But it's a wonderful study of human nature.
jacklozada's review
5.0
The second in the Inspector Rutledge series. Inspector Rutledge has been sent to Cornwall away from the Ripper case. In Cornwall, he investigates the suicides of an author and her brother and the fall of another brother. Inspector Rutledge digs in and discovers the murders that had befallen the family before. Great ending. Very exciting. Love the Hamish interaction with Rutledge. Great book! Looking forward to the next one.
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
3.0
Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard is a psychological mess. He fought in the trenches of France in World War I and was grievously injured. Now physically recovered (more or less), he has returned to work and has already managed to crack one difficult case in A Test of Wills.
Before the war, Rutledge was a rising star at the Yard and that engendered envy from some of his cohorts and from his superior, Bowles. Bowles takes every opportunity to send the Inspector on out-of-town cases. He particularly wants to get him out of town now because of a recent Ripper-style killing spree in London and the likelihood that the detective who cracks the case will become a celebrity. Bowles is determined that it won't be Rutledge.
His chance comes when three members of an influential family in a small Cornwall village die within a short span of time. Two are ruled suicides and one an accident. But a member of the family has her doubts and she prevails upon the Home Office to send someone from Scotland Yard to investigate. Guess who Bowles chooses?
In the village, Rutledge learns that one of the dead is "O.A. Manning," nom de plume of a reclusive writer whose poetry helped to sustain him during the war. He is surprised to learn that the poet was a woman. She and her brother, who lived with her, are the suicides. Another brother, who had lost part of his foot in the war, fell down the stairs while the family was clearing out the house. His death was the accident.
Rutledge is a highly intuitive investigator and he intuits almost immediately that there are many family secrets here and that there is more to these deaths than the inquests determined, but will he ever be able to prove it? Will he ever be able to dig up long-hidden secrets and reveal the truth, not just about these three deaths but several others that have haunted the family over the years?
One of the more interesting aspects of these Rutledge mysteries is his own psychological state. He carries with him the memory and the voice of a young Scot named Hamish whom he was forced to have executed on the battlefield. Hamish now haunts his every waking hour. He serves as something of a voice of conscience to the Inspector. It is a tormenting voice that forces Rutledge to face truths that he would perhaps rather not face.
Rutledge is further haunted by the memory of the fiancee who deserted him after he came home from the war a changed man. She was the love of his life - at least he thought she was - and that love was another thing which kept him going and helped him face his wounds and recover. But the fiancee proved lacking in courage and in love and she could not face a life with a wounded man who was not the perfect specimen she had sent off to battle. Still, Rutledge finds it hard to get her out of his heart and out of his mind. As I said, he's a mess.
The mother and son writing team that writes under the name "Charles Todd" has created an interesting and complicated character in Ian Rutledge. This is the second book in their series featuring him and the reader feels that there are depths still to be explored in the several books that follow this one.
Incidentally, I can't help drawing comparisons between this series and Jacqueline Winspear's "Maisie Dobbs" series. They take place in the same time frame and place and explore some of the same issues - the state of English society after the war and the psychological damage done both to those who fought the war and those who waited on the home front. They are both well-done series and worth reading for anyone interested in that period or anyone interested in the history of understanding and treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or shell shock as the post-World War I society knew it.
Before the war, Rutledge was a rising star at the Yard and that engendered envy from some of his cohorts and from his superior, Bowles. Bowles takes every opportunity to send the Inspector on out-of-town cases. He particularly wants to get him out of town now because of a recent Ripper-style killing spree in London and the likelihood that the detective who cracks the case will become a celebrity. Bowles is determined that it won't be Rutledge.
His chance comes when three members of an influential family in a small Cornwall village die within a short span of time. Two are ruled suicides and one an accident. But a member of the family has her doubts and she prevails upon the Home Office to send someone from Scotland Yard to investigate. Guess who Bowles chooses?
In the village, Rutledge learns that one of the dead is "O.A. Manning," nom de plume of a reclusive writer whose poetry helped to sustain him during the war. He is surprised to learn that the poet was a woman. She and her brother, who lived with her, are the suicides. Another brother, who had lost part of his foot in the war, fell down the stairs while the family was clearing out the house. His death was the accident.
Rutledge is a highly intuitive investigator and he intuits almost immediately that there are many family secrets here and that there is more to these deaths than the inquests determined, but will he ever be able to prove it? Will he ever be able to dig up long-hidden secrets and reveal the truth, not just about these three deaths but several others that have haunted the family over the years?
One of the more interesting aspects of these Rutledge mysteries is his own psychological state. He carries with him the memory and the voice of a young Scot named Hamish whom he was forced to have executed on the battlefield. Hamish now haunts his every waking hour. He serves as something of a voice of conscience to the Inspector. It is a tormenting voice that forces Rutledge to face truths that he would perhaps rather not face.
Rutledge is further haunted by the memory of the fiancee who deserted him after he came home from the war a changed man. She was the love of his life - at least he thought she was - and that love was another thing which kept him going and helped him face his wounds and recover. But the fiancee proved lacking in courage and in love and she could not face a life with a wounded man who was not the perfect specimen she had sent off to battle. Still, Rutledge finds it hard to get her out of his heart and out of his mind. As I said, he's a mess.
The mother and son writing team that writes under the name "Charles Todd" has created an interesting and complicated character in Ian Rutledge. This is the second book in their series featuring him and the reader feels that there are depths still to be explored in the several books that follow this one.
Incidentally, I can't help drawing comparisons between this series and Jacqueline Winspear's "Maisie Dobbs" series. They take place in the same time frame and place and explore some of the same issues - the state of English society after the war and the psychological damage done both to those who fought the war and those who waited on the home front. They are both well-done series and worth reading for anyone interested in that period or anyone interested in the history of understanding and treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or shell shock as the post-World War I society knew it.
cheriej's review against another edition
4.0
Kept me guessing until the end.
I couldn't put this book down. Interesting characters, suspense, interesting mystery. Rutledge never gives up until he gets to the truth. I recommend it.
I couldn't put this book down. Interesting characters, suspense, interesting mystery. Rutledge never gives up until he gets to the truth. I recommend it.
brookepalmer796's review
3.0
I was surprised at how much the tone of this novel reminded me of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. The solution was slow to unfold and not a lot of action, but thought provoking.
crazeedi73's review
4.0
Very good, but this time I knew the murderer halfway through through or before. Excellent read