“If there’s ever been a more complex and compelling hero in crime fiction than Inspector Rutledge, I can’t think of one.” —Jeffery Deaver
In one of his most puzzling cases, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge must delve deep into a dead man’s life and his past to find a killer determined to keep dark secrets buried.
A peaceful Welsh village is thrown into turmoil when a terrified boy stumbles … Welsh village is thrown into turmoil when a terrified boy stumbles on a body in a nearby river. The man appears to have fallen from the canal aqueduct spanning the valley. But there is no identification on the body, he isn’t a local, and no one will admit to having seen him before. With little to go on, the village police turn to Scotland Yard for help.
When Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent from London to find answers, he is given few clues—a faded military tattoo on the victim’s arm and an unusual label in the collar of his shirt. They eventually lead him to the victim’s identity: Sam Milford. By all accounts, he was a good man and well-respected. Then, why is his death so mysterious? Looking for the truth, Rutledge uncovers a web of lies swirling around a suicidal woman, a child’s tragic fate, and another woman bent on protecting her past. But where among all the lies is the motive for murder?
To track a killer, Rutledge must retrace Milford’s last journey. Yet death seems to stalk his every move, and the truth seems to shift at every turn. Man or woman, this murderer stays in the shadows, and it will take desperate measures to lure him—or her—into the light.
more
Once again, Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent on what seems a hopeless murder case to solve in some tiny, remote village at the behest of his commanding officer, one who would like nothing better than to have Ian fail. However, Ian refuses to oblige his boss. He packs a bag and drives to a Welsh village where a body has been discovered in a river that flows beneath a large aqueduct. First, Ian must determine if this is in fact murder, or if the man fell. Murder seems most likely.
Ian begins questioning the local population, and of course, no one saw anything or heard anything. He soon comes upon another mystery though, that of a missing 3-year-old girl. The girl has been missing for a year, but it seems her disappearance might have something to do with the dead man. There are also rumors of the dead man’s sister not being of sound mind, and she has been rumored to be in the area. Did she have something to do with the man’s death or the disappearance of the girl? Ian’s questions stir up trouble for himself and more dead bodies follow his trail. He retraces the dead man’s last journey. Each time he begins to unravel a thread of truth; it seems it wasn’t the truth after all. He follows up on the vaguest of phrases or words as a clue in his efforts to solve the case. He will go without sleep or food to track down the killer.
I so enjoy Ian’s travels across Great Britain to these small villages. The way of life in the early 1920s is interesting to read about. Ian job is his life. He still suffers from PTSD as a survivor of horrific battles in WWI. His constant companion, Hamish, is ever-present in Ian’s mind only. He sometimes offers Ian help, but just as much irritates or berates him. Ian is loath to let Hamish go as his present mental state is the only way Ian knows how to deal with the tremendous guilt he feels. Ian is one who refuses to give up his pursuit of justice. He is intelligent, intuitive and inquisitive—a few traits that make him an excellent inspector.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. When Ian Rutledge with Scotland Yard London is called to Wales to investigate a suspicious death, he didn’t realize the the twists and turns the investigation would take. A man is found in The Dee River, appearing to be in the water for days, his face is unrecognizable. The only way to track his identity is through a label sewn into his jacket by the tailor. That sends him to notify the victims wife, who was under the impression he was in Shrewsbury. Where the investigation leads from there are months and years old unsolved mysteries. It amazes me how any cases could get solved in the 1920s. Driving from city to city to city, knocking on doors asking questions with some of the residents who aren’t forthcoming or willing to help. In this series, there is a lot of remembrances of the Great War. People Rutledge meets talks about their time in the trenches, but this doesn’t not take away from the story. Although this is the latest in a series with numbers in the 20s, this is only the 2nd book that I have read. There is not any story lost by jumping in so far. I would recommend this book for sheer willpower of the detectives in the 1920s and the lack of technology that we have now. Thank you NetGalley, William Morris Custom House and Charles Todd.
Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge is once again being punished by his boss and is relegated to a desk job. However, when a call for assistance comes in from a Welsh village, his boss releases Rutledge from his desk and sends him Wales to investigate the death of man in the village’s nearby river. When Rutledge arrives in the village, he quickly understands that the local constabulary has done a thorough job, but they are no closer to knowing who the victim is nor why he’s dead than when the dead man was first discovered. Rutledge begins his investigation wanting to identify the deceased man. As he methodically goes about his business, he is able to learn who the man is, but not why he’s dead. As each layer of the man’s life is revealed, Rutledge is provided with more clues but no answers.
In this 23rd historical mystery in the Rutledge series, Todd returns with a book that is reminiscent of the first books in the series. This outing is so well written that readers will stay up late to finish one more page, one more chapter. Also back is Hamish, the Scottish man whose ghost haunts Rutledge, but who is intelligent enough to assist Rutledge with the occasional remark that sends Rutledge looking somewhere else. Hamish also effectively warns Rutledge of danger.
By this outing, Rutledge feels like an old friend. He is a complex, intelligent, and flawed character who is willing to investigate each clue as it appears at hand and to not try to second guess the killer. For their long-time fans, you’re going to love this book. To those of you new to the series, don’t worry about picking up the 23rd book, the authors are clever enough to tell you what you need to know about Rutledge (and Hamish) so you won’t feel lost and give up on them. After you read this novel, you’ll probably find yourself want to either read the entire series for the first time or reread the first 22 books.
My thanks to Morrow and Edelweiss for an eARC.
CharlesTodd is the Author
Ma deuxième expérience avec l’inspecteur Rutledge. Après avoir lu la première de ses aventures (celle qui campe le personnage et en explique les affres héritées du premier conflit mondial), le dernier paru est arrivé par hasard dans ma bibliothèque (une promotion saisie au vol). Cette ellipse importante permet de mesurer la confiance que nourrissent les auteurs à l’égard d’un bataillon de lecteurs fidèles, sans doute familiers de l’univers narratif créé par leurs soins : si la “voix intérieure” de Rutledge se manifeste avec la même insistance que dans le premier volume, le dialogue spectral de l’inspecteur avec son compagnon d’armes défunt n’appelle aucune élucidation, pas plus que sa situation difficile au sein de l’administration qui l’emploie.
Le roman est touffu, complexe et promène le lecteur dans un après-guerre saisissant où les blessures du conflit sont encore bien présentes tandis que se profilent les drames de demain (la fermeture des mines, la misère des “petites gens”, la solitude des veuves et les difficultés du quotidien). Les ressorts de l’intrigue sont aussi sinueux que les routes de la campagne anglaise/galloise inlassablement parcourues par l’inspecteur en quête d’une vérité fuyante, constamment réinventée par une abondante galerie de personnages équivoques. Un meurtre inexpliqué en précède deux autres, l’homicide réouvre les blessures d’un enlèvement d’enfant, faisant peu à peu affleurer le tissu de mensonges qui sous-tend la banalité d’une histoire de famille devenue instrument de mort. Par-delà le travail d’enquête (pour lequel notre inspecteur possède des qualités indiscutables), le marathon obstiné de Rutledge, son inlassable soif de clarté se manifeste comme un itinéraire de rédemption, voire de survie personnelle : redonner un nom à la victime restée sans identification, comprendre les motivations liées au crime est aussi (avant tout ?) devoir de mémoire envers le cadavre muet d’un compagnon d’armes. Appréhender un assassin, tout comme retrouver un enfant kidnappé, apparaissent ainsi comme des tentatives désespérées de redonner du sens au monde, de mettre un terme au chaos qui l’a bouleversé pendant les longues années de conflit. Toutefois la fragilité biaisée du dénouement attendu n’a rien du “happy end” (un autre compagnon d’armes comme coupable, un enfant tiraillé entre deux mères). A l’instar des silhouettes mutilées croisées au détour des pages, l’univers parcouru par Rutledge, orphelin de certitudes, apparaît comme irrémédiablement estropié. Splendide et angoissant.
Didn’t finish. Do not like this series because of the imaginary character.
This is the first Charles Todd book that I’ve rated less than four stars. I found the plot to be overly complicated and confusing for one thing. The book read as if the writers came up with two plots, couldn’t decide between them, and decided to try to mash them together. For another, neither the victim nor any of the suspects was a sympathetic character, at least in my mind. And then there was the problem of geography. I couldn’t get a handle on how much he aqueduct connected the two waterways or how the boats got from one to the other, or really how it was so crucial to the story that it made the cover. Including a map or diagram would have gone a long way to alleviate my confusion. My final quibble is with the state of Rutledge’s mental health. He seemed to be recovering in the previous book, but in this one, he’s backslid to how he was in the earlier books. I was enjoying watching him get well and looking forward to seeing who he would become as he recovered.
Now that I’ve given my reasons for the low rating, despite them, I enjoyed the book. Rutledge, even though not recovering as expected, is always fascinating. The writing is still first rate and the characters, whether I liked them or not, were completely believable.
Not Todd’s best. So many red herrings, got weary as Rutledge did.
I liked it so well I am now looking for the beginning of the series at my local library. Try it!!
I love everything by Charles Todd, including all the Inspector Rutledge Mystery series.
I read it years ago, and do not recall how I liked it. However, I usually like anything written by the auther.
Another terrific Inspector Rutledge novel by Charles Todd. The Scotland Yard detective, haunted by his World War I experiences, investigates the death of a man in North Wales. An accident? No, it’s murder. But why? This kept me turning the pages.
Love this inspector. Love this series.
Series: Inspector Ian Rutledge #23
Publication Date: 2/16/21
Number of Pages: 352
Mother and son writing team, Charles Todd, beautifully portrays the damage – seen and unseen – suffered by those in WWI. Ian Rutledge’s damage is the unseen kind and he suffers from and deals with the aftermath hour-by-hour. His construct for dealing with the horror is named Hamish and he resides in Rutledge’s head. No, Rutledge doesn’t belong in an asylum, but he definitely suffers from what we would call PTSD in today’s world – and he has a severe case of it. I admire the way the authors show the vulnerable side of Rutledge as well as the skilled investigator side. I’d really like to think Rutledge is getting better and relying on Hamish less and less.
Rutledge’s boss at Scotland Yard doesn’t like him, so, once again he is being punished. He’s been working behind a desk for what seems like forever when his boss sends him off on a case in the Llangollen Valley in northern Wales. The body of a man has been found in the River Dee – no identification and a badly damaged face. Was the man pushed from the aqueduct or did he fall? If he fell, why wouldn’t he have some identification on him?
Nobody in the small village admits to having seen a stranger and they are sure the victim isn’t a local. Who is he? How did he come to be in the small village of Cwmafon? The only clue to the man’s identity is the tailor’s label in his shirt. If Rutledge can just trace that, maybe he’ll be able to find the victim’s name – and talk to his family.
Rutledge is one of the most tenacious, dedicated investigators you’ll ever meet. He never stops until all of the threads are pulled and the total mystery is solved, and this one is definitely convoluted. Before we are done, we’re looking for a missing toddler and we have multiple bodies on our hands. Everyone seems to have secrets and they only tell half-truths or totally mislead. As Rutledge learns more and more, he has to backtrack and go back to the beginning more than once. Time is of the essence for finding the toddler and for discovering the murderer before there are more bodies.
The more Rutledge learns the more he comes to like the victim and the more concerned he becomes for the missing toddler. He speeds over the narrow, curvy, mountainous roads of Wales and England looking for clues. He’s had little sleep and no rest. He’s been attacked, mislead, lied to, and mistrusted. Yet, he is determined to find what has happened to all of the victims.
You should know that it is neither light nor humorous – but it is an excellent read. I love Rutledge and how human he is. I would love to see a bit more light come into his life. Maybe we’ll see that in some of the future books.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.