Customer Reviews

A Cold Treachery: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery

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If you like good edge of your seat whodunits set in quaintly atmospheric British locales, if you like a story where every character may have ample reason to have done away with the deceased, if you like a yarn that brings in some psychology and even some of the "big questions" of life, if you like eccentric but believable supporting characters, if you like to be entertained and at the same time, learn just a bit about a time gone by, if you like to see justice done and all of the loose ends tied up by the last page, look no further than here, and at all of the Charles Todd, Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries.

Having cut my teeth on Agatha Christie and then savored the elegant sophistication of Miss Dorothy L Sayers, I have been -- how shall we put it -- eager for mysteries that come up to those high standards. Often disappointed. Until now.

Charles Todd's multi-dimensional, flawed Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge is appealing, endearing and real. He is not a caricature detective, nor a foil for red herrings and twisted plots (even though they abound in Todd's works). His persona is such that we would enjoy a book about his life that had NO mystery to it... Not that I am suggesting such a move to the authors....

Speaking of authors... Yes plural. Having read one book, I kept thinking, who is this author. Turns out that Charles Todd is American, not British, and Charles Todd is actually a mother and son team, writing together to create these wonderful books set in post W W I Britain.

And then there is Hamish, Ian's ghostly alter-ego, traveling companion, and imaginary friend. When my local bookstore owner told me the basics about Ian and his now-dead Scottish sergeant, who likes to ride in the back seat of Rutledge's car and "back seat drive" the investigations, I thought this was all too droll. Well, droll it is but it works--surprisingly well. To the point that the reader finds himself or herself wondering what Hamish thinks of this or that turn of events, even when Hamish is silent.

This is the first of Charles Todd's Rutledge mysteries that I read--and then I went on to the first in the series: Test of Wills. I enjoyed reading them in this way, and in fact was hooked. (And then went on to the others). But the reader may want to read them in order. Test of Wills, Wings of Fire, Search the Dark, Legacy of the Dead, Watchers of Time, A Fearsome Doubt, A Cold Treachery, A Long Shadow. There is also a stand-alone Todd mystery called Murder Stone. Read more about them at: www.Charlestodd.com

Todd intertwines the supporting characters from book to book, so that Rutledge's and Hamish's friends and family appear in more than one book, at some times, mentioned and other times, key to the story.

This book, about a missing boy and his murdered family in a lonely spot between the Lake District and the Dales, is well worth your time and attention.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction

In December 1919 in wintry Urksdale, England someone murders five members of the Elcott family, three of them children, in their home. Paul Elcott discovers the grisly remains of his kin, but in his horror he fails to realize that ten year old Josh escaped the brutality. Inspector Greeley assumes the lad is dead as Dr. Jarvis stated that the killings occurred two days ago. Unable to overcome his bias that no local committed the mass murders, Greeley requests help from Scotland Yard's Chief Constable.

While a blizzard hampers travel, the Chief Constable sends Word War I veteran Inspector Ian Rutledge to investigate the vicious killings. Ian keeps his thin grip on sanity through his police work as he feels remorse about Corporal Hamish who he ordered executed for insubordination. As the locals including Greeley and Jarvis insist it is a lunatic outsider, Rutledge looks for clues to find the whereabouts of Josh, not just for altruistic reasons. The murder scene implies deadly passion from someone the family members knew intimately; hence the ten year old is Ian's prime suspect; others from the village with fervent motives surface.

In his seventh appearance, battle fatigue syndrome victim Rutledge seems as if he is getting mentally even more unstable than in his previous tales. Still as his grasp on reality lessens, his inspection skills remain strong. The who-done-it is solid, but it is the powerful historical look at the austere lifestyle of a northern England farm family just after the war that keeps the series fresh and at the top rung of the sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner

This was My first Charles Todd book and I really enjoyed it! Great Psycho Drama and I love the setting of Scotland yard. It is is a series with the main character being Inspector Ian Rutledge, who this time is tracking a brutal killer. That I had not read the earlier books did diminish my enjoyment (though I now plan on going back and reading the earlier books).
This is an intellegent thriller mystery that it is a cut above the rest in the genre.
[...]

Todd is particularly skilled at providing us a very good sense of place, well done dialogue and an interesting, developed cast of characters, each with their own secrets and motives. We feel Rutledge's frustration as he tries to uncover the truth and not be influenced by the emotions and accusations of those around him. This is another very good entry to a well done series.

while, as others as said, this is much better than the dreadful _murder stone_, it still is disappointing when compared to earlier books in the rutledge series.

the writing is good, sometimes very good, and the characters are well drawn and the effects of the war and the social idiocies of the time are sympathetically portrayed, but there is one major problem with the plot--the behavior of one of the characters is never sufficiently explained, and seems to exist only to mislead the reader. i don't want to give away plot details, so i can't say much more than that.

there is a hint at the end that rutledge's obnoxious and underhanded supervisor will get his comeupance, and it's about time after seven succesful murder inquiries that something is done about that situation. it's old, it's unnecessary, and it's becoming increasingly unrealistic in light of rutledge's professional successes.

there is also a suggeston at the end of the book that rutledge is healing--and that, too, will be a welcome development.

still, the book is historically interesting and accurate, and rutledge is a consistently compelling character. it is also a pleasure and relief to read about even fictional people who are adults, and who soldier on without self-dramatization or psychobabble.

And that is part of the problem...readers want their good authors to write more, so they can read more of their books and their plots and their characterizations. But then if our authors do write more, their writing often goes downhill and the plotting gets lazy, the characterization more sloppy. Authors can't win no matter which way they go!

I find it hard to believe I missed writing a review for this book. I read it quite some time ago when I was going through as many of Todd's books as I could find. Todd's shell-shocked survivor of WWI who was and is a detective is still dealing with his inner voice (who happens to be the man he was called upon to execute during wartime for refusal to obey orders...in this case to take another group of very young men over the trenches and into a war with the Germans for which there is no good reason). Rutledge becomes involved in the wintery murder of a family, except for a missing 10 year old boy who is suspected of doing the murders, simply because he is missing and the easiest person to blame such an atrocity on. Rutledge needs to find out the truth, whatever that may be, and if possible find this boy, if he is still alive...before the real killer does.

Todd's books are based on an innate sadness that came over England after she lost a whole generation of young men to a war played by generals safely behind the scenes. Almost every family was impacted by the war, either by a direct loss of a son, a husband, a father...or from the vast changes that were made on English social structure when women had to make up for the battefield losses in the agricultural and business world, as well as deal with their own personal losses at the same time. Life was not easy anywhere in England, but especially on the bleak farms. The psychiatric toll taken by all this was immense, and was too much for some people to take.

Todd is one of the better finds of the last couple of years. Surprisingly enough, he is an American, but he writes like he had training in the British school system and not ours. His books are smart, and thoughtful, and the language used is beautiful.

Karen sadler

`A Cold Treachery' (2005) is Charles Todd's seventh Ian Rutledge mystery novel, but the first for this reviewer. Rutledge is a Scotland Yard detective who is haunted by his service in the bloody trenches of the Great War. Rutledge hears voices - more precisely he hears one voice that of Hamish MacLeod, a soldier in Rutledge's unit who died in the war, but lives on in Rutledge's head. Hamish acts as his conscience and advisor. Bit odd, but an innovative story-telling mechanism. The first seven Rutledge stories all take place between June and December 1919 as Rutledge struggles to live with his memories.

The story opens with this line: "You'll hang for this-see if you don't! That's my revenge! And you'll think about that when the rope goes around your neck and the black hood comes down...."

In the midst of a fierce blizzard, a family has been slaughtered at an isolated farm in the remote north of England. No sign of a struggle, the Elcott family has been gunned down; father, mother, their young twins and his daughter. The 10-year-old son of Elcott is missing.

Is the missing Josh another victim? Or is he the perpetrator? Or might it be one of several likely local residents? Or perhaps one of the several outsiders who now live in the isolated Lake District village of Urskdale? A relative perhaps?

Todd crafts the tale so that any of the suspects might have uttered that phrase and he plausibly maintains that suspense throughout. An intriguing subtext: "Charles Todd" is actually a mother/son team of Charles and Caroline Todd and the story centers around mother/son and father/son relationships.

`A Cold Treachery' is more a suspense/psychological mystery than a thriller. The setting is grim, many of the characters are grim, Ian Rutledge not the least among them. It makes for interesting read, if not especially a fun one.

Another good mystery from Charles Todd - the unnamed character in this story is the heavy atmosphere of the North of England, from the storm that impeded Ian Rutledge's entry into the Urskwater valley to the overhanging crags covered with sheep that reminded him of his claustrophobia. I keep wishing that poor Ian would find a woman and I think he almost did until she got shot. She survived however and may appear in a future novel. Hamish is even more present than ever and I am beginning to despair that Rutledge will ever be "normal." This is still an excellent series. Can't wait to see where Rutledge goes next.

"A Cold Treachery" is rich. The combination of smart, dogged investigator with rugged, interesting setting and interesting period of history (post World War I) make for an undeniable read. I picked up "A Cold Treachery" having not read previous books in the Ian Rutledge series. It's easy enough to start here, but I'm sorry I didn't start at the beginning.

"A Cold Treachery" is set in the remote, harsh environment of northern England and Charles Todd milks every bit of atmosphere from the setting. Todd throws Scotland Yard Inspector Charles Rutledge into the remote village of Urksdale to find who killed a family--all but one missing son--in their home.
As Rutledge probes the villagers and the village, and as the search party combs the countryside in search of the missing boy, Todd renders the setting in vivid relief.

Throughout, Rutledge trades thoughts with Hamish Macloud, an ever-present ghost at Rutledge's side who chides, warns, cautions and questions Rutledge at every turn. Sound corny? It's not. "Hamish" is another side of Rutledge's character. "Hamish," the ghost of man Rutledge was ordered to execute on the battlefield, is Rutledge's baggage, psychiatrist and inner voice all wrapped up into one.

The writing is sharp. Inside the houses and inns, you feel the drafts and taste the simmering stews. When Rutledge ventures outside, you are tempted to put on a coat in sympathy. "But as the darkness encompassed him, isolating him in the bright beams of his headlamps, he could feel the mountains again, out there like Russian wolves beyond the campfire's light. It was a trick of the mind, nothing more, but he was thrown back into the war, when in the darkness an experienced man could sense movement in the German trenches, even when there was no sound, nothing to betray the congregation of enemy forces before a surprise attack."

As Rutledge continues to stir up old feuds, uncover family secrets and stir the pot of gossip in Urksdale, the natives grow alternately weary and restless. Rutledge stays focused and the mystery unravels--after a fairly lengthy middle section--with a few swift jolts of action at the end.

"A Cold Treachery" is highly recommended for those who savor a well-drawn historical setting and a complicated, fascinating lead detective.

This is the latest in a continuing series that is very enjoyable. The main character is likable and you feel sympathy for his difficulties and want him to succeed in solving the case. The case itself is very good, as the solution is not readily seen and unwinds nicely throughout the story. I have enjoyed all of the books in this series and highly recommend them all.