Customer Reviews

A False Mirror (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Its prose tinged with memory and regret, this tenth Charles Todd novel to feature Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, is a superbly crafted tale which, at its heart, is about relationships.

Having read the earlier novels in the series, the relationship between Rutledge and Hamish is by now a familiar one, and it's difficult to imagine one without the other. Indeed, Hamish, whatever he may be, has become a necessary tool for the excavation of Rutledge's inner, thoughts and is sometimes more acute an observer of the nuances of their surroundings than Rutledge.

Indeed, the novel's more conventional relationships, between spouses,
sweethearts, former lovers, friends and enemies, all show how our observations of one another come together to form life as we know it, and how one misreading can destroy the whole fragile framework.

Working to uncover the perpetrator of a series of murders in London's Green Park, Rutledge is surprised to be taken off the London case and ordered to Hampton Regis, a picturesque fishing village on the south coast of England.

Stephen Mallory, who served with and despised Rutledge in the war, has been accused of brutally beating a local man, Matthew Hamilton. Mallory is convinced he will never be treated fairly by the local authorities because he was engaged to Hamilton's wife before the war, and has taken his former fiancee and her maid hostage, declaring he will only negotiate with Rutledge.

Rutledge knows there is more to this situation than local authorities would have him believe--if only because Mallory has chosen him as his intermediary. When the nearly comatose Hamilton disappears from the local physician's house, leaving a dead body in his wake, Rutledge becomes convinced that Mallory is innocent, and Hamilton's beating might be at the root of something more complex than imagined.

On its surface, A False Mirror, is a conventional and highly readable English murder mystery, but a closer look reveals a complex and engrossing study of the nature of seeing and being seen that anyone who enjoys tight plotting and deep characterization will enjoy.

Armchair Interviews says: A 5-star read!

I didn't think an Ian Rutledge book could get worse than the previous "A Long Shadow," but "A False Mirror" is MUCH worse. It's a 40-page short story that got dragged out to 400 pages, undoubtedly to fulfill a contract obligation. Let's see, where to start -- characters that are impossible to care about, a totally ludicrous "hostage" situation, and redundant writing (Rutledge goes back and forth between the town and the main house in the story like a ping-pong ball, and the descriptions are always the same). And for some reason, sandwiches make an appearance in almost every scene; they're as ubiquitous as tea. Hamish has faded to the point that when he does speak up, it's jarring. Overall, the plot and motives are so thin that it's a very unsatisfying murder mystery, but on the bright side, when I was done with the book I felt like having a good sandwich.

After eagerly awaiting this book and even having my husband pick me up a copy on a business trip to the US, I was sadly disappointed. I had noticed a downward trend in the last couple of books but the series seems to have taken a nose dive with this latest instalment. There were serious problems of logic and the plotline seemed to chase its own tail, going round in endless circles as if to stretch out the book. Many of the characters acted in an illogical and unrealistic manner and the whole hostage situation plotline was simply ridiculous. People just do not behave like that! This would have to be the worst book in the series so far.

Unfortunately, many aspects of this series are becoming repetitious. After solving so many murders one would think that Rutledge's superior, Bowles, would do away with his vendetta even if only to stop himself from looking ridiculous to others. His ongoing hostility towards Rutledge is starting to look trite.

And what about the role of Hamish? This is one aspect of the series that seems to have stalled completely. Whilst it began as an intriguing deviation on the murder mystery genre it seemed to reach it peak in `Legacy of the Dead' and has been in decline ever since. Perhaps the authors should try something different such as was hinted at in 'A Long Shadow' with the psychic Mrs. Channing.

What exactly is Hamish's role? Is he a genuine ghost, haunting his killer? Does he represent Rutledge's conscience which has become disembodied due to his war experience? Is Hamish the manifestation of Rutledge's sixth sense which makes him the superb Scotland Yard Inspector that he has become? Why not let Rutledge face his ghost and explore these possibilities, either through supernatural means such as at a séance or by scientific means involving medical therapy. Psychology was in its infancy and this in itself would provide an interesting sideline to a murder case.

There are so many aspects of this series that are yet to be explored and one can only hope that the authors do not settle for formulae writing and mediocrity. What started out as a fresh and exciting new take on an old Genre still has much untapped potential and I sincerely hope that the authors sit down, have a cup of tea and ask themselves where this series is heading.

Charles Todd is one of my favorite authors or should I say two of my favorite authors since it is mother/son writing team, something I did not know until this novel. I think it is the perfect melding of history, suspense, and tortured hero that is so riveting in the Ian Rutledge series. I look forward with anticipation to each and every novel.

A FALSE MIRROR has Ian Rutledge investigating a beating in the small harbor town of Hampton Regis. The year is 1920, and Rutledge is continued to be tortured by his part in the death of Hamish Macleod who served under him in the war. He was forced to execute Hamish after he refused to obey a direct order. Now Hamish is a voice inside his head that never seems to disappear, never allowing Rutledge to forget the horror, but is also a voice that is an observer to all that goes on around Rutledge giving voice to his insights. Rutledge arrives in Hampton Regis at the request of Stephen Mallory, who not only served with Rutledge but also despised him. Mallory is accused of beating Matthew Hamilton out of jealousy because Mallory was engaged to Felicity Hamilton before the war. He has escaped to the Hamilton house, and takes Felicity and her maid hostage (or so it seems). He wants Rutledge to find the real culprit behind the beating. More than one murder takes place before Rutledge is able to unravel the mysteries of the darker underbelly in the small sleepy town.

One one level Charles Todd has written a cozy whodunit, but to call it that does it a disservice. Charles Todd writes a psychological study of human frailty as much as a mystery novel. The novel is rich in characterization with a sympathetic protagonist and an effective cast of secondary characters. Todd gives a realistic sense of time and place. There is nothing that feels modern that sneaks through in the writing. You really feel like you are back in 1920. Highly recommended.

Charles Todd (actually a mother and son from the United States) have given us another solid mystery in the Inspector Rutledge series. The fascination of this series continues to be the impact of WWI on the haunted inspector. The mystery itself is important, and well thought out, but equally important is the process by which Rutledge comes to the inevitable conclusion of his cases. His mind sees through a glass darkly, and his demons are ever present. This is a very good series, and I look forward to more, having read every one since this series debuted.

I have enjoyed this series and read each of the previous installments. Trying to wade my way through this one was like slogging through mud. The narrative drive so satisfying in the previous books bogged down here in an unlikely plot, silly characters, and constant repetition. I wanted to shout at the characters to DO SOMETHING! I'd say the book is overlong by 50 - 100 pages, and it certainly dampened my anticipation for the next Rutledge, due out in January. "Charles Todd" -- mere et fils -- seem to have lost the plot, as they say in England. Or at least the energy of the previous books. Maybe it's just me, but I don't care as much about Rutledge and Hamish after reading this book as I once did.

Like many series there seems to come a time when the author accepts mediocrity rather than the earlier excellence. The characters this time are not as cleanly drawn nor do they enhance the storyline.
The role of Rutledge's shoulder riding guilt seems to have reached his plateau and hangs around with nowhere to go. The relationship may have reached a dead end and Todd will need to decide to let him go or to redefine his role.
Overall this has been the least satisfying book of the series for me.

The Ian Rutledge series is one of my favorites, but I fear it might be nearing its sell-by date. Given the difficulty of sustaining a formula over time, it's a tribute to the authors' skill that the books remained strong for as long as they have. (There were a few earlier dips in quality, but nothing too serious.) Lately, though, the fabric is beginning to fray more obviously.

Various plot elements, especially in the last couple of novels, have strained credulity, such as the invisible stalker in "Long Shadow" and the nonsensical hostage scenario in "False Mirror." The narrative strategy of Hamish is becoming more problematic, too -- it worked initially, but since it has remained static over the last few books, it's less and less effective. (The device now adds nothing new, and it's becoming harder to accept: if Rutledge really felt the degree of guilt and self-loathing that Hamish verbalizes, he'd surely have cracked by now.)

And here's a minor point, but why doesn't Rutledge ever have to meet the press? He deals with the sort of sensational cases that would have been prime newspaper fodder even in the 20s (look how the press was all over Crippen ten years earlier), so it's odd that Rutledge pursues his investigations in almost total anonymity. I understand that the authors don't want to violate his character as a painfully self-contained isolato, so they can't really turn him into any sort of media star. But since the mode of the books is primarily realistic, the silence of the fourth estate is becoming rather deafening.

Another element that seemed intrusive in the most recent books is the time frame. I guess I hadn't been paying attention before, but now I realize that all of these stories are supposed to take place over a period of about 10 months. Evidently only a couple of weeks (at most) separate each of these intense, mind-scarring cases, meaning that Rutledge is pin-balling from one danger-packed denouement and devastating psychological trauma to another with barely time to wash his socks in between. Almost daily, it seems, new griefs and pains and losses are piled on top of those that still haunt him from the war and from previous cases. Even a mentally healthy person would have a hard time remaining sane after a such a year; someone as damaged as Rutledge would probably be totally barking, sitting catatonic and drooling in some lost veterans' ward. I'm not sure why this tight time frame is necessary; what's the rush? (Are the authors trying to suggest, perhaps, that "peacetime" is just another form of relentless war? Or do they think that they can't logically continue a war-related series [and Hamish] too far into the next decade? If the latter, I disagree -- it would make more sense to have poor Rutledge still be struggling with war memories in 1923 or 1924 than to keep up the current breakneck pace. Maybe Hamish could go, though.)

Still, the Charles Todd books are some of the best being written in the genre at the moment. (There are always a few Americanisms and anachronisms, but so far, I don't find them unbearable.) I suppose the plots aren't that important, anyway, when so many other elements -- the characters, the careful reconstruction of an ever-receding moment in history, the powerful exploration of the never-ending costs of war -- make this fine series worth reading. So, like Hamish, I'll stick with Rutledge. But I think I can hear Hamish saying to the Todds -- "'Ware! Ye cannae let things slide too far."

I can't believe all the five star reviews for this book! As an Ian Rutledge fan, I found it sadly disappointing. Nothing in the book is believable. The so-called hostage situation is absurd, especially after a murder takes place in the hostage house. The motive given by the killer when he recites a full confession that is of course overheard is ridiculous. Rutledge advises the doctor to place a guard and lock doors to protect an unconscious victim, and when the doctor declines, simply shrugs his shoulders and does nothing about it. The red herring is glaringly obvious, and I don't often spot them. Even Hamish is getting predictable and boring. The previous books were so good, this is a shame.

Inspector Ian Rutledge has been called to Hampton Regis on the southern coast of England. Facility Hamilton is in love with two men; her husband, Matthew, and Stephen Mallory. When Matthew is attacked and nearly killed, Mallory is everyone's immediate suspect, and he knows it. Mallory runs to Facility, bars them in the house and with Facility's collusion, claims he will kill her unless they send for Rutledge to prove Mallory's innocence.

Rutledge is definitely the prime character of the story, and wonderfully developed and complex. The surrounding characters may not all have been likable, but they were strongly written. The sense of time and place are so evocative, it's easy to feel part of the scene. The story was very well plotted. There was no way for me to see where the story was going and each new element drew me further in. The theme of the impact of war on those who've fought is and timely, but doesn't overwhelm the story, and the ending was particularly poignant. This was an excellent book in an excellent series.