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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Got this last night, gulped it right down!, November 26, 2008
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Plays in the interwar years: a Scotland Yard inspector is despatched to an English village to solve the murder of an unpopular man who bought an estate in the area. Everyone in the village hated him, including the local police man, so the solving of the crime turns into a critical sifting of the misleading statements and non-statements made by different witnesses. One gets a nice sense of the dynamics of village life, and the period/historical touches are accurate and lend depth to the story. There is a counterpoint with an earlier incident in the Boer War that is also well-sketched. The inspector is a veteran of WWI trench warfare, and he has a "voice in his ear" from Hamish, one of his (dead) men, that adds an interesting psychological frisson and commentary to the different interviews that the inspector makes. Usually I don't care for paranormal stuff, but this was just enough on the border of the psychological that I enjoyed it very much. However, Hamish's accent was annoying--not very authentic. I loved the story, though. I was unfamiliar with this series before, but I am going to be seeking out the earlier titles this afternoon. The book reads a bit like a combination of early Agatha Christie both in the storytelling and the emotional restraint of the narrative with the psychological depth of Pat Barker. I loved it!
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21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive Psychological Mystery, December 24, 2008
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First thing, the author here - Charles Todd - is actually a mother and son writing team. It is very impressive to me that two people can join together as one to produce such a highly intelligent, literary and intelligent piece of work. Kudos of the highest order are deserved. The main story here evolves around the death of a not very well liked London businessman Harold Quarles. His body is discovered in the most unusual of circumstances in Somerset, where he has a summer estate. Called in is Scotland Yard Investigator Ian Rutledge. He certainly has his hands full for all the townspeople in both Somerset and London are not very fond of Mr. Quarles. Almost everyone is a suspect, openly verbalizing their dislike of the man and gratitude that someone finally did away with him. The story mainly takes place in 1920 England but does take trips back to some major events in South Africa during the Boer War. There are a lot of characters here and they are all three dimensional and very well developed. They are all very believable. Most believable though is the main character, our Inspector, Ian Rutledge. His character does not merely go through the motions. We understand and are told why he thinks what he does and why he takes the actions he chooses. He is a troubled soul and has some mental problems due to some issues that fill him with great guilt from his own actions in WWI. He feels responsible for the death of a particular soldier and this spector haunts him. This man is very real to Ian Rutledge and he hears him talking to him all the time. Inspector Rutledge is a very complex man who is excellent at his job while being so disturbed that he continuously talks out loud to this dead man whose voice he hears. This makes for a very intriguing main character. This is the 11th novel in the INSPECTOR RUTLEDGE series and my first time venturing into it. I had some questions about certain background material but I'm sure all these issues would have been addressed had I read the other books. I read it as a stand alone and still found it first rate. I give it 4 stars and not 5 for even though it is so well written and provides great psychological characterization it does remain a whodunit. At times I got a little bored and wished there was a little more suspense, a little more happening, to make the ride a little more pleasurable. But I do highly recommend this book. If you are a reader of the series I am sure you will be thrilled. And if you are looking to explore a new writer, this one can't be beat.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too many red herrings mar an otherwise engaging mystery, December 31, 2009
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After a few introductory paragraphs about a huge injustice done to one man during the Boer War, we switch unexpectedly to the viewpoint of Inspector Rutledge, who is battling his own demons from his service during WWI, including the appearance in his mind of his dead Scottish comrade, Hamish, who throughout the book comments on Rutledge's actions. Once the switch in perspective is accomplished, the book is fairly engaging, as Inspector Rutledge is called to Somerset on behalf of his employer, Scotland Yard, to help the local police investigate the murder of one of the scoundrels from the opening chapters. Rutledge gets involved in the tiniest details of the lives of the villagers, all of whom seem to have had cause to carry out the murder and all of whom seem, inexplicably, to be suicidal, lending a melodramtic air to what is otherwise a fairly straightforward murder mystery, albeit one that flags at the very beginning what may be going on. The problem for me is that I wanted this to be what the title promises, namely a mystery, and it was more a study of village life. I think I would have liked it better if the opening paragraphs had been omitted, and the events related therein uncovered in the course of Rutledge's investigation, and the details of the villagers lives had been a bit more interesting. Worth reading, but certainly not a great book.
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