Watchers of Time [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Charles Todd (Author), Samuel Gillies (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC (Clipper Audio UK) (2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841974161
• ISBN-13: 978-1841974163
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,115,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles and Caroline Todd are a mother-and-son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. Caroline has a BA in English Literature and History, and a Masters in International Relations. Charles has a BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Business Management, and a culinary arts degree that means he can boil more than water. Caroline has been married (to the same man) for umpteen years, and Charles is divorced.

Charles and Caroline have a rich storytelling heritage. Both spent many evenings on the porch listening to their fathers and grandfathers reminisce. And a maternal grandmother told marvelous ghost stories. This tradition allows them to write with passion about events before their own time. And an uncle/great-uncle who served as a flyer in WWI aroused an early interest in the Great War.

Charles learned the rich history of Britain, including the legends of King Arthur, William Wallace, and other heroes, as a child. Books on Nelson and by Winston Churchill were always at hand. Their many trips to England gave them the opportunity to spend time in villages and the countryside, where there'a different viewpoint from that of the large cities. Their travels are at the heart of the series they began ten years ago.

Charles's love of history led him to a study of some of the wars that shape it: the American Civil War, WWI and WWII. He enjoys all things nautical, has an international collection of seashells, and has sailed most of his life. Golf is still a hobby that can be both friend and foe. And sports in general are enthusiasms. Charles had a career as a business consultant. This experience gave him an understanding of going to troubled places where no one was glad to see him arrive. This was excellent training for Rutledge's reception as he tries to find a killer in spite of local resistance.

Caroline has always been a great reader and enjoyed reading aloud, especially poetry that told a story. The Highwayman was one of her early favorites. Her wars are WWI, the Boer War, and the English Civil War, with a sneaking appreciation of the Wars of the Roses as well. When she's not writing, she's traveling the world, gardening, or painting in oils. Her background in international affairs backs up her interest in world events, and she's also a sports fan, an enthusiastic follower of her favorite teams in baseball and pro football. She loves the sea, but is a poor sailor. (Charles inherited his iron stomach from his father.) Still, she has never met a beach she didn't like.

Both Caroline and Charles share a love of animals, and family pets have always been rescues. There was once a lizard named Schnickelfritz. Don't ask.

Writing together is a challenge, and both enjoy giving the other a hard time. The famous quote is that in revenge, Charles crashes Caroline's computer, and Caroline crashes his parties. Will they survive to write more novels together? Stay tuned! Their father/husband is holding the bets.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still One of the Best Procedural Series, July 7, 2002

By 

P. Bigelow (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Watchers of Time (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In this fifth outing, Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard is once again sent out of London to help the local constabulary investigate a murder and to placate local powers that be.

As he painstakenly uncovers each clue, Rutledge begins to put the puzzle of a local priest's murder together in spite of the local police declaring that they have found the killer. The conclusions he draws will shock the local people as well as the local policeman.

Todd has one of the four best British procedural series going (the others being Crombie, Robinson, and James). Todd's series is special, however, because he has set it immediately after World War I and his character is flawed because of his experiences in the trenches of France.

Todd's writing continues to be impressive and his plotting superb. He does not use devices that will give his detective more information than he gives his readers. He has maintained Inspector Rutledge's voice and that of his alter-ego Hamish in this outing.

Todd has written a procedural - it is not machine gun paced - it's not supposed to be. If you're looking for a book that you can read in a single setting and still figure out whodunnit, don't pick up this series. But if you enjoy going along with the detective as he/she investigates a crime step-by-step, then try this series. You won't be disappointed.

If you intend to read this series, start with Todd's first effort A Test of Wills so you get the sense of the character and his suffering.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, complex mystery, October 14, 2002

By 

Gayle "brighttyger" (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Watchers of Time: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Novel (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

I love this series. I think book this was an excellent "breather" from the major internal conflict of Rutledge and Hamish. Of course, I look forward to the next book returning to that conflict, but this was a very intriguing mystery. I love the world and the premise of the series. I certainly don't think the series has weakened with each subsequent book. My own favorites were the second, third, and fourth. Todd is one of the few authors I buy in hardback. I do know Brits who drink cream in their tea. I guess they aren't self-respecting. I must have been deceived...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing but not the best effort to date, September 14, 2006

By 

Grey Wolffe "Zeb Kantrowitz" (North Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Watchers of Time: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Novel (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Once again Inspector Rutledge is sent out of London to deal with a murder in a rural constituency. This time he goes out to the 'Boards' of East Anglia, which even today is a desperately poor part of England. A priest has been murdered and his Bishop has asked Scotland Yard to make sure that the local constabulary doesn't 'muck it up'.

The local chap, Inspector Blevin, is determined to prove that the person who did it was not one of his 'flock'. He quickly latches on to a suspect who he is determined to hang, so as to be done with it. The problem is that there's little or no proof that he did the deed, and has an alibi for the day of the murder.

Inspector Rutledge must work he way through a cast of characters, all of whom know some of the truth, but only the real murderer knows the whole truth. Rutledge is determined to track that person down and bring them to justice.

One of the side characters is a young lady by the name of May (Marianna) Trent who has her own secrets. She is tormented by an sevent that she doesn't remember and doesn't want to face. Sound familiar. Like many victims of shock, she has no memory of before or after the event, the sinking of the Titanic. She still has nightmares, but can't remember what happen to her elderly companion, or how she managed to get safely away. She makes the perfect mirror image for Rutledge, who more than once comments on her appearance.

The denouement is interesting but the ending (which are separate) is in itself a disappointment. It's almost as if you can see

'TO BE CONTINUED' after the last paragraph. You get the feeling that this story will be revisited at some time in the near future.