About this title: When a woman is murdered in a sleepy Dorset village, it appears to be a crime of passion. The killer is immediately arrested. But it is the identity of the victim that brings Inspector Rutledge down to investigate. For if the woman was the killer's wife, then where are their two children?
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780312971281ISBN:0312971281
Description: Good. First printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Slight cover wear with scuffing to edges and minor creases to cover. Minor age toning. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very good. By Charles Todd; ISBN: 0312971281; Pub. : St. Martin; Pub. Date: 2000-05-15; Media: Mass Market Paperback; Weight: 3.2 oz.; Minor exterior wear, spine leans a bit, all else is excellent. by Charles Todd; ISBN: 0312971281; Pub. : St. Martin; Pub. Date: 2000-05-15; Media: Mass Market Paperback; Weight: 3.2 oz.; Minor exterior wear, spine leans a bit, all else is excellent. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Date Published: 5/15/2000
ISBN-13:9780312971281ISBN:0312971281
Description: New. 0312971281 "BRAND NEW! Paperback-Clean pages with tight binding: NO marks, writing or stickers inside or out! From a pet-FREE, Smoke-FREE warehouse. Maybe a hint of edge wear from shelving. We ship to APO & FPO with pride! . And...Thank you! " read more
Edition: First edition-First printing.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: St. Martins, New York
Date Published: 1999
Description: Fine advance reading copy in stiff, glossy, decorated wrappers. Signed by author on free front endpaper. The third Inspector Rutledge mystery. read more
Edition: Softcover Ed
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: St. Martin's Press NY 1999
Description: Fine-/Softcover. Signed by Author 1st ED ARC F/Advanced Reading Copy, Signed. large softcover book 279 pgs, A Signed Advanced Reading Copy issued before the first edition. An Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery. read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN-13:9780312971281ISBN:0312971281
Description: Very Good. 0312971281 Mass Market Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780312971281ISBN:0312971281
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780312971281ISBN:0312971281
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 304 p. Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: First Edition (ARC)
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: St Martins Pr
Date Published: 1999-05
ISBN-13:9780312200008ISBN:0312200005
Description: Fine. PAPERBACK ADVANCE COPY (ARC/GALLEY/PROOF). Signed by author on end paper. Negligible wear; crisp corners; uncreased spine. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books / St Martin's Press [1999], New York
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780312200008ISBN:0312200005
Description: Fair. Signed First edition. Signed Advance Reading Copy in pictorial wrappers [trade sized paperback format, but of the hardcover edition]. This copy has been signed by the author [as issued] on the front free endpaper. 279 pages. Otherwise VG+/Near Fine copy marred by waterstaining to the fore-edge page margins of the front cover and the first few dozen pages. read more
"I have a weakness for historical mysteries. So, since you can only read so much Anne Perry, I decided to give Charles Todd's Rutledge a try. This is an early book in the series and I can tell you it only gets better from here.
Ian Rutledge was an Inspector at Scotland Yard before WWI. He came home shell shocked and since partially recovering spends his time trying to solve cases while his boss, who hates him, keeps throwing him into dicey situations trying to get him to commit career suicide. Ian, who struggles with not committing actual suicide, is too busy hiding how close to insanity he was and still is from his boss and peers to even notice that his boss is out to get him.
I can't really tell you anymore without spoiling somethings for you. The mysteries are well thought out and I enjoy them thoroughly but really I read this book and all the others for the tormented double-man that's Ian."
"Following the end of the first World War Ian Rutledge has returned to his work as an Inspector with Scotland Yard after nearly dying on the battlefield. He is called to a case in Dorset where a man has been arrested for killing the woman he believed to be his wife, despite the fact his wife and two children had supposedly died during a bombing raid two years earlier. Rutledge is assigned as a trouble-shooter to coordinate with the jurisdictions involved to locate the children who were assumed to have been with the murdered woman when she was killed. His presence is not universally welcomed by the local coppers.
The slant to this book is that Rutledge has a partner of sorts: a voice in his head. The voice belongs to Hamish McLeod, a soldier that Rutledge was required to shoot during the war when McLeod refused to lead his men into a particular battle. Rutledge seems resigned to Hamish's presence which is at times angry and taunting and at other times almost supportive of Rutledge's ways. He copes remarkably well with the interruptions at any rate. This is the third book in a series of what is now 11 books and frankly I'm not sure where else this particular element can go as, after only a short while, the novelty value had worn off for me and I simply accepted Hamish as a normal, fairly minor character. In a way I suppose this is good as it means it's less of a gimmicky element than it might otherwise be, but the downside is that there's less to differentiate this book from similar books in the crowded police procedural genre.
As historical fiction goes the book is first rate. It captures the immediate aftermath of the war and its effect on both the people who fought in it and those who stayed behind. Although the book explores the psychological impact of the war in a way that a contemporary whodunnit might not have done, I don't think that makes the exploration less legitimate and, for me, it was the most interesting aspect of the book. The depiction of the torment many people went through without the medical knowledge and social support systems that are available today is powerful and quite sobering to ponder. Of course this makes the book quite a sad one with an ending that should not have had to happen (but realistic nonetheless).
A combination of slower pacing than I like and Rutledge's way of working things out in his mind (with Hamish's help) led to each twist and turn of the plot being telegraphed to me slightly before it actually happened so that in the end there were few genuine surprises in the story. However the plot, though somewhat convoluted, is logical and does hang together well. The characters more than make up for the duller moments.
I'd definitely recommend this to fans of historical fiction (I have a friend who adores Foyles War and I think she'll love this series) and those who like a solidly written police procedural with a touch of melancholy.
Audio book specific comments: A great narrator who manages the balance between performance and reading too perfection. I did find myself looking forward to getting back to this one and was quickly lost in the story each time I came back to it."
"More sound detective work and mystery surrounding the main character of Inspector Ian Rutledge in post-WW1 England. Solid writing, but slow moving at times."
"My mother dismissed this book for all the reasons I enjoy it-most especially Hamish. Yes, I get that he's not really there. He's a figment of Rutledge's overworked imagination. Hearing voices is not a good thing. But I don't care. I think the series and Rutledge himself would be diminished if he ever fully recovers and ditches Hamish."
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