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Inspector Ian Rutledge #14
The Confession
“One of the best historical series being written today.”—Washington Post
“Todd once and for all establishes the shell-shocked Rutledge as the genre’s most complex and fascinating detective.”—Entertainment Weekly
The Confession is historical crime fiction at its finest, continuing Charles Todd’s New York Times bestselling mystery series featuring severely damaged British World War I veteran, and yet still astonishingly efficient Scotland Yard inspector, Ian Rutledge. Todd’s troubled investigator wrestles with a startling and dangerous case that reaches far into the past when a false confession from a man who is not who he claims to be leads to a brutal murder. The Confession is a must-read for every fan of Elizabeth George, Martha Grimes, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, and Jacqueline Winspear, as post-war London’s best detective finds himself ensnared in a dark and deadly investigation that unearths shocking small town secrets dating back more than a century.
“Todd once and for all establishes the shell-shocked Rutledge as the genre’s most complex and fascinating detective.”—Entertainment Weekly
The Confession is historical crime fiction at its finest, continuing Charles Todd’s New York Times bestselling mystery series featuring severely damaged British World War I veteran, and yet still astonishingly efficient Scotland Yard inspector, Ian Rutledge. Todd’s troubled investigator wrestles with a startling and dangerous case that reaches far into the past when a false confession from a man who is not who he claims to be leads to a brutal murder. The Confession is a must-read for every fan of Elizabeth George, Martha Grimes, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, and Jacqueline Winspear, as post-war London’s best detective finds himself ensnared in a dark and deadly investigation that unearths shocking small town secrets dating back more than a century.
357 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2012
697 people are currently reading
1775 people want to read
About the author
Charles Todd
112 books3,500 followersCharles Todd was the pen name used by the mother-and-son writing team, Caroline Todd and Charles Todd. Now, Charles writes the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford Series. Charles Todd ha spublished three standalone mystery novels and many short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 535 reviews
November 21, 2022
Always a joy to read!
December 16, 2017
I love the Ian Rutledge series; however, I found the fleshing out of the characters to be confusing in THE CONFESSION. A bit of a disappointment this one.
October 9, 2019
Well, if anyone is still following my saga of these books, guess how they dealt with the issue of Rutledge's terrible and vindictive boss accusing Rutledge of murder with no evidence? He has a heart attach in the start of this one and basically exits stage left (due to retirement, not death). Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled the tedious plotline seems to be done with, but there wasn't much of a payoff.
This one wasn't a favourite. It took me weeks to read as I picked at it. Rutledge is way too isolated; the village where the crime is committed is fairly terrible, and vaguely sinister. I don't know. I didn't really enjoy it. It's well-enough written, but...
And it really hammered home that Rutledge and Gibson were only essentially allies due to a common enemy.
Seriously though, could Rutledge get some kind of occasional sidekick? Someone to talk to besides Hamish? Because Hamish isn't even that interesting anymore, if there's no one around to act as, well, as essentially a foil, or at the very least a consistent alternative perspective.
This one wasn't a favourite. It took me weeks to read as I picked at it. Rutledge is way too isolated; the village where the crime is committed is fairly terrible, and vaguely sinister. I don't know. I didn't really enjoy it. It's well-enough written, but...
And it really hammered home that Rutledge and Gibson were only essentially allies due to a common enemy.
Seriously though, could Rutledge get some kind of occasional sidekick? Someone to talk to besides Hamish? Because Hamish isn't even that interesting anymore, if there's no one around to act as, well, as essentially a foil, or at the very least a consistent alternative perspective.
May 19, 2013
Another interesting episode in the ongoing series of Ian Rutledge mysteries. I continue to enjoy reading about post WWI Britain life through the lens of Rutledge's jaundiced, shell-shocked eye. While the crime and it's ultimate solution are center-most, what is happening in British society and the lingering effects of the war on all members are also included.
In this outing, Hamish's presence is assumed, less explained, as are Rutledge's lingering symptoms from the War. They are a given. His personal story are a lesser backdrop but a constant presence. This would not be a good place to begin in the series.
As for the plot itself, I know it is summarized on the GR page and many other places and will not do so again here. Suffice it to say, it's complicated, with questions of identity, pre and post war crimes, secrets of rural communities. Plenty to keep the reader interested.
Recommended.
In this outing, Hamish's presence is assumed, less explained, as are Rutledge's lingering symptoms from the War. They are a given. His personal story are a lesser backdrop but a constant presence. This would not be a good place to begin in the series.
As for the plot itself, I know it is summarized on the GR page and many other places and will not do so again here. Suffice it to say, it's complicated, with questions of identity, pre and post war crimes, secrets of rural communities. Plenty to keep the reader interested.
Recommended.
March 2, 2022
A man confessing to murder is himself murdered. This leads Ian into the marshes along the Essex coast—a place of smugglers. Someone is killing off a family. No-one is whom they seem and Ian keeps pursuing things until the truth slaps him in the face and his next breath is nearly his last.
June 20, 2013
I am a great fan of this series, but this one was disappointing.
There were some good elements to the story ... but way too many of them. I found myself confused by too many characters, too many crimes, and too many complex plot lines, some of them centuries old and only barely relevant. One result of all this was that I never had any feeling for any of the characters, including Inspector Rutledge. In other Rutledge books I've read, I felt involved with him and caring for his personal dilemmas as well as his progress in solving the crime.
An observation. This story might have been more interesting if told from the POV of the characters in the town, instead of from Rutledge's POV. Then there would have been the opportunity to develop the whole panoply of characters into real people, instead of the flat personalities they ended up being. Of course then it would not have been an "Inspector Rutledge Mystery."
There were some good elements to the story ... but way too many of them. I found myself confused by too many characters, too many crimes, and too many complex plot lines, some of them centuries old and only barely relevant. One result of all this was that I never had any feeling for any of the characters, including Inspector Rutledge. In other Rutledge books I've read, I felt involved with him and caring for his personal dilemmas as well as his progress in solving the crime.
An observation. This story might have been more interesting if told from the POV of the characters in the town, instead of from Rutledge's POV. Then there would have been the opportunity to develop the whole panoply of characters into real people, instead of the flat personalities they ended up being. Of course then it would not have been an "Inspector Rutledge Mystery."
February 14, 2012
Solid writing as usual and Inspector Rutledge is as compelling as ever, but the story is too complicated by far. By "complicated" I don't mean I don't like having to think when I read, but this story wanders off into the weeds in a way the other Rutledge novels haven't. I am also wondering if Rutledge will ever progress as a character. Arkady Renko in Martin Cruz Smith's novels is another wonderful detective character, but over several novels he has changed and grown, or at least his personal world has. The world of those novels, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, is hardly a cheerful place, but there is warmth and a sense of hope. I worry that Rutledge's post-war Great Britain will simply remain a bleak, forlorn place. I hope I'm wrong, though, because the previous novels are quite good. This one is somewhere between a two- and a three-star review.
April 3, 2016
Fourteenth in the Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery series revolving around a 1920 Scotland Yard detective still suffering from shell shock after World War I.
My Take
Either Todd is getting tired of writing it or Rutledge is beginning to recover a bit from the shell shock as he isn't experiencing the same depth of problems in this installment.
Jeez, it's hard to believe an entire village can be so involved in the smuggling that they can simply write off human mercy — "a communal conscience … laden with guilt".
Todd makes an interesting case for the wrong of "protecting" children from reality. So much that could have been different if only the truth had emerged. It was so sad as Rutledge revealed back histories to "today's" interested parties. So much they finally understood. So much that could have been better. So much that made me cry.
Okay, Todd keeps dropping all these giganto hints of the heir to both Fowler and Russell and he goes nowhere with it. If he's going to throw out the red herrings, do it. Don't just plop it and leave it. I guess I'm whining because Todd is usually so devious and twisty with subtle underlayers that this particular hint was just so out of place.
It's a shame about the cancer, Willet's books sound interesting and I so hate seeing a promising life cut short (even if it's only a fictional one!)…hmmm, maybe Todd will write us some short stories… He certainly has the period well in hand.
Damn, what is with all the loose threads!
The Story
Wyatt Russell confronts Rutledge in his Scotland Yard office to confess to a murder. Yet, when Ian wants more details Wyatt backs down and runs. It's just odd enough that Ian decides to drive down to Furnham in Essex and explore. An exploration that leaves both Ian and Frances filled with dread.
It's "Wyatt's" body being found with a bullet hole that really sets things off. Something is obviously wrong, and the feeling of "get out" that both Rutledges felt that day encourages Ian to dive into the investigation. And the more Ian investigates, the more muck is revealed: local and personal histories that tie in to a number of murders. Murders that haunt.
Cynthia Farraday has no fans in Furnham, and her actions are certainly suspicious with her breaking into River's Edge and eluding Ian. Then the real Major Wyatt Russell is found, but nothing he says can be trusted, and he promptly escapes for a whirlwind of minor crimes. More digging reveals more possibilities with the cold case of Justin Fowler's parents' murders presenting yet more clues.
The Characters
Detective Inspector Ian Rutledge is still recovering, actually, he'll never recover from his experiences in the trenches. Especially his having to shoot his sergeant for refusing an order. A typically stupid, WWI order forcing his men to attack a German emplacement that would only result in yet more death without any gain. Now Hamish MacLeod haunts Ian, a reminder of his action, but also a soldier who's got his back. Now he's Scotland Yard and continuing the fight for justice.
Scotland Yard
Sergeant Hampton. Sergeant Gibson hates Bowles as well and helps Rutledge any way he can. Chief Superintendent Bowles is ill…yeah! I'm hoping we get to attend his funeral…ooh, snarky much…? Inspector Robinson in Colchester is currently in charge of the Fowler murder case. Mr. Harrison of Biddle, Harrison and Bailey was the Fowler family lawyer; if he'd revealed all his information…
River's Edge at Furnham in Essex
Justin Fowler, Wyatt Russell, and Cynthia Farraday were children growing up together at River's Edge in Essex. With the war and Wyatt's mother's disappearance, those children scattered, and nothing is as it seems. Nancy Brothers was a housemaid at River's Edge with inside information on the family. Harold Finley was the chauffeur and then the caretaker when Fowler and Russell enlisted before he also enlisted.
Mr. Morrison is the rector at Furnham. Sandy Barber, married to Abigail Willet, is the publican of the Rowing Boat and seems to rule the village with the exception of Timothy Jessup who rules them all. The innkeeper at The Dragonfly Inn is typical of the village — no one wants outsiders in Furnham, and their overt attitudes are loud and clear. Ben Willet was destined to be a fisherman, but he had more in mind for himself. First a step up to footman, then with the intervention of the war and Miss Farraday's encouragement, he took another step up to author. Constable Nelson is a disgrace to the force.
George Munro was a fellow soldier whose life Rutledge saved on the Somme; now he works at the War Office with access to some useful info. Frances Rutledge is his sister. Dr. Fleming, Ian's psychiatrist; and, Melinda Crawford;and, Meredith Channing get a mention.
The Cover and Title
The cover appears to be snowing with an awkward angle looking up through the top of a wrought iron fence as a bird glides in the wind.
The title is accurate, although it could be plural as there is more than one The Confession in this tale.
My Take
Either Todd is getting tired of writing it or Rutledge is beginning to recover a bit from the shell shock as he isn't experiencing the same depth of problems in this installment.
Jeez, it's hard to believe an entire village can be so involved in the smuggling that they can simply write off human mercy — "a communal conscience … laden with guilt".
Todd makes an interesting case for the wrong of "protecting" children from reality. So much that could have been different if only the truth had emerged. It was so sad as Rutledge revealed back histories to "today's" interested parties. So much they finally understood. So much that could have been better. So much that made me cry.
Okay, Todd keeps dropping all these giganto hints of the heir to both Fowler and Russell and he goes nowhere with it. If he's going to throw out the red herrings, do it. Don't just plop it and leave it. I guess I'm whining because Todd is usually so devious and twisty with subtle underlayers that this particular hint was just so out of place.
It's a shame about the cancer, Willet's books sound interesting and I so hate seeing a promising life cut short (even if it's only a fictional one!)…hmmm, maybe Todd will write us some short stories… He certainly has the period well in hand.
Damn, what is with all the loose threads!
The Story
Wyatt Russell confronts Rutledge in his Scotland Yard office to confess to a murder. Yet, when Ian wants more details Wyatt backs down and runs. It's just odd enough that Ian decides to drive down to Furnham in Essex and explore. An exploration that leaves both Ian and Frances filled with dread.
It's "Wyatt's" body being found with a bullet hole that really sets things off. Something is obviously wrong, and the feeling of "get out" that both Rutledges felt that day encourages Ian to dive into the investigation. And the more Ian investigates, the more muck is revealed: local and personal histories that tie in to a number of murders. Murders that haunt.
Cynthia Farraday has no fans in Furnham, and her actions are certainly suspicious with her breaking into River's Edge and eluding Ian. Then the real Major Wyatt Russell is found, but nothing he says can be trusted, and he promptly escapes for a whirlwind of minor crimes. More digging reveals more possibilities with the cold case of Justin Fowler's parents' murders presenting yet more clues.
The Characters
Detective Inspector Ian Rutledge is still recovering, actually, he'll never recover from his experiences in the trenches. Especially his having to shoot his sergeant for refusing an order. A typically stupid, WWI order forcing his men to attack a German emplacement that would only result in yet more death without any gain. Now Hamish MacLeod haunts Ian, a reminder of his action, but also a soldier who's got his back. Now he's Scotland Yard and continuing the fight for justice.
Scotland Yard
Sergeant Hampton. Sergeant Gibson hates Bowles as well and helps Rutledge any way he can. Chief Superintendent Bowles is ill…yeah! I'm hoping we get to attend his funeral…ooh, snarky much…? Inspector Robinson in Colchester is currently in charge of the Fowler murder case. Mr. Harrison of Biddle, Harrison and Bailey was the Fowler family lawyer; if he'd revealed all his information…
River's Edge at Furnham in Essex
Justin Fowler, Wyatt Russell, and Cynthia Farraday were children growing up together at River's Edge in Essex. With the war and Wyatt's mother's disappearance, those children scattered, and nothing is as it seems. Nancy Brothers was a housemaid at River's Edge with inside information on the family. Harold Finley was the chauffeur and then the caretaker when Fowler and Russell enlisted before he also enlisted.
Mr. Morrison is the rector at Furnham. Sandy Barber, married to Abigail Willet, is the publican of the Rowing Boat and seems to rule the village with the exception of Timothy Jessup who rules them all. The innkeeper at The Dragonfly Inn is typical of the village — no one wants outsiders in Furnham, and their overt attitudes are loud and clear. Ben Willet was destined to be a fisherman, but he had more in mind for himself. First a step up to footman, then with the intervention of the war and Miss Farraday's encouragement, he took another step up to author. Constable Nelson is a disgrace to the force.
George Munro was a fellow soldier whose life Rutledge saved on the Somme; now he works at the War Office with access to some useful info. Frances Rutledge is his sister. Dr. Fleming, Ian's psychiatrist; and, Melinda Crawford;and, Meredith Channing get a mention.
The Cover and Title
The cover appears to be snowing with an awkward angle looking up through the top of a wrought iron fence as a bird glides in the wind.
The title is accurate, although it could be plural as there is more than one The Confession in this tale.
September 13, 2024
This Ian Rutledge mystery shows a change in Inspector Rutledge. He has begun to slowly heal.
He is at his strongest in this book. Hamish is now mainly a voice that confirms ideas or helps Inspector Rutledge form new ideas about the latest murder mystery that he is solving. Hamish does not give any blame nor reminds Inspector Rutledge of past sins. This is more refreshing because the mystery becomes the main story line.
Again, as in all the other books, Inspector Rutledge uses that little trick of his – he can tell when someone is lying by their facial expression. Something that is useful in a time period where there are no fingerprinting, DNA or a big city lab where forensic technicians play with the latest computers.
It is all about the way you talk, look and act!! Can’t wait until the next book!!
Oh and will poor Ian ever have a love interest? Will this workaholic ever find true love? There is always hope.
The author notes in the back of the book, tell of the author’s addiction to Law & Order UK - I share that addiction - I love that show. Sometimes it is better than the American counterpart.
There are lots of twists and turns in this mystery. A surprise murderer and even though English police in early 1920's can't carry guns - surprisingly there is a gunfight!!
This is one of my favorite Ian Rutledge books!!
BEST USE OF: Small towns with big secrets!! A locket.
ALPHA MALE ( for the first time ) 8
SPUNKY HEROINE 0
RUNNING THROUGH ROADS OF 1920 ENGLAND - 10+++
HEA(HAPPILY EVER AFTER) You know – yes I believe there may be for some characters
PROLOGUE/EPILOGUE Epilogue, chapter one could be the Prologue. Not the best epilogue - but it is still an epilogue.
Rating System
10 - Perfect! – A keeper
Heat Level
0 - the only heat is the fires in the fireplaces
COVER COVERS IT: The cover works, though it reflects nothing from the story, it is purely a mood cover. Or maybe it reflects the house in the book - who knows.
HOLLYWOOD CALLING: Ok - somebody make a mini-series of this series.
He is at his strongest in this book. Hamish is now mainly a voice that confirms ideas or helps Inspector Rutledge form new ideas about the latest murder mystery that he is solving. Hamish does not give any blame nor reminds Inspector Rutledge of past sins. This is more refreshing because the mystery becomes the main story line.
Again, as in all the other books, Inspector Rutledge uses that little trick of his – he can tell when someone is lying by their facial expression. Something that is useful in a time period where there are no fingerprinting, DNA or a big city lab where forensic technicians play with the latest computers.
It is all about the way you talk, look and act!! Can’t wait until the next book!!
Oh and will poor Ian ever have a love interest? Will this workaholic ever find true love? There is always hope.
The author notes in the back of the book, tell of the author’s addiction to Law & Order UK - I share that addiction - I love that show. Sometimes it is better than the American counterpart.
There are lots of twists and turns in this mystery. A surprise murderer and even though English police in early 1920's can't carry guns - surprisingly there is a gunfight!!
This is one of my favorite Ian Rutledge books!!
BEST USE OF: Small towns with big secrets!! A locket.
ALPHA MALE ( for the first time ) 8
SPUNKY HEROINE 0
RUNNING THROUGH ROADS OF 1920 ENGLAND - 10+++
HEA(HAPPILY EVER AFTER) You know – yes I believe there may be for some characters
PROLOGUE/EPILOGUE Epilogue, chapter one could be the Prologue. Not the best epilogue - but it is still an epilogue.
Rating System
10 - Perfect! – A keeper
Heat Level
0 - the only heat is the fires in the fireplaces
COVER COVERS IT: The cover works, though it reflects nothing from the story, it is purely a mood cover. Or maybe it reflects the house in the book - who knows.
HOLLYWOOD CALLING: Ok - somebody make a mini-series of this series.
February 14, 2023
1920. A terminally ill “Major Wyatt Russell” confesses to a murder he claims he committed five years ago. Rutledge investigates what turns out to be a serial killer in this tangled mystery. The setting is fictitious Furnam, a grim little Essex village, in the Essex marshes on the Furnam Road. It’s inland, off the English Channel. (The author’s map puts it where Burnham-on-Crouch is located, on the River Crouch.)
Mystery and dark history shroud the unwelcoming village, and sadness hovers over the shrouded big house, River's Edge. The local Constable Nelson is a drunk disgrace and the burned-out church has virtually no presence here, but there is a rector of some sort, Mr Morrison. Mysteries surround the missing Mrs. Russell, and her two adopted orphans, Justin Fowler and Miss Cynthia Faraday.
Sandy Barber, brutal barkeep-owner of The Rowing Boat pub, is the local bossman, second only to the thuggish Timothy Jessup, it seems. His wife Abigail misses her brother, Ben Willits, who apparently went to war, and could mimic anyone, take on any persona. He did not wish to be a fisherman like his father and brothers, and most of the villagers. His dad Ned Willits has severe gangrene and is dying. Nancy Brothers used to work at the big house outside of town, but River’s Edge is now empty, as everyone is dead or missing or in London.
Rutledge occasionally gets info from his friend George Munro at the War Office. Rutledge saved his life during the bloody battle of the Somme in the Great War.
Again we must hear Hamish’s backstory. Again and again in every book!!
On an upbeat note, bloody Bowles has a stroke or heart attack or whatever, sick in hospital. Sweet. Bowles was prickly about Inspector Adams at Graves End, a good man who reports to Bowles’ opposite number at the Yard. Insecurity and competition up the lardy ladder.
I don’t understand why Cynthia’s family was murdered.
Mystery and dark history shroud the unwelcoming village, and sadness hovers over the shrouded big house, River's Edge. The local Constable Nelson is a drunk disgrace and the burned-out church has virtually no presence here, but there is a rector of some sort, Mr Morrison. Mysteries surround the missing Mrs. Russell, and her two adopted orphans, Justin Fowler and Miss Cynthia Faraday.
Sandy Barber, brutal barkeep-owner of The Rowing Boat pub, is the local bossman, second only to the thuggish Timothy Jessup, it seems. His wife Abigail misses her brother, Ben Willits, who apparently went to war, and could mimic anyone, take on any persona. He did not wish to be a fisherman like his father and brothers, and most of the villagers. His dad Ned Willits has severe gangrene and is dying. Nancy Brothers used to work at the big house outside of town, but River’s Edge is now empty, as everyone is dead or missing or in London.
Rutledge occasionally gets info from his friend George Munro at the War Office. Rutledge saved his life during the bloody battle of the Somme in the Great War.
Again we must hear Hamish’s backstory. Again and again in every book!!
On an upbeat note, bloody Bowles has a stroke or heart attack or whatever, sick in hospital. Sweet. Bowles was prickly about Inspector Adams at Graves End, a good man who reports to Bowles’ opposite number at the Yard. Insecurity and competition up the lardy ladder.
I don’t understand why Cynthia’s family was murdered.
May 3, 2012
First Sentence: the body rolled in the current gently, as if still alive.
It is not ever day Inspector Ian Rutledge has a man walk into his office at Scotland Yard and confess to a murder five years previous. The man is reluctant to provide details but Ian does learn he’s from a village east of London. Still a murder confession is still a murder and Ian begins unofficially looking into the matter. Things take a turn when the confessor turn up murdered two weeks later. A gold locket leads Rutledge to a village in Essex where it is clear strangers are unwelcome. Far from a straight-forward murder, Ian must go into the past to solve crimes of the present.
Once again I find a book whose beginning contains a completely unnecessary and annoying portent. Even so, I found I was quickly drawn into the puzzle of both a man and a place. Something Todd does very well is provide background on Rutledge for new readers, but in a concise way so as not to bog down those who have been following the series.
I take exception to those who are tired of the Hamish-aspect of Rutledge. On the contrary, I believe it gives verisimilitude to the series and the period in which they are set. Post-traumatic stress was not yet known, yet shell-shock was, and usually treated as something one simply had to “get over.” Seeing Rutledge struggle with it while do his job and try to appear “normal,” is a fascinating element of Rutledge’s character.
Having an author educate me, as well as entertain me, is something I admire. Todd informed me of a period and even the time and events which lead to it. The plot twists are very well executed and keep you off balance. The story within the story is fascinating. The one very slight negative I had was Rutledge’s ability to keep going without food, sleep or petrol for his car seemed a bit excessive, but it does speak for his dogged character and determination to find the truth.
“The Confession” is a very good read and keeps me a fan of this series for, I suspect, a long time to come.
THE CONFESSION (Pol. Proc-Insp. Ian Rutledge-England-1920) - VG
Todd, Charles – 14th in series
Wm. Morrow, 2012
It is not ever day Inspector Ian Rutledge has a man walk into his office at Scotland Yard and confess to a murder five years previous. The man is reluctant to provide details but Ian does learn he’s from a village east of London. Still a murder confession is still a murder and Ian begins unofficially looking into the matter. Things take a turn when the confessor turn up murdered two weeks later. A gold locket leads Rutledge to a village in Essex where it is clear strangers are unwelcome. Far from a straight-forward murder, Ian must go into the past to solve crimes of the present.
Once again I find a book whose beginning contains a completely unnecessary and annoying portent. Even so, I found I was quickly drawn into the puzzle of both a man and a place. Something Todd does very well is provide background on Rutledge for new readers, but in a concise way so as not to bog down those who have been following the series.
I take exception to those who are tired of the Hamish-aspect of Rutledge. On the contrary, I believe it gives verisimilitude to the series and the period in which they are set. Post-traumatic stress was not yet known, yet shell-shock was, and usually treated as something one simply had to “get over.” Seeing Rutledge struggle with it while do his job and try to appear “normal,” is a fascinating element of Rutledge’s character.
Having an author educate me, as well as entertain me, is something I admire. Todd informed me of a period and even the time and events which lead to it. The plot twists are very well executed and keep you off balance. The story within the story is fascinating. The one very slight negative I had was Rutledge’s ability to keep going without food, sleep or petrol for his car seemed a bit excessive, but it does speak for his dogged character and determination to find the truth.
“The Confession” is a very good read and keeps me a fan of this series for, I suspect, a long time to come.
THE CONFESSION (Pol. Proc-Insp. Ian Rutledge-England-1920) - VG
Todd, Charles – 14th in series
Wm. Morrow, 2012
January 20, 2012
I was telling a friend today that I had become even more discerning about the books I read. In the past few months, I have returned a fair amount of books to the library after reading only a few pages. Either I care about the characters or not - that's what drives my reading. In this most recent addition to the Inspector Ian Rutledge series authored by the mother/son writing team under the name of Charles Todd, I was not at all disappointed. In fact, I think this may be the best one yet. (Of course I said that about the last one too!)
The story opens with two fishermen finding a dead body in the marshy areas of the river. They figure him for a dead German spy, steal the money in his wallet and get rid of the body in the river.
A man walks into Rutledge's office and confesses to a murder. He is dying of cancer, and says that the cancer will claim him long before the hangman. Rutledge investigates and soon finds out that he is not the man he said he was at all.
This book had so many twists and turns. An old murder, an older murder and a host of even older murders are all uncovered in this incredibly well-written novel.
It's such a pleasure to pick up a book that really keeps my interest. I love the driven character of Ian Rutledge, suffering from shell shock, but keeping it to himself because at the time being a shell shock victim was considered cowardice. It would have been the end of his career. He is obviously driven to find justice after his horrific experiences during WWI.
This is a rewarding and complex book. While it helps to have read the previous books, it isn't necessary. This is a series you can dip into at any point and always enjoy.
The story opens with two fishermen finding a dead body in the marshy areas of the river. They figure him for a dead German spy, steal the money in his wallet and get rid of the body in the river.
A man walks into Rutledge's office and confesses to a murder. He is dying of cancer, and says that the cancer will claim him long before the hangman. Rutledge investigates and soon finds out that he is not the man he said he was at all.
This book had so many twists and turns. An old murder, an older murder and a host of even older murders are all uncovered in this incredibly well-written novel.
It's such a pleasure to pick up a book that really keeps my interest. I love the driven character of Ian Rutledge, suffering from shell shock, but keeping it to himself because at the time being a shell shock victim was considered cowardice. It would have been the end of his career. He is obviously driven to find justice after his horrific experiences during WWI.
This is a rewarding and complex book. While it helps to have read the previous books, it isn't necessary. This is a series you can dip into at any point and always enjoy.
August 27, 2016
Inspector Rutledge is back, fragile and sleep-deprived as ever. It would be nice if he could please get some rest, rather than running hither and yon between London and his place of investigation, ostensibly becuase they don't have telephone coverage. (That plot point seemed pretty contrived).
The story here is engaging. A deathly ill man appears at Scotland Yard, confesses to Rutledge, then wishes to retract his confession. His body shows up in the Thames a short time later, and Rutledge sets off to undersand why. His hometown does not welcome strangers, and Rutledge suspects they are harboring A Secret. (Of course they are!)
Pretty good plot, except for a couple of places that left me saying, "Whaaaa?" because they made no sense except that someone had to be at a particular place in order to advance the action. And the Bad Guy is also very obvious - though the Bad Guy's motivation and the probability in real life that he would be successful is absolutely ridiculous. Still, I enjoy Rutledge. I'd enjoy him more if he could get some sleep.
The story here is engaging. A deathly ill man appears at Scotland Yard, confesses to Rutledge, then wishes to retract his confession. His body shows up in the Thames a short time later, and Rutledge sets off to undersand why. His hometown does not welcome strangers, and Rutledge suspects they are harboring A Secret. (Of course they are!)
Pretty good plot, except for a couple of places that left me saying, "Whaaaa?" because they made no sense except that someone had to be at a particular place in order to advance the action. And the Bad Guy is also very obvious - though the Bad Guy's motivation and the probability in real life that he would be successful is absolutely ridiculous. Still, I enjoy Rutledge. I'd enjoy him more if he could get some sleep.
August 22, 2017
It was better than the last Ian Rutledge book that I read. But I feel like the book is a bit like Groundhog Day. Ian keeps going back to the same places over and over again. Sometimes he gets a small clue but sometimes he doesn't.
January 30, 2016
It's 1920 and World War I is now well in the rear-view mirror, but Inspector Ian Rutledge is still suffering some of the effects of shell-shock (as PTSD was called in those days). He's getting stronger though, and it was refreshing in this 14th entry in Charles Todd's series to find him much closer to normal and able to function at a higher level than he has previously.
He is still haunted by the voice of Hamish, the young Scots soldier under his command that he had had to execute for failure to obey orders on the battlefield. But Hamish seems a somewhat more benevolent spirit at this point. Perhaps he is beginning to meld into Rutledge's own personality and become simply the voice of his conscience.
This story begins with a man walking into Scotland Yard and confessing to the murder of his cousin five years earlier, but it is a murder that has never been reported and there is reason to suspect that it may not really have happened. The man who makes the confession is dying of cancer and is taking morphine as a pain killer. Rutledge suspects that his mind may be affected by his medication, but he insists that he wants to clear his conscience before dying.
Although Rutledge can find no record of a murder or an unclaimed body that could be the victim of the crime the man has confessed to, he is intrigued by the story and decides to take a road trip with his sister to the village in Essex where the confessed murderer grew up and where the "murder" may have occurred. There, he finds a very insular, unfriendly village that seems intent on discouraging visitors or newcomers. It seems apparent that the people there are desperately trying to hide some secret. But what? And does it have anything to do with the so-called murder? Rutledge can find no evidence and no reason to actually believe the confession he has been given.
Then, less than two weeks later, the alleged killer's body is found floating in the Thames, a bullet wound to the back of his head, a woman's locket around his neck. Rutledge learns to his dismay that the man had given him a false name. He is really someone else entirely, but he does have connections to the man whose name he had used.
Rutledge's investigation takes him back to that unwelcoming village and he begins uncovering some of the shameful secrets which the villagers have tried to keep. In doing so he discovers a long pattern of violence and multiple murders which may have some connection to the latest killing.
We walk with the good inspector as he follows the evidence which often seems to twist and turn back upon itself. It's a complicated plot, and at some point in reading it, I put all of the characters in a line-up in my mind and said who is the most unlikely to be the culprit? And sure enough, it turned out to be him! Maybe I'm catching on to Charles Todd's tricks.
Inspector Rutledge still moons a bit over his lost love and the reader wonders whether Todd will ever actually give him a significant love interest. Moreover, back at the office, Rutledge's nemesis Superintendent Bowles ("Old Bowels" to his subordinates) has suffered a heart attack and is in hospital and things are much calmer and running smoothly in his absence. It appears that we may get a new superintendent. Perhaps one who is not prejudiced against our troubled inspector and who will finally give him the credit that he deserves..
He is still haunted by the voice of Hamish, the young Scots soldier under his command that he had had to execute for failure to obey orders on the battlefield. But Hamish seems a somewhat more benevolent spirit at this point. Perhaps he is beginning to meld into Rutledge's own personality and become simply the voice of his conscience.
This story begins with a man walking into Scotland Yard and confessing to the murder of his cousin five years earlier, but it is a murder that has never been reported and there is reason to suspect that it may not really have happened. The man who makes the confession is dying of cancer and is taking morphine as a pain killer. Rutledge suspects that his mind may be affected by his medication, but he insists that he wants to clear his conscience before dying.
Although Rutledge can find no record of a murder or an unclaimed body that could be the victim of the crime the man has confessed to, he is intrigued by the story and decides to take a road trip with his sister to the village in Essex where the confessed murderer grew up and where the "murder" may have occurred. There, he finds a very insular, unfriendly village that seems intent on discouraging visitors or newcomers. It seems apparent that the people there are desperately trying to hide some secret. But what? And does it have anything to do with the so-called murder? Rutledge can find no evidence and no reason to actually believe the confession he has been given.
Then, less than two weeks later, the alleged killer's body is found floating in the Thames, a bullet wound to the back of his head, a woman's locket around his neck. Rutledge learns to his dismay that the man had given him a false name. He is really someone else entirely, but he does have connections to the man whose name he had used.
Rutledge's investigation takes him back to that unwelcoming village and he begins uncovering some of the shameful secrets which the villagers have tried to keep. In doing so he discovers a long pattern of violence and multiple murders which may have some connection to the latest killing.
We walk with the good inspector as he follows the evidence which often seems to twist and turn back upon itself. It's a complicated plot, and at some point in reading it, I put all of the characters in a line-up in my mind and said who is the most unlikely to be the culprit? And sure enough, it turned out to be him! Maybe I'm catching on to Charles Todd's tricks.
Inspector Rutledge still moons a bit over his lost love and the reader wonders whether Todd will ever actually give him a significant love interest. Moreover, back at the office, Rutledge's nemesis Superintendent Bowles ("Old Bowels" to his subordinates) has suffered a heart attack and is in hospital and things are much calmer and running smoothly in his absence. It appears that we may get a new superintendent. Perhaps one who is not prejudiced against our troubled inspector and who will finally give him the credit that he deserves..
January 4, 2012
I love a good mystery and when I first started this, I likened him to a good Wilkie Collins story, however, by the time I was finished, I couldn't wait to put the book down and in some ways forget I ever read it. I know that maybe if I was a fan of the series or had read some of the other books, this may have been different, but what started out as a good potential story, it faltered and failed.
Ian Rutledge is the epitome of a Scotland Yard detective. He's smart, polite, always a gentleman, discrete, a professional, and gets the job done. At the start, I thought this might be like the TV series Jericho with Robert Lindsay, and in some ways it was. Jericho only lasted four episodes and it clearly needed to continue to really delve into who Jericho was and his past, which is something I felt was needed with Rutledge as well. Perhaps with the others in the series, there would have been a slow progression of character development, but I cannot speak to that not having read any others.
Rutledge is also haunted by his fallen friend, Hammish, who I feel is meant to add to the story, but mostly distracted the reader since his Scottish dialect is sometimes not easy to decifer. I'm sure there is probably more background as well on Rutledge in the earlier books, but coming into the series midway, the reader finds themselves encountering a semi-developed character that doesn't really grow or change any through the entire book.
The story has some good elements, a town with many secrets, a family with many skeletons in their closet, and a murder mystery to kick it all off. From the first though this story takes these good elements and drags out the events to the point where you're almost bored to tears. After the mid-point in the story, it seems as though Rutledge spends all his time in the car going from London to the coastal town and back and forth and back and forth.
Until the last few chapters, you know exactly what Rutledge knows allowing you to come to your own conclusion as to what is going on and who the murderer is, that is until he gets really close to figuring it out, then the authors decide that all that openness with the reader needs to stop so they can spend a little more time building up to the big finale which in the end, isn't worth all the build up.
The other major issue with this book is the characters are much to easy to confuse. The names are very similar, and while you never actually meet more than half a dozen of the characters the murder mystery revolves around, that makes it all the harder to keep them straight.
All in all, if you're a fan of the series, you may enjoy this book. If you're not, I would suggest giving another in the series a shot as this one felt very undeveloped and the others may be better. As for me, I doubt I will read another book by Todd.
Ian Rutledge is the epitome of a Scotland Yard detective. He's smart, polite, always a gentleman, discrete, a professional, and gets the job done. At the start, I thought this might be like the TV series Jericho with Robert Lindsay, and in some ways it was. Jericho only lasted four episodes and it clearly needed to continue to really delve into who Jericho was and his past, which is something I felt was needed with Rutledge as well. Perhaps with the others in the series, there would have been a slow progression of character development, but I cannot speak to that not having read any others.
Rutledge is also haunted by his fallen friend, Hammish, who I feel is meant to add to the story, but mostly distracted the reader since his Scottish dialect is sometimes not easy to decifer. I'm sure there is probably more background as well on Rutledge in the earlier books, but coming into the series midway, the reader finds themselves encountering a semi-developed character that doesn't really grow or change any through the entire book.
The story has some good elements, a town with many secrets, a family with many skeletons in their closet, and a murder mystery to kick it all off. From the first though this story takes these good elements and drags out the events to the point where you're almost bored to tears. After the mid-point in the story, it seems as though Rutledge spends all his time in the car going from London to the coastal town and back and forth and back and forth.
Until the last few chapters, you know exactly what Rutledge knows allowing you to come to your own conclusion as to what is going on and who the murderer is, that is until he gets really close to figuring it out, then the authors decide that all that openness with the reader needs to stop so they can spend a little more time building up to the big finale which in the end, isn't worth all the build up.
The other major issue with this book is the characters are much to easy to confuse. The names are very similar, and while you never actually meet more than half a dozen of the characters the murder mystery revolves around, that makes it all the harder to keep them straight.
All in all, if you're a fan of the series, you may enjoy this book. If you're not, I would suggest giving another in the series a shot as this one felt very undeveloped and the others may be better. As for me, I doubt I will read another book by Todd.
February 14, 2012
The Confession is the first of the “Inspector Rutledge” mysteries written by the mother-son team Charles Todd, that I’ve read. I liked the book very much, and I’ll be reading more from this series in the future. The characters were well developed, the mystery was intricate yet believable, and the writing was very good.
Inspector Ian Rutledge, a veteran of the Great War, is Scotland Yard’s premiere inspector. During the course of a routine workday, a man Rutledge has never seen before walks into his office and confesses to the killing of his cousin five years previously. Of course Rutledge presses for details, but the mysterious man, who is dying of abdominal cancer, will only divulge his name and the name of the small village in Essex from which he hails.
Less than two weeks later, the confessed murderer is found floating in the Thames, a murder victim himself. When Rutledge learns the victim isn’t who he claimed to be, it raises a host of questions: What was the man’s real name? Is the man he confessed to murdering even dead? And if so, did the man in the Thames kill him as he said?
A gold locket, inscribed with the letter “E” is Rutledge’s only clue, and it leads the inspector to a small village on the river Hawking, where it seems everyone has something to hide.
I really enjoyed spending time with Inspector Ian Rutledge and putting the puzzle pieces together as he did. I certainly didn’t guess what was going on until near the book’s end, though the culprit was high on my list of suspects. I especially liked the addition of “Hamish,” the Scotsman Rutledge was forced to kill in the war, who now inhabits the inspector’s consciousness almost like a watchful friend. The reverberations of war – its senselessness and its atrocities – are everywhere in this book, and for me, they helped to humanize the characters.
The Todds write excellent prose, and its no-frills transparency is perfect for a convoluted mystery such as this one as it allows the reader to concentrate on character and plot. I did find some errors in printing, however. At least once the river Hawking is called the “Hawkins,” and several times an estate known as “River’s Edge” is called “River’s End.” My only other complaint centers around the number of trips Rutledge made from London to Essex and from Essex to London. At times I felt like I was reliving the horror of reading The Da Vinci Code.
All-in-all, I thought The Confession to be just about everything a good mystery should be. No, it’s not deathless prose or on par with Anna Karenina or Middlemarch, but I don’t think it aspires to be. It is, however, an entertaining way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.
4/5
Recommended: Yes. I think most mystery lovers will like this book. The mystery was quite well developed and the main character likable and real.
Inspector Ian Rutledge, a veteran of the Great War, is Scotland Yard’s premiere inspector. During the course of a routine workday, a man Rutledge has never seen before walks into his office and confesses to the killing of his cousin five years previously. Of course Rutledge presses for details, but the mysterious man, who is dying of abdominal cancer, will only divulge his name and the name of the small village in Essex from which he hails.
Less than two weeks later, the confessed murderer is found floating in the Thames, a murder victim himself. When Rutledge learns the victim isn’t who he claimed to be, it raises a host of questions: What was the man’s real name? Is the man he confessed to murdering even dead? And if so, did the man in the Thames kill him as he said?
A gold locket, inscribed with the letter “E” is Rutledge’s only clue, and it leads the inspector to a small village on the river Hawking, where it seems everyone has something to hide.
I really enjoyed spending time with Inspector Ian Rutledge and putting the puzzle pieces together as he did. I certainly didn’t guess what was going on until near the book’s end, though the culprit was high on my list of suspects. I especially liked the addition of “Hamish,” the Scotsman Rutledge was forced to kill in the war, who now inhabits the inspector’s consciousness almost like a watchful friend. The reverberations of war – its senselessness and its atrocities – are everywhere in this book, and for me, they helped to humanize the characters.
The Todds write excellent prose, and its no-frills transparency is perfect for a convoluted mystery such as this one as it allows the reader to concentrate on character and plot. I did find some errors in printing, however. At least once the river Hawking is called the “Hawkins,” and several times an estate known as “River’s Edge” is called “River’s End.” My only other complaint centers around the number of trips Rutledge made from London to Essex and from Essex to London. At times I felt like I was reliving the horror of reading The Da Vinci Code.
All-in-all, I thought The Confession to be just about everything a good mystery should be. No, it’s not deathless prose or on par with Anna Karenina or Middlemarch, but I don’t think it aspires to be. It is, however, an entertaining way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.
4/5
Recommended: Yes. I think most mystery lovers will like this book. The mystery was quite well developed and the main character likable and real.
June 30, 2012
I have fallen in love with these mystery books. The Confession is my third, but first from the Inspector Ian Rutledge series. I've read two out of three from the Bess Crawford series. I've ordered more from the library.
Our main character is Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard in London, England. The time period is post World War I. Rutledge is a Veteran of the war and suffers from shell shock or what we now call post traumatic stress disorder. His present commander of Scotland Yard is sensitive to this issue, but as the book transgresses Rutledge worries about his "problems" affect in his other commander's eyes. Rutledge is able to fulfill is duties as an inspector in spite of his shell shock. He is a man of determination, sacrifice, honor, and grit. He has a sister named Frances that he has an active relationship with. During this novel he did not have other active friendships, nor a girlfriend. His life is his work.
In the Essex Marshes in 1915 a male dead body in an officer uniform is found. Later we hear of a woman who went missing in 1914 and is presumed to be dead. Then a third body is found dead in London, belonging to a man who'd admitted to Rutledge that he'd committed murder. Inspector Rutledge begins his investigation in a village on the southeast coast of England, Furnham. It is immediately apparent this is a community that does not like strangers, mysteriously unfriendly and hiding something, or so I perceived this. Rutledge continues to uncover and unravel years of twists of secrets in families. Eventually by the conclusion of the book I was satisfied with the outcome.
Glad I take notes on my reading, keeping up with the various characters and whom I thought was not forthcoming in truth, or in piecing together what really happened in all 3 murders, it was quiet an undertaking. My mind was certainly kept busy.
I loved this mysterious unfriendly town of Furnham. English are supposedly known for a reserved personality, yet this town was inhospitable. It made for a page-turner in that I wanted to know what they were hiding.
Ian Rutledge is my kind of man: tough, discerning, smart, perceptive, wise, prepared, trained, and decisive. He is man of action, yet he is not unjust.
Our main character is Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard in London, England. The time period is post World War I. Rutledge is a Veteran of the war and suffers from shell shock or what we now call post traumatic stress disorder. His present commander of Scotland Yard is sensitive to this issue, but as the book transgresses Rutledge worries about his "problems" affect in his other commander's eyes. Rutledge is able to fulfill is duties as an inspector in spite of his shell shock. He is a man of determination, sacrifice, honor, and grit. He has a sister named Frances that he has an active relationship with. During this novel he did not have other active friendships, nor a girlfriend. His life is his work.
In the Essex Marshes in 1915 a male dead body in an officer uniform is found. Later we hear of a woman who went missing in 1914 and is presumed to be dead. Then a third body is found dead in London, belonging to a man who'd admitted to Rutledge that he'd committed murder. Inspector Rutledge begins his investigation in a village on the southeast coast of England, Furnham. It is immediately apparent this is a community that does not like strangers, mysteriously unfriendly and hiding something, or so I perceived this. Rutledge continues to uncover and unravel years of twists of secrets in families. Eventually by the conclusion of the book I was satisfied with the outcome.
Glad I take notes on my reading, keeping up with the various characters and whom I thought was not forthcoming in truth, or in piecing together what really happened in all 3 murders, it was quiet an undertaking. My mind was certainly kept busy.
I loved this mysterious unfriendly town of Furnham. English are supposedly known for a reserved personality, yet this town was inhospitable. It made for a page-turner in that I wanted to know what they were hiding.
Ian Rutledge is my kind of man: tough, discerning, smart, perceptive, wise, prepared, trained, and decisive. He is man of action, yet he is not unjust.
April 15, 2012
Charles Todd is actually an American mother/son writing team. They write mystery novels set in the World War I period. This happens to be a time that I am completely obsessed with, so I’ll forgive them their lack of firsthand Britishness. The Todd team, henceforth to be refered to just as Charles Todd, currently write two series. My favorite is the Bess Crawford series. Bess is a nurse during WWI and her penchant for investigation dovetails nicely with her desire to help those she encounters.
This book is in the longer Ian Rutledge series. Rutledge was an officer in the war and now serves as a Scotland Yard inspector. What sets Rutledge apart from the many other war veterans of fiction is his severe shell shock. During the war Rutledge was forced to convene a firing squad and execute his sergeant, Hamish McLeod, for refusing an order during battle. Rutledge’s shell shock takes the form of Hamish’s ghost. He never leaves Rutledge in peace, but acts as part conscience, part confidant, part torment. Despite, or perhaps because of Hamish’s presence, Rutledge manages his investigations with keen insight into human nature and a dogged determination to bring criminals to justice.
The Confession centers around an incident wherein a man, calling himself Wyatt Russell confesses to the murder of his cousin. Rutledge cannot hold Russell because the alleged murder occurred five years earlier, in the height of WWI. There is no body or any other corroborating evidence. Rutledge has no choice but to let the man go and poke around on his own. He begins to suspect that Wyatt Russell is not the man’s real name, however, before long the man is the victim of murder himself. Several strange things begin to surface about Wyatt Russell and his family. Russell’s mother is a presumed suicide. Russell and his cousin, the putative victim, are both listed as deserters from WWI. Something happened at River’s Edge years ago and someone is still willing to kill to keep it quiet.
This book is in the longer Ian Rutledge series. Rutledge was an officer in the war and now serves as a Scotland Yard inspector. What sets Rutledge apart from the many other war veterans of fiction is his severe shell shock. During the war Rutledge was forced to convene a firing squad and execute his sergeant, Hamish McLeod, for refusing an order during battle. Rutledge’s shell shock takes the form of Hamish’s ghost. He never leaves Rutledge in peace, but acts as part conscience, part confidant, part torment. Despite, or perhaps because of Hamish’s presence, Rutledge manages his investigations with keen insight into human nature and a dogged determination to bring criminals to justice.
The Confession centers around an incident wherein a man, calling himself Wyatt Russell confesses to the murder of his cousin. Rutledge cannot hold Russell because the alleged murder occurred five years earlier, in the height of WWI. There is no body or any other corroborating evidence. Rutledge has no choice but to let the man go and poke around on his own. He begins to suspect that Wyatt Russell is not the man’s real name, however, before long the man is the victim of murder himself. Several strange things begin to surface about Wyatt Russell and his family. Russell’s mother is a presumed suicide. Russell and his cousin, the putative victim, are both listed as deserters from WWI. Something happened at River’s Edge years ago and someone is still willing to kill to keep it quiet.
July 27, 2012
The fourteenth book in the Inspector Rutledge series, and I am now caught up. More than usual, I was kept guessing right to the end. In the final chapters, as Inspector Rutledge was mulling over the evidence he had and found himself unable to settle on his suspect, I was confused right along with him.
I enjoy books set in this post WWI period. The Rutledge series is a nice complement to the Maisie Dobbs series. Rutledge is a complicated character as he is a highly competent investigator with Scotland Yard and, at the same time, suffering from shell shock from his horrific experience as an English army officer in the war. His shell shock manifests itself in the form of a voice in the back of his mind - the voice of his sergeant and close colleague whom he had shot for insubordination in the heat of vicious trench warfare. Hamish, a Scot, is both his conscience and his savior, often sensing and warning of danger before Rutledge perceives it. All of these complexities of character makes for a most satisfactory mystery. I will be watching for the next addition to the series.
I enjoy books set in this post WWI period. The Rutledge series is a nice complement to the Maisie Dobbs series. Rutledge is a complicated character as he is a highly competent investigator with Scotland Yard and, at the same time, suffering from shell shock from his horrific experience as an English army officer in the war. His shell shock manifests itself in the form of a voice in the back of his mind - the voice of his sergeant and close colleague whom he had shot for insubordination in the heat of vicious trench warfare. Hamish, a Scot, is both his conscience and his savior, often sensing and warning of danger before Rutledge perceives it. All of these complexities of character makes for a most satisfactory mystery. I will be watching for the next addition to the series.
February 1, 2012
It was fun spending time with Rutledge and Hamish again and this was a well-crafted mystery plot. When the Todds first started, they had difficulty coming up with endings that I found believable and satisfactory. A few books ago they got that figured out and this conclusion to Rutledge's detection works--enough of a twist so that I wasn't expecting the specific murderer, but with a sufficient planting of clues so that I could ferret out the main reasons behind the crime and the revelation didn't appear to come out of thin air. The principal setting is the marshes of Essex along a river leading to the North Sea--what sounds like a rather forbidding, if starkly beautiful, part of England--at least in 1920. We see Rutledge moving some beyond the evil of his war--though Hamish will never let him get too far afield from the horrors and guilt of the Somme--to contend with a mystery arising out of historical and familial evil. An engaging read!
January 30, 2012
I admit to being a Routledge junkie, but this one was particularly fine. I couldn't figure out who dunnit until the end, along with Routledge. That's one of the things I enjoy so much with this series--I'm detecting with him. It's fascinating to watch him trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle in which you/he doesn't even know which pieces belong in the picture. Of course, they all do, but the connections look very tenuous indeed until Routledge finds those crucial last pieces of evidence.
I'm glad his superior isn't in the picture, too. Somehow these brilliant detectives all have incompetent, hostile overlords. That can get tiring and predictable in any series. I've discovered another "rule," too. The angriest guy is never the perpetrator. He's the antithesis of the gun on the table in the first act.
I'm glad his superior isn't in the picture, too. Somehow these brilliant detectives all have incompetent, hostile overlords. That can get tiring and predictable in any series. I've discovered another "rule," too. The angriest guy is never the perpetrator. He's the antithesis of the gun on the table in the first act.
May 12, 2012
I'm beginning to tire of this series and think it's time they wrap it up and move on to something fresh. I freely admit I was hooked by the series' premise of post WW I shell shock which includes constant haunting by the voice of a dead soldier. And of course, he's unlucky in love. I keep on reading these as they are published, so I can find out what's going to happen to the poor guy - but the mystery plots are wearing pretty thin. This one is particularly tiresome. Come on, let's finish this up with number 15 and make it a good one, before I lose all patience.
October 14, 2018
I really should stop reading this series it is starting to get repetitive and annoying. I think the problem is that there is no real character development for the main characters, if you look at book one and this book (book 14) the characters are the same. At least in this book, Hamish is not as prevalent as in other books.
I also found that near the end of the book things got very confusing. It just got very muddled and things didn't really make sense.
I also found that near the end of the book things got very confusing. It just got very muddled and things didn't really make sense.
November 22, 2018
Arg, no more Charles Todd!!
February 23, 2019
Too confusing--too many characters.
August 29, 2019
Excellent! This is one of the best mystery series.
September 27, 2020
SPOILER ALERT
Another complicated, confusing, clever, and brilliant addition to the Rutledge lineup. Inspector Rutledge will proceed with this complex case without the harassment of Chief Superintendent Bowles who has a heart attack, with his return to the job is in question, leaving a quiet and uncertain team working at Scotland Yard.
A man claiming to be Major Wyatt Russell comes into the Yard to confess to killing another, Justin Fowler. He also says that he is dying of stomach cancer and does not have long to live. He leaves and while curiosity pushes Ian to begin to investigate who he is and the circumstances, he next sees the man in the morgue, having been shot in the head and thrown into the Thames. Now he has a case too follow, with Bowles compliments. He finds a nest of other murders, issues of identity, and the very unfriendly village of Furnham in Essex to contend with.
While Russell exists, in a clinic recovering from war wounds, the man from the Thames is identified as the son of man from Furnham, who had gone into service, Ben Willet. He had been in the war, written a memoir of his experience that was published in Paris, followed by a novel about an early love in his life, and the smuggling enterprise in his village. He has told a childhood friend that he is working on a third book that will be about pure evil, entitled "The Dragonfly". Rutledge finds boxes of his manuscripts and the third book recounts the mid-1700s grounding of a ship near the village, named The Dragonfly (the title of his third book not yet published) and the name of the Inn in Furnham. The ship when spotted brought men from the village who found not soul on board, but valuable spoils that were over several days brought to the village and shared. Unfortunately, a fisherman names Jessup, reading the log of the ship realizes that it is a plague ship and that all aboard died. He throws the log overboard, telling no one else. The local vicar declares that their greed will bring the devil's price, and indeed, villagers began to come down with the plague. The vicar brought the ill to the church, nursing them in isolation. Jessup convinced the rest of the village there was one way only to escape further devastation, to burn them. They blocked the exits of the church and set fire to those inside, including Jessup's wife. Jessup hanged himself later.
The legacy of that act as well as the recurrent smuggling from France, only stopped during the war when an airfield was built in the village, causes the villagers to rebuff all strangers to keep the village separate. Rutledge realizes his life is in jeopardy as he looks for the killer. In early 1900 Justin Fowler, whose parents are murdered in Colchester and Justin is stabbed multiple times, nearly dying, and Cynthia Farraday whose parents died of typhoid, begin living at River's Edge, an estate near Furnham. Elizabeth Russell, a widow becomes their foster mother with her son Wyatt completing the group of three. There is a large group of staff at the estate who Rutledge will interview as he progresses. As the kids get older, Cynthia flirts with the boys, and with others, and the two boys become rivals for her affections. Wyatt is in love with her, but she is not with him, and he later marries a woman who dies in childbirth along with his son. Then in 1914 Elizabeth is murdered, her body never found. But her locket is found (first by Ned Willet) on the body of Ben Willet, with a picture of Cynthia, when he is pulled from the river. In the summer of 1915, three men of Furnham find the body of a officer in the Hawking River. Harold Finley is another player in the drama, as the driver/butler of the estate. Justin had found him on the estate shot in the head. As he is dying he says, "brother'. Justin, who had tried to ignore the threatening note he had got while a boy in the hospital, realizes he is at risk, exchanges clothes and ID with Finley who has been mistaken for him, and rolls him into the river. All three men had enlisted in the war. They all supposedly return but the whereabouts of Fowler and Finley are initially unknown.
As the story reaches it climax, Rutledge discovers Russell shot on the estate, deep in the tall weeds, and with Pastor Morrison, takes him to a hospital in London. While he recovers, later they will plant a story in the paper that he has died and police are looking for additional information. This brings out a man claiming to be Finley, but is Fowler posing in order to hide, under another name. He meets with Ian, who lets him go, after hearing his tale. His father had married very young to an inappropriate woman who tells him she is already married when his money is cut off. The marriage is annulled. She had put her son up for adoption to seem more eligible to Fowler, and the couple who took him refused to give him up. They sent him a Charity School, with a scholarship, where his mother, Gladys Mitchell, as Gladys Fowler, becomes Matron, and fills his head with the lies that Fowler was his father, not the man in prison. This man then goes on a journey of revenge. He kills the Fowlers, attempting to kill Justin. He then goes after Justin's second family, killing Elizabeth, then Finley mistaking him for Fowler, then Willet. Finally he shoots Russell. Ian finds reference to Morrison a curate visiting Justin in the hospital in the notes of the first investigation. He heads back to Furnham, to determine whether Morrison also killed Willet, his case, or if Jessup did it.
In the ensuing confrontation between Jessup, Ben's uncle, Sandy Barber, husband to Ben's sister Abigail, and Rutledge; Jessup and Barber are wounded, but survive as Ian rushes them to a hospital. Pastor Morrison, who he had tied up is released by a delivery man, and flees to River's Edge, where Farraday has come for a visit. He takes her hostage, and Rutledge again faces him, but this time with a gun, killing him. Ian realizes he has solved the case of the Fowler's murders and of Ben Willet. But much of the story must remain undisclosed to keep Justin from facing the gallows for desertion. He leaves Justin to his conscience, and the minor smuggling to the village.
A Todd novel requires careful reading. As I have indicated the stories are complicated. The are numerous characters many of whom have reasons to have killed one or more of the victims. There are tons of clues that Rutledge looks at carefully, ruminating on the possibilities, which can become confusing as the story progresses. In this case there is also the issue of one character taking on the identity of another, in more than one instance. I found myself needing to make copious notes on the characters, a chronology of various events, who was who, where, when. The backstory of the ship and the insularity of the village to hide past evils and current illegal activities enriched the book, and provided further history of England and the war. In the end it was a particularly satisfying read.
Another complicated, confusing, clever, and brilliant addition to the Rutledge lineup. Inspector Rutledge will proceed with this complex case without the harassment of Chief Superintendent Bowles who has a heart attack, with his return to the job is in question, leaving a quiet and uncertain team working at Scotland Yard.
A man claiming to be Major Wyatt Russell comes into the Yard to confess to killing another, Justin Fowler. He also says that he is dying of stomach cancer and does not have long to live. He leaves and while curiosity pushes Ian to begin to investigate who he is and the circumstances, he next sees the man in the morgue, having been shot in the head and thrown into the Thames. Now he has a case too follow, with Bowles compliments. He finds a nest of other murders, issues of identity, and the very unfriendly village of Furnham in Essex to contend with.
While Russell exists, in a clinic recovering from war wounds, the man from the Thames is identified as the son of man from Furnham, who had gone into service, Ben Willet. He had been in the war, written a memoir of his experience that was published in Paris, followed by a novel about an early love in his life, and the smuggling enterprise in his village. He has told a childhood friend that he is working on a third book that will be about pure evil, entitled "The Dragonfly". Rutledge finds boxes of his manuscripts and the third book recounts the mid-1700s grounding of a ship near the village, named The Dragonfly (the title of his third book not yet published) and the name of the Inn in Furnham. The ship when spotted brought men from the village who found not soul on board, but valuable spoils that were over several days brought to the village and shared. Unfortunately, a fisherman names Jessup, reading the log of the ship realizes that it is a plague ship and that all aboard died. He throws the log overboard, telling no one else. The local vicar declares that their greed will bring the devil's price, and indeed, villagers began to come down with the plague. The vicar brought the ill to the church, nursing them in isolation. Jessup convinced the rest of the village there was one way only to escape further devastation, to burn them. They blocked the exits of the church and set fire to those inside, including Jessup's wife. Jessup hanged himself later.
The legacy of that act as well as the recurrent smuggling from France, only stopped during the war when an airfield was built in the village, causes the villagers to rebuff all strangers to keep the village separate. Rutledge realizes his life is in jeopardy as he looks for the killer. In early 1900 Justin Fowler, whose parents are murdered in Colchester and Justin is stabbed multiple times, nearly dying, and Cynthia Farraday whose parents died of typhoid, begin living at River's Edge, an estate near Furnham. Elizabeth Russell, a widow becomes their foster mother with her son Wyatt completing the group of three. There is a large group of staff at the estate who Rutledge will interview as he progresses. As the kids get older, Cynthia flirts with the boys, and with others, and the two boys become rivals for her affections. Wyatt is in love with her, but she is not with him, and he later marries a woman who dies in childbirth along with his son. Then in 1914 Elizabeth is murdered, her body never found. But her locket is found (first by Ned Willet) on the body of Ben Willet, with a picture of Cynthia, when he is pulled from the river. In the summer of 1915, three men of Furnham find the body of a officer in the Hawking River. Harold Finley is another player in the drama, as the driver/butler of the estate. Justin had found him on the estate shot in the head. As he is dying he says, "brother'. Justin, who had tried to ignore the threatening note he had got while a boy in the hospital, realizes he is at risk, exchanges clothes and ID with Finley who has been mistaken for him, and rolls him into the river. All three men had enlisted in the war. They all supposedly return but the whereabouts of Fowler and Finley are initially unknown.
As the story reaches it climax, Rutledge discovers Russell shot on the estate, deep in the tall weeds, and with Pastor Morrison, takes him to a hospital in London. While he recovers, later they will plant a story in the paper that he has died and police are looking for additional information. This brings out a man claiming to be Finley, but is Fowler posing in order to hide, under another name. He meets with Ian, who lets him go, after hearing his tale. His father had married very young to an inappropriate woman who tells him she is already married when his money is cut off. The marriage is annulled. She had put her son up for adoption to seem more eligible to Fowler, and the couple who took him refused to give him up. They sent him a Charity School, with a scholarship, where his mother, Gladys Mitchell, as Gladys Fowler, becomes Matron, and fills his head with the lies that Fowler was his father, not the man in prison. This man then goes on a journey of revenge. He kills the Fowlers, attempting to kill Justin. He then goes after Justin's second family, killing Elizabeth, then Finley mistaking him for Fowler, then Willet. Finally he shoots Russell. Ian finds reference to Morrison a curate visiting Justin in the hospital in the notes of the first investigation. He heads back to Furnham, to determine whether Morrison also killed Willet, his case, or if Jessup did it.
In the ensuing confrontation between Jessup, Ben's uncle, Sandy Barber, husband to Ben's sister Abigail, and Rutledge; Jessup and Barber are wounded, but survive as Ian rushes them to a hospital. Pastor Morrison, who he had tied up is released by a delivery man, and flees to River's Edge, where Farraday has come for a visit. He takes her hostage, and Rutledge again faces him, but this time with a gun, killing him. Ian realizes he has solved the case of the Fowler's murders and of Ben Willet. But much of the story must remain undisclosed to keep Justin from facing the gallows for desertion. He leaves Justin to his conscience, and the minor smuggling to the village.
A Todd novel requires careful reading. As I have indicated the stories are complicated. The are numerous characters many of whom have reasons to have killed one or more of the victims. There are tons of clues that Rutledge looks at carefully, ruminating on the possibilities, which can become confusing as the story progresses. In this case there is also the issue of one character taking on the identity of another, in more than one instance. I found myself needing to make copious notes on the characters, a chronology of various events, who was who, where, when. The backstory of the ship and the insularity of the village to hide past evils and current illegal activities enriched the book, and provided further history of England and the war. In the end it was a particularly satisfying read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2017
A man walks into Ian Rutledge's office in Scotland Yard and confesses to the murder of Justin Fowler. Except no one seems to know if Fowler is really dead or not. Several days later, that same man is found in the Thames with a bullet in the back of his head. Except he was dying of cancer, so why would someone shoot him? As Rutledge investigates, he discovers Wyatt Russell, the man he claims to be, was, indeed, not Wyatt Russell, who survived the Great War and now lives in a convalescent home due to traumatic brain injury. This investigation leads Rutledge deep into the Essex countryside where secrets are rampant and bodies can disappear into the marshes with no difficulty at all. More bodies appear; some died before the war and some within recent memory. Who is killing the residents of River's Edge manor, located in lonely Furnham? I do not know how I missed this 14th book in the long-running series, but, as always, it is a good puzzle with expert plotting. I did not see the villain until too late.
November 7, 2022
It's a long time since I've read an Ian Rutledge mystery: perhaps long enough that I haven't reviewed any of the others on Goodreads (I'll have to check). What this book really brings home to me is how isolated parts of Great Britain were before the motorcar and, especially, before the Great War. The motives of people who didn't turn out to be the killer were more interesting than the one who did. That being said, if you like Josephine Tey with a psychological twist, then this book will be your cup of tea, or something a lot stronger.
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