Product Description

The superb new entry in the historical series the New York Times Book Review hails as "outstanding" and the Cleveland Plain Dealer calls "superb"

At the turn of the century, in a war taking place far from England, two soldiers chance upon an opportunity that will change their lives forever. To take advantage of it, they will be required to do the unthinkable, and then to put the past behind them. But not all memories are so short.

Twenty years later, a successful London busi-nessman is found savagely and bizarrely murdered in a medieval tithe barn on his estate in Somerset. Called upon to investigate, Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge soon discovers that the victim was universally despised. Even the man's wife—who appears to be his wife in name only—and the town's police inspector are suspect. But who, among the many, hated him enough to kill?

Rutledge tenaciously follows a well-concealed trail reaching back to an act so barbarous and with consequences so devastating that even the innocent are enveloped by the murderous tide of events. As he summons all his skills to break through a wall of silence in time to stem this tide, others are eager to twist the truth for their own ends. When justice takes a malevolent turn, can Rutledge's own career survive?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #258205 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-01
• Released on: 2008-12-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061233593
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In the stellar 11th Insp. Ian Rutledge mystery (after 2007's A Pale Horse), Todd (the pseudonym of a mother-son writing team) seamlessly combines a fair-play whodunit with a nuanced look into the heart of darkness in the human soul. During the Boer War, Pvt. Harold Quarles takes advantage of a Boer attack on a British military train to enrich himself. When two decades later his battered corpse is found grotesquely displayed at his country residence in Somerset, Scotland Yard's Ian Rutledge must sift through the plethora of lies, omissions and motives surrounding Quarles, who had become a successful investment adviser in London. Because the victim was almost universally despised in Somerset, Rutledge has no shortage of suspects. The inspector's own inner struggles, stemming from his guilt over his morally questionable actions during WWI, make him a more human and complicated protagonist than most other series sleuths. (Jan.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine
Any good historical novel steeps its reader in the details of a period. But Charles Todd does it with a passion—and through a narrator uniquely qualified to understand human nature—that brings fresh possibilities to the genre. Todd writes with atmospheric charm and a dark psychological edge that makes Rutledge one of crime writing's most compelling recurring characters. Especially intriguing is Rutledge's own coming to terms with his guilt over actions committed in World War I. "Finding a way back had somehow seemed to be a final betrayal," he thinks in A Matter of Justice, as he again questions his own survival. The success of the series hinges on both clever plotting and the nuance with which the authors continue to develop their character.
Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

From Booklist
Still plagued by memories of the Great War, angst-ridden Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge (along with his conscience and sounding board, the ghost Hamish), returns in a new historical mystery that finds him traveling to a country estate in Somerset. His task:  investigate the murder of a man well known and respected by the London business community, but universally disliked by the country townsfolk who know him. Pressured by his superior to solve the brutal crime, Rutledge wastes no time digging into the victim’s character. He finds abundant reasons why people want the man dead, as well as a few people who are surprisingly eager to take the blame. The problem is that Rutledge wants more than strong emotion. He wants facts, and those don’t come on a timetable. Memories of Rutledge’s traumatic wartime experiences add texture to this character-driven novel, which pivots on greed, shame, anger, and the quest for vengeance. Readers need not be familiar with Rutledge’s previous adventures to appreciate this one, another smoothly constructed, literary endeavor put together by a mother-and-son writing team. --Stephanie Zvirin

Customer Reviews

Impressive Psychological Mystery
First thing, the author here - Charles Todd - is actually a mother and son writing team. It is very impressive to me that two people can join together as one to produce such a highly intelligent, literary and intelligent piece of work. Kudos of the highest order are deserved.

The main story here evolves around the death of a not very well liked London businessman Harold Quarles. His body is discovered in the most unusual of circumstances in Somerset, where he has a summer estate. Called in is Scotland Yard Investigator Ian Rutledge. He certainly has his hands full for all the townspeople in both Somerset and London are not very fond of Mr. Quarles. Almost everyone is a suspect, openly verbalizing their dislike of the man and gratitude that someone finally did away with him.

The story mainly takes place in 1920 England but does take trips back to some major events in South Africa during the Boer War. There are a lot of characters here and they are all three dimensional and very well developed. They are all very believable. Most believable though is the main character, our Inspector, Ian Rutledge. His character does not merely go through the motions. We understand and are told why he thinks what he does and why he takes the actions he chooses. He is a troubled soul and has some mental problems due to some issues that fill him with great guilt from his own actions in WWI. He feels responsible for the death of a particular soldier and this spector haunts him. This man is very real to Ian Rutledge and he hears him talking to him all the time. Inspector Rutledge is a very complex man who is excellent at his job while being so disturbed that he continuously talks out loud to this dead man whose voice he hears. This makes for a very intriguing main character.

This is the 11th novel in the INSPECTOR RUTLEDGE series and my first time venturing into it. I had some questions about certain background material but I'm sure all these issues would have been addressed had I read the other books. I read it as a stand alone and still found it first rate. I give it 4 stars and not 5 for even though it is so well written and provides great psychological characterization it does remain a whodunit. At times I got a little bored and wished there was a little more suspense, a little more happening, to make the ride a little more pleasurable.

But I do highly recommend this book. If you are a reader of the series I am sure you will be thrilled. And if you are looking to explore a new writer, this one can't be beat.

Got this last night, gulped it right down!
Plays in the interwar years: a Scotland Yard inspector is despatched to an English village to solve the murder of an unpopular man who bought an estate in the area. Everyone in the village hated him, including the local police man, so the solving of the crime turns into a critical sifting of the misleading statements and non-statements made by different witnesses. One gets a nice sense of the dynamics of village life, and the period/historical touches are accurate and lend depth to the story. There is a counterpoint with an earlier incident in the Boer War that is also well-sketched. The inspector is a veteran of WWI trench warfare, and he has a "voice in his ear" from Hamish, one of his (dead) men, that adds an interesting psychological frisson and commentary to the different interviews that the inspector makes. Usually I don't care for paranormal stuff, but this was just enough on the border of the psychological that I enjoyed it very much. However, Hamish's accent was annoying--not very authentic.

I loved the story, though. I was unfamiliar with this series before, but I am going to be seeking out the earlier titles this afternoon. The book reads a bit like a combination of early Agatha Christie both in the storytelling and the emotional restraint of the narrative with the psychological depth of Pat Barker. I loved it!

Decently Written But Lacks Suspense And Depth!
The writing team known as Charles Todd does a decent job in creating a historical sense of time and place for their eleventh book featuring Detective Inspector Rutledge. That being said, however, the author's description of the anguished, haunted inner nature of the main character is getting a bit stale and tiresome, as little additional insight into the character's personality is offered. Further, the character development of most of the other people in the book is generally one-dimensional, making them somewhat uninteresting and lacking in depth. Without going into detail, the basic mystery to be solved is fairly interesting but the book never made me feel compelled to put other things going on in my life in order to find out what happens next. This is because A Matter Of Justice moves along at too slow a pace and never really generates a high level of suspense and excitement. All in all, I felt somewhat disappointed in Todd's latest effort. It's not that it is a bad book -- it's an average enough mystery to finish -- it's just not good enough to recommend.