Ian Rutledge is a veteran of WWI, suffering from shell shock even as he returns to his work at Scotland Yard. Inspector Rutledge is haunted by scenes from the war, and especially by the voice of a fellow soldier. Despite his inner struggles, Rutledge strives to become once again the superior detective, known for his skill in solving crime. Working to catch a murderer in a small village, Rutledge struggles to control his inner turmoil while trying to focus on this murder and all the people involved. This was a great introductory novel to the series, and I plan to continue on.

Murder-mysteries are my weakness and Im so glad I picked up this first book in the series. This is a good, solid whodunit with a most excellent Scotland Yard Inspector as the main character. Charles Todd knows how to write a murder-mystery. Set just after the end of WWI, Inspector Ian Rutledge has been sent to a small village to investigate the murder of a retired Army Colonel. I tried so hard to solve this crime but even towards the end I was still scratching my head. Looking back, I realize that the story is written such that all the clues and the foreshadowing are there if you can just put them together. The beauty is that hes so smooth and so subtle that I was completely surprised by the ending. The atmospheric tone and sometimes dark nature of Rutledges thoughts kept me intrigued, which pretty much made up for the fact that theres really not a lot of action until very last chapter. I already love Ian Rutledge. Theres so much depth and potential with his character that I cant wait to see where the next books take him. Hes just back on the job after horrific experiences fighting in France and suffering from what they called shell-shock back then, but we now know as PTSD. This is a constant challenge for him because, in that era, it was generally believed that physical wounds were a mark of valor, while emotional wounds meant that you were a coward and just couldnt handle the stresses of war. That is really brought home in this story in the way that certain characters are celebrated while others are demeaned because of how the war affected them. Im looking forward to more of this series and more Inspector Rutledge.

Ian Rutledge is a detective called in by Scotland Yard to investigate the murder of a Colonel where the main suspect is a decorated war hero and friend of the Royal Family. If this goes wrong, he will be the scapegoat. Suffering 'Shell Shock' from the war, he has to prove his abilities to himself as well. And the case, certainly is complicated. Very well written and engaging historical story

Wow! I finally got to reading an Ian Rutledge novel. I really like Todd's other series starring Bess Crawford. So, I finally got around to trying this one. Am I glad I did.Now, I have to say any book set in this era is going to get my attention. I love books set just before, during, and just after WW I. But this book goes further than just having the Great War as a backdrop. He focuses on what the War did to people, to families...It has a wonderfully complex detective with what would be called PTSD today. It's a lovely addition to your basic English country murder mystery. Can't wait to read the next in the series.

This is obviously a successful series, with many installments and lots of good reviews, but after reading the first of the books in the series, I won't be reading any others. I love mysteries and historical mysteries, and am fascinated by WWI, but this book just isn't done well enough in any of these areas. True, Inspector Rutledge is a fascinating character and the device of putting the voice of Hamish in his head, as a result of shell-shock, is compelling. Hamish was a soldier in Rutledge's unit that he was forced, extremely reluctantly, to have shot for desertion. After that, it's all downhill. First of all, while some of Hamish's dialogue is given, he is often relegated to unspecified rantings, accusations, and tirades in Rutledge's head. As he was one of the few interesting characters in the book, I wanted to hear what he was saying.Other than Rutledge and Hamish, there were few interesting characters, excepting perhaps Catherine Tarrant, the successful woman painter, and Dr. Warren's unnamed housekeeper and a shell-shocked soldier who has returned to the village (although neither of the latter two characters is developed at all). The rest were all stereotypes of upper middle class English society, flat and dull. The main female character, Lettice, is supposed to be alluring, fascinating and compelling, but the only way we know that is that the author keeps telling us so. Nothing she says or does is particularly interesting. The same is true of the other main female character, Mrs. Davenport, as well as her cousin, Captain Davenport and the murder victim. And not much really happens. Rutledge goes and talks to each of the main characters and when they refuse to tell him anything significant, he just sort of says, 'ok', and moves on to someone else. The dialogue was stilted and melodramatic. The author doesn't provide the reader with enough information to deduce the solution to the murder but just springs it on you in one fell swoop in the end. It's too bad; I wanted to like this book