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Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: After two London men end their business partnership, one of them is savagely murdered in a medieval tithe barn on his estate in Somerset. Investigating the killing, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge discovers that the victim was universally despised in Cambury-even the victim's wife and the town's police inspector are suspect. And yet in London circles, the man was highly regarded. What triggered his death? Rutledge doggedly follows a well-concealed trail that finally leads him to the one person who knows the whole truth. But it's too late to stop a spreading evil and a vicious settling of scores. As the seasoned inspector comes to understand the larger picture, he realizes he may not be able to prove what he suspects. In spite of his skill, this may be the only case in which Rutledge fails to get his man..… (more)
Media reviews
Here the mother and son who write under the name Charles Todd get it all right: a shocking crime in a bucolic setting; secretive characters who act from complex motives; a confounding puzzle elegantly presented and put before a detective with an intuitive understanding of the dark side of human
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nature.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member MrsLee
Inspector Rutledge must dig through the past, clear back to the Boer War, to come up with the solution for the murder of Howard Quarles.
I'm not particularly fond of knowing the whole mystery at the beginning of the book, then watching the detectives stumble along a lot of wrong paths. It worked on
I'm not particularly fond of knowing the whole mystery at the beginning of the book, then watching the detectives stumble along a lot of wrong paths. It worked on
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a TV show like Colombo, because we got to see him picking apart the murderer's stories. He always knew who to suspect, and chipped away at them. Here, the reader knows "who-done-it" but the detective doesn't have a clue, is led down a lot of blind alleys and bumbles along while the reader knows all the details. I don't know if the reader was supposed to doubt who the culprit was? Anyway, it was boring. Also, Ian Rutledge does not really have my love. Perhaps he is a bit too tortured a soul for me to identify with? I give it three stars for coherency, and it wasn't stupid, so I'm not sorry I read it; but it doesn't make me eager to seek out more Charles Todd in a hurry, and that was an author I thought had promise. I've read three of the Rutledge novels so far, and still am only seeing promise. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kasthu
In 1920, a man, hated by everyone around him including his wife, is murdered in a tithe barn in Somerset. Inspector Ian Rutledge of the Scotland Yard is in the neighborhood to attend a wedding, and is called to the scene of the crime.
A Matter of Justice is the eleventh book in the Inspector Ian
The authors tend to pepper their prose with Americanisms such as "bookstore" for "bookshop," and "family is" for "family are;" and they over-use British words such as lorry and flat. It's simply not convincing. The prose itself is memorable, but only because it leaves out key phrases and words and makes you feel as though you missed something along the way. Take this paragraph, for example: "He wasn't ready to confront the tangle of Hugh Jones and his family. But he walked there, and when nobody answered his knock, he let himself in." Obviously, the authors mean "walked to their house," but there's a word in there that needs to be modified in order for the paragraph to make sense.
Returning readers to the Ian Rutledge series will appreciate the fact that the authors don't repeat background information on the recurring characters. But if you're a first-time reader, be prepared to be very confused; at least, I was. I think I might have enjoyed the novel a bit more if a little more exposition had been given.
Rutledge is a little boring, truth be told, and he seems to muddle along until Hamish puts clues into his head. Too, the 1920s setting didn't really feel like the 1920s to me. Take away the Great War references, and you're left with a pretty average modern-day murder mystery a la PD James without the intense psychological bits. I really wanted to like this book, but my reading of it got bogged down for the reasons mentioned above.
A Matter of Justice is the eleventh book in the Inspector Ian
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Rutledge series. The author is actually a mother and son writing team. From the get-go, I could tell that the authors are influenced by PD James's style. Rutledge is haunted by the ghost of his past, especially a dead lieutenant he fought with in the First World War who speaks to Rutledge in a faux-Scottish accent (I'm no expert, but do the Scots really say things like "yon?" Did the authors even speak Hamish's lines out loud as they were writing them?). The authors tend to pepper their prose with Americanisms such as "bookstore" for "bookshop," and "family is" for "family are;" and they over-use British words such as lorry and flat. It's simply not convincing. The prose itself is memorable, but only because it leaves out key phrases and words and makes you feel as though you missed something along the way. Take this paragraph, for example: "He wasn't ready to confront the tangle of Hugh Jones and his family. But he walked there, and when nobody answered his knock, he let himself in." Obviously, the authors mean "walked to their house," but there's a word in there that needs to be modified in order for the paragraph to make sense.
Returning readers to the Ian Rutledge series will appreciate the fact that the authors don't repeat background information on the recurring characters. But if you're a first-time reader, be prepared to be very confused; at least, I was. I think I might have enjoyed the novel a bit more if a little more exposition had been given.
Rutledge is a little boring, truth be told, and he seems to muddle along until Hamish puts clues into his head. Too, the 1920s setting didn't really feel like the 1920s to me. Take away the Great War references, and you're left with a pretty average modern-day murder mystery a la PD James without the intense psychological bits. I really wanted to like this book, but my reading of it got bogged down for the reasons mentioned above.
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LibraryThing member BCCJillster
Not as much personal development of Rutledge or Hamish as the earlier books, but I still love visiting with them.
LibraryThing member Scrabblenut
I have loved most of the Inspector Rutledge mysteries, and I did enjoy this one as well. However I don't like mysteries where the reader knows most of the answers before the main story even begins, so that spoiled this one for me a bit, although there were still some surprises at the end. The
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characters were interesting and there was lots of psychology involved in the story. Show Less
LibraryThing member readinggeek451
A complex case with its roots in the Boer War confronts Inspector Rutledge. Harold Quarles was cordially hated by almost everyone, including his wife and the local police inspector. But which one killed him? The answer is signalled from the beginning, but there's enough doubt to sustain the
An okay read, but not one of the better entries in the series.
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puzzle.An okay read, but not one of the better entries in the series.
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LibraryThing member bhowell
This is another great thriller from the Charles Todd mother son writing team taking place in 1920's England and featuring the tormented and shell shocked Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard. This time the roots of the savage murder reach balk to the dark days of the Boer war. A great story.
LibraryThing member margaret.pinard
Very well done mystery. At first the reveal at the beginning had me searching for how the detective was going to uncover the evidence, since I was as much in the dark as he was. But then by the very end, there was one twist too many, and I kind of lost respect for the abrupt timing at the end...
Definitely thought it better than the other Charles Todd I read about the disabled persons' house in the south.
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not to say that the bulk of the story was not interesting and most compelling- I couldn't put it down for 5 hours! Much enjoyed. Definitely thought it better than the other Charles Todd I read about the disabled persons' house in the south.
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LibraryThing member MargaretPinardAuthor
Very well done mystery. At first the reveal at the beginning had me searching for how the detective was going to uncover the evidence, since I was as much in the dark as he was. But then by the very end, there was one twist too many, and I kind of lost respect for the abrupt timing at the end...
Definitely thought it better than the other Charles Todd I read about the disabled persons' house in the south.
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not to say that the bulk of the story was not interesting and most compelling- I couldn't put it down for 5 hours! Much enjoyed. Definitely thought it better than the other Charles Todd I read about the disabled persons' house in the south.
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LibraryThing member VictoriaJZ
I really enjoyed this mystery - I knew there had to be a link between the first chapter and the solving of the murder, but didn't quite know how they fit together. I found this very suspenseful and also moving as it dealt with Ian's mental health issues.
LibraryThing member jamespurcell
Rutledge is sent to Somerset to investigate a bizarre murder. The death of the local squire, now a very successful financial adviser in London who got his start with money stolen during a honorific Boer War ambush, causes quite a stir in a rural community. Disliked by virtually everyone in his
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small town, Rutledge doe not lack for suspects. Beset by his usual WW1 demons, he sorts through sparse evidence, myriad motives and rampant attempted suicides to a painstakingly slow solution. Which solution, unfortunately, results in several more deaths from his pursuit of this matter of justice. Show Less
LibraryThing member MommaTracey
This one was a page turner! What a surprise and sad twist at the end. I was afraid we'd never see the South African elements brought back into play but finally at the end. And Padgett....ohmygreatgooglymoogly...what a character! Ugh!
Original publication date
2008-12-30