The Confession: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Scotland Yard’s best detective, Inspector Ian Rutledge, must solve a dangerous case that reaches far into the past in this superb mystery in the acclaimed series.

Declaring he needs to clear his conscience, a dying man walks into Scotland Yard and confesses that he killed his cousin five years earlier during the Great War. When Inspector Ian Rutledge presses for details, the man evades his questions, revealing only that he hails from a village east of London. With little information and no body to open an official inquiry, Rutledge begins to look into the case on his own.

Less than two weeks later, the alleged killer’s body is found floating in the Thames, a bullet in the back of his head. Searching for answers, Rutledge discovers that the dead man was not who he claimed to be. What was his real name - and who put a bullet in his head? Were the “confession” and his own death related? Or was there something else in the victim’s past that led to his murder?

The inspector’s only clue is a gold locket, found around the dead man’s neck, that leads back to Essex and an insular village whose occupants will do anything to protect themselves from notoriety. For notoriety brings the curious, and with the curious come change and an unwelcome spotlight on a centuries-old act of evil that even now can damn them all.

©2012 Charles Todd (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

good but lacks coherence

I really like this style of mystery - police procedural, interesting protagonist detective, set between the wars in England. I thought the main character was really quite well drawn. However, I found the story somewhat confusing and the mystery itself implausible and almost irrelevant. I liked all the ingredients, but for me the story itself was not interesting. Also, all of these characters who take on each others' identity. That whole thing didn't work for me, and didn't seem to have any point or plausibility.
The main character is very interesting and likeable. I was hoping for more involvement with his sister, who only appears in one scene but is also engaging. I might try number 2 in the series, eventually. An okay listen, but not as good as i had hoped. Nicely narrated, though, except for the terrible attempt at a scottish accent Xb

10 hours seemed more like 20

The Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries are certainly that- mysterious. They are dark, plodding, gloomy, and at times tedious. I love an intricate plot, and these books do have very entangled plots. But sometimes it seems the Charles Todd makes the story so complex and entangled that it strains credulity... and not in a good way. The police procedural details that I usually enjoy following are slow, slow and slow. And did I say slow? I wanted to stop listening several times, but stuck with it just out of curiosity as to just which unlikely character would turn out being the murderer. Simon Prebble does a good job with his narration, and much of the descriptive writing is quite good. The whole post WW1 historical background is also interesting. But I can't either read or listen to another one of these books. Whew!

Another Great Story

Rutledge is truly one of the best characters in any book I've read. This is another well written and narrated book on a wonderful series. It is one of my favorites so far!

Attention to details

This writing them is able to craft an intricate story that has unexpected twists but remains plausible.

Convoluted

Difficult to follow this story. So many characters related by birth or fostered or taking on names not their own. Halfway through, I had to start over just to understand who was who. I had to write down a sort of family tree to keep track of first names and last names of the players.
WWI was over, but those who fought continued to suffer. A whole village was holding onto secrets of the past. The story paints a clear picture of remote English village life trying hard to resist postwar progress. Well written and expertly read, but terribly complicated.

Excellent!

High praises for this book. Suspenseful and fun! Book takes me there, narrator guides me to it.

One of the best by Charles Todd

I have always enjoyed the Charles Todd mysteries but occasionally some are less enthralling. This one was intricate, interesting and full of red herrings. I never guessed correctly who the murderer was.
As always, Simon Prebble perfectly embodies Detective Rutledge and the other characters very satisfactorily. He is an excellent narrator
I do have to suspend belief that any detective would have the freedom to wander so far afield from Scotland Yard for such long periods, or that his motor car could be so efficient— but that is small price to pay for the overall enjoyment I get from this series—as well as the Bess Crawford series by the same authors. Their attention to the WWI history and social mores of that period lends credence to the stories.

maybe 3.8

I've enjoyed the series, like the narration, but this story didn't seem as good. My mind kept wandering as it progressed.
I have 1 more in the series in my library, hope it's better

Fantastic!

Since discovering this dynamic duo, Charles Todd/ Simon Prebble, I have had weeks of listening pleasure. Prebble IS Ian Rutledge in the same way Ralph Cosham was Inspector Gamache of the Three Pines series. His narration is simply superb and seamless as he navagates the different characters. Prebble is even good portraying women. Add an intricate plot nicely paced, it seemed have a good balance of character development and nuance set in England post the Great War. I got started on this series after listening to the most recent. I’ve gone back to the previous in the series, but only with Prebble as narrator. I’m in listening heaven!!!!

Another good story…

Ian Rutledge is a memorable character and I enjoyed both the intrigue of the story and the development of the characters.