Search the Dark

Inspector Ian Rutledge is presented with a mystery that could result in an innocent man's death by hanging if he doesn't find out the true story. A casualty of WWI, the man thinks he spies his wife and children on a railway platform and sets about to find them. The woman turns up dead and all assume that he is the guilty party. But where are the children? Where is the other man that was with the woman? Rutledge sees a man haunted by his experience in WWI, much as Rutledge himself is. He'll set about to find the truth and, in doing so, unearths a more complicated mystery. His superiors throw roadblocks in his way, but Rutledge is tenacious at the least. What I love most about Rutledge is his tenacity. He never gives up, always going one more time to this witness, or one more time to that witness. He is a wonderful exercise in analysis. Of course, he has some help from his ghostly nemesis, Hamish, who at times harangues him to the point of near insanity and at other times provides him with the direction he needs. I missed Simon Prebble's narration in this installment. Samuel Gillies was quite good, and I would enjoy his narration again. But Prebble is the absolute best.

I liked Samuel Gillies performance very much in this (and all the other) Inspector Ian Rutledge novel. It's very descriptive of the period, and the someone-else-in-my-head aspect of the character is fascinating. I wish Audible would get the whole series.

This is one of my favorite detective series. It is remiscent of crime writers like Agathe Christis -- evoking the same country Britain of pre WWII. The people are living leisurely lives but no less complicated.

I didn't think the reader was nearly as good as latter readers like Simon Prebble, but still good.

The plotting and evocation of Post WWI Britain are so good that I have listened to every one. I wish Audible would bring out the earlier books in the series.

The one thing this writer excells in is great plotting. What seems like a simple murder or death turn out to be one with many twists and turns in. The secondary are well plotted too and come alive as people in these books.

Had this been the first title I read it might well have been the last. Fortunately I had just completed listening to A Lonely Death and thought it one of the best ever. The issue did not come from the story line but with the delivery. Samuel Guillies was difficult to listen to and lent no personality to the characters. I started the book several times and just about gave up. A review of other Charles Todd titles available on Audible indicate Simon Prebble as the reader. I look forward to those titles and hope "earlier works" by Charles Todd will soon become available.

Okay... I didn't guess who dunnit. Todd creates so many perfect suspects and so many red herrings. I love this schizzo inspector. It's very British here in its plotting but not so British as to exclude us from chewing along with Ian Rutledge on the clues swirling around like the tiny bugs in a mid-summer swarm. On occasion I sort of wish that Samuel Gillies's characters were just a tad more different to avoid a bit of confusion, but on the whole he's competent.

There's a dark anti-war shadow over this post WWI period when Britain stood between imperial greatness and modern-age coping. And Todd explores that cultural crack wonderfully in this series. So well, I've just downloaded another Ian Rutledge mystery.

Samuel Gilles could not ruin this book, although he really tried. His stiff plumy accent made most of the characters sound priggish. Although he did a good job with the local accents they still sounded wooden and pompous. Charles Todd???s well thought out story and brilliant characters draw the listener into the action. I really enjoyed the book, but will think twice about buying any other books narrated by Samuel Gilles.

Yes. Narrator does a better job in this one. The story's complexity is fun.