A Christmas Witness

Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Inspector Ian Rutledge investigates a possible attempted murder in this seasonal mystery novella from New York Times bestseller Charles Todd.

December 1921: Being single and a new Chief, Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard gets the short straw at Christmastime and is called upon by Chief Superintendent Markum to go to the Kentish home of a lord recovering from an attempt on his life. In bed with a concussion, the man is convinced someone is trying to kill him after he claims he was struck by the hoof of a running horse whose rider never stopped to check on him.

Struggling with his own demons from the war and misgivings about helping a man who, as a colonel, oversaw the suffering of those on the frontlines from afar, Rutledge undertakes an uneasy investigation. And as the winter holiday approaches, he becomes increasingly convinced that nothing is as it seems....

©2025 Charles Todd (P)2025 Highbridge Audio

An Ian Rutledge Christmas Carol..

More positive interactions with coworkers. Perhaps a road to healing? Too much detail when describing actions.

A good attempt to understand the guilt and indecision of the officers in charge

The narrator , didn’t suit Rutledge’s personality at all
All I could think of,throughout the book was Mathew Shardlake and that is not flattering

Different but good

This book is a bit different than the others in the series. The narration was good, but didn't care for the Hamish voice, just didn't seem to match. This was written as a stand alone book so if you have read/listened to the entire series it is a bit boring as known characters and situations are reintroduced. As the others installments in series, alway filled with an interesting crime/mystery and good side characters. I always love the way the crime is solved without modern stuff of today like cell phones, DNA testing etc. A Christmas Witness will not likely be your favorite in the series, but worth the read - still enjoyable. Just go into knowing it is a bit simpler than some of t he others.

This narrator gives Rutledge a panzy sound.

I love all the Rutledge books. This new narrator changes the temperature of the story. I would like the book well enough if I had not heard the books done by better narrator.

So much unneeded description

I was really disappointed with this book. I've read all of the previous books and this one felt like the author was trying to fulfill an obligation and had pages to fill. When you describe a how a character picks up something with his left hand and then a few minutes later he picks up something else up with his right hand, that's unneeded description. Second, the narrator is good in terms of dialects, but to me he makes the main character sound too old. And finally, it all ends on a whimper, not a bang. Disappointing.