A Pale Horse

Late on a spring night in 1920, five boys cross the Yorkshire dales to the ruins of Fountains Abbey, intent on raising the Devil. Instead, they stumble over the Devil himself, sitting there watching them. Terrified, they run for their lives, leaving behind a book on alchemy stolen from their schoolmaster. The next morning, a body is discovered in the cloisters of the abbey--a man swathed in a hooded cloak and wearing a gas mask.

Scotland Yard dispatches Inspector Rutledge to find out who the man was and why he died in such mysterious circumstances. But the villagers clearly have something to hide. And what does the huge chalk sculpture of a pale horse of the Apocalypse have to do with the crime?

©2008 Charles Todd (P)2009 BBC Audio

Enjoyable

My first Ian Rutledge, but despite not having the backstory, this book filled in most gaps

Narrator

I enjoyed listening to the original narrator better. This is not bad, but I would prefer the original guy.

Rich and engaging

Rich characters. Equally intriguing plot developments. Weaving the environment into the plot made it part of the story. Emotionally engaging. Historical background giving life to all of the above. One if my favorites in the series!

beat one yet

Even though I had an idea about who the killer was, but this web had a more interesting setting and complex victim.

Long mystery read by Simon Prebble

Thanks to the excellent narration of Simon Prebble this long mystery was interesting and reliable.