A Test of Wills

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Samuel Giles

Ian Rutledge returns to his career at Scotland Yard after years fighting in the First World War. Unknown to his colleagues he is still suffering from shell shock, and is burdened with the guilt of having had executed a young soldier on the battlefield for refusing to fight. A jealous colleague has learned of his secret and has managed to have Rutledge assigned to a difficult case which could spell disaster for Rutledge whatever the outcome.

A retired officer has been murdered, and Rutledge, fighting the torment of his illness, goes to investigate. As he digs into the lives of the villagers, the witness who disturbs him most is a war-ravaged ex-soldier who chills Rutledge with the realization that he could become like this man.

©1996 Charles Todd (P)1999 W.F. Howes

One of the First in the Series

I'm not sure where this book falls in the Ian Rutledge series, but I feel it must be near the beginning. The reader sounds like "old school" England, very proper. Not everyone would find his style enjoyable. The story weaves in and out through characters in the village looking for a murderer, but finally, Rutledge's former wit and skills return to him to find the most unusual killer. Afterwards, he and Hamish stand up to one another each vowing to be the stronger. Worth listening to.

Good book, unconvincing reader!

i read/listened three Ian Rutledge books by Charles Todd and found them interesting, challenging and compelling. Inspector Rutledge Ian returns to the Scotland Yard after WWI and a harrowing experience. He finds himself thrown into cases by a superior with some deep seated desire to ruin the inspector. Add to the mix a haunting voice in his head from his war experience you have the potential for some great stories. While I enjoyed the actual stories It was difficult to make my way through them because of the reader. His voice is grating to my ears but worse is the completely unconvincing accents and the tone of his voice. It did not live up to the different characters. Mostly I was not convinced I was hearing Inspector Rutledge. It just was not there for me.

Kept me guessing!

The story was intricate enough to keep me guessing until the very end. Compelling and thoughtful--a great read/listen

Great

Loved it
Will read more of Charles Todd books
Love mysteries and clever endings
Great job

Long puzzle

I usually read last chapter first, but it did not help much here. You have to go through the book to find who done it!

Key info comes at very end- frustrating

This was actually quite a good story, and had you wondering the whole time who had committed a crime. More importantly, it had you trying to solve the crime the entire time. However, the very key information that was necessary to do so was introduced in the very last 30 minutes of the audiobook. Thus, I found it extremely frustrating that all my efforts to solve it were in vain as you needed this incredible information that fell at the very end to solve the crime.

You really don’t know who dunnit until the end

I love the story and the narrator did such a good job. He keeps you spellbound.

Glad these early ones were added to Audible

I too was glad to hear the 1st book. It makes understanding the later one easier. The narrators strong Scottish accent bothered me a bit. Only Hamish is Scottish.
The mystery is very well developed and enjoyable. The story could have been shorter.

Never Read These

I read a good review of the latest Rutledge novel but thought I'd try the first one. Very glad I did. Rutledges struggles with the after effects of WW I and his relationship with Hammish will enrich the other books in the series.

A Different Story Line - Entertaining

Hard to imagine a thrilling murder mystery with the main characters being genealogists, but you have one here. It is an intriguing story with a few twists and turns. It got a little tedious at times, and my interest waned, but the story would draw it back.