-
Legacy of the Dead
- An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery
- Narrated by: Samuel Gillies
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

pick 2 free titles with trial.
Buy for $21.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A Test of Wills
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Samuel Giles
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 goes to investigate.
-
-
Difficult to follow the narrator
- By Carol on 01-02-13
By: Charles Todd
-
The Murder Stone
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great War is still raging when Francesca Hatton’s adored grandfather dies on his estate in England’s isolated Exe Valley. She is his sole heir, for her five cousins are dead now on the battlefields of France. Among his effects, Francesca is stunned to find a letter cursing the Hattons. And at the funeral, a stranger publicly accuses Hatton of murder. Who was her grandfather? The kind man who raised her - or a secretive killer? For in the back garden where she and her cousins once played, there is a white stone they always called the Murder Stone
-
-
Unfaithful Narrator?
- By Chris McDonald on 02-14-20
By: Charles Todd
-
A Duty to the Dead
- A Bess Crawford Mystery
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a distinguished soldier, Bess Crawford follows in his patriotic footsteps, volunteering to serve her country as a nurse during the Great War. In 1916 she promises Lieutenant Arthur Graham that she will carry his dying request to a brother. When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference.
-
-
Terrific period mystery
- By Anne on 12-04-10
By: Charles Todd
-
A Hanging at Dawn
- A Bess Crawford Short Story
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Years before the Great War summoned Bess Crawford to serve as a battlefield nurse, the indomitable heroine spent her childhood in India under the watchful eye of her friend and confidant, the young soldier Simon Brandon. The two formed an inseparable bond on the dangerous Northwest Frontier where her father’s Regiment held the Khyber Pass against all intruders. It was Simon who taught Bess to ride and shoot, escorted her to the bazaars and the Maharani’s Palace, and did his best to keep her out of trouble.
-
-
Good back story for the series
- By Winsome on 12-06-20
By: Charles Todd
-
The Walnut Tree
- A Holiday Tale
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1914, while visiting her friend Madeleine, Lady Elspeth Douglas's life is thrown into chaos when war breaks out and the Germans quickly overrun Belgium, threatening France. Having just agreed to marry Alain, Madeleine's dashing brother, Lady Elspeth watches him leave to join his unit, and then she sets out for England, only to find herself trapped on the French coast.
-
-
For what it is it's a very nice little book
- By Jeanette Finan on 01-20-13
By: Charles Todd
-
The White Lady
- A Novel
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government.
-
-
Mystery Maven
- By Mystery Maven on 03-24-23
-
A Test of Wills
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Samuel Giles
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 goes to investigate.
-
-
Difficult to follow the narrator
- By Carol on 01-02-13
By: Charles Todd
-
The Murder Stone
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great War is still raging when Francesca Hatton’s adored grandfather dies on his estate in England’s isolated Exe Valley. She is his sole heir, for her five cousins are dead now on the battlefields of France. Among his effects, Francesca is stunned to find a letter cursing the Hattons. And at the funeral, a stranger publicly accuses Hatton of murder. Who was her grandfather? The kind man who raised her - or a secretive killer? For in the back garden where she and her cousins once played, there is a white stone they always called the Murder Stone
-
-
Unfaithful Narrator?
- By Chris McDonald on 02-14-20
By: Charles Todd
-
A Duty to the Dead
- A Bess Crawford Mystery
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a distinguished soldier, Bess Crawford follows in his patriotic footsteps, volunteering to serve her country as a nurse during the Great War. In 1916 she promises Lieutenant Arthur Graham that she will carry his dying request to a brother. When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference.
-
-
Terrific period mystery
- By Anne on 12-04-10
By: Charles Todd
-
A Hanging at Dawn
- A Bess Crawford Short Story
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Years before the Great War summoned Bess Crawford to serve as a battlefield nurse, the indomitable heroine spent her childhood in India under the watchful eye of her friend and confidant, the young soldier Simon Brandon. The two formed an inseparable bond on the dangerous Northwest Frontier where her father’s Regiment held the Khyber Pass against all intruders. It was Simon who taught Bess to ride and shoot, escorted her to the bazaars and the Maharani’s Palace, and did his best to keep her out of trouble.
-
-
Good back story for the series
- By Winsome on 12-06-20
By: Charles Todd
-
The Walnut Tree
- A Holiday Tale
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1914, while visiting her friend Madeleine, Lady Elspeth Douglas's life is thrown into chaos when war breaks out and the Germans quickly overrun Belgium, threatening France. Having just agreed to marry Alain, Madeleine's dashing brother, Lady Elspeth watches him leave to join his unit, and then she sets out for England, only to find herself trapped on the French coast.
-
-
For what it is it's a very nice little book
- By Jeanette Finan on 01-20-13
By: Charles Todd
-
The White Lady
- A Novel
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government.
-
-
Mystery Maven
- By Mystery Maven on 03-24-23
-
Hansel and Gretel
- By: Brothers Grimm
- Narrated by: Mike Vendetti
- Length: 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Narrated by Mike Vendetti, this is the original version of Hensel and Gretel published by the Brothers Grimm. Probably not suitable for the polite and sensitive child under 12. A really wicked stepmother convinces the children's father to lead the children out into the woods far enough so they wouldn't be able to return home, but they do return one time to the chagrin of the stepmother. The next time they are taken to the woods they are not able to return home but do stumble upon a little house constructed of cake and confectionery which they immediately begin to consume.
By: Brothers Grimm
-
Songbird
- Kings Lake Investigation Series, Book 1
- By: Peter Grainger
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Detective Sergeant Chris Waters got the call at 05.29 that July morning. This is it, said DCI Reeve, you'll be first there, it's all yours, you're the crime scene manager. Suddenly, after months of waiting and wondering, Waters finds himself in at the deep end, and alone at the scene of a puzzling murder. As the investigation proceeds, the detectives at Kings Lake Central find themselves visiting familiar places and talking to some familiar faces, while old enmities reappear in the incident room. Before this is over, Chris Waters will need to make a career-changing decision.
-
-
Loved it...
- By Kelly on 09-20-19
By: Peter Grainger
-
The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 70 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here in one recording is every Sherlock Holmes story ever written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Originally appearing in serial form, these famous stories are here presented in the order in which they were first published beginning in 1887. Included in this definitive, award-winning collection are four novels and 56 short stories, a total of 60 titles. The 56 short stories are aggregated into five named collections, just as they were originally published in book form.
-
-
More collections like this, please!
- By Myusollo on 07-22-14
-
The Yard
- By: Alex Grecian
- Narrated by: Toby Leonard Moore
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victorian London is a cesspool of crime, and Scotland Yard has only 12 detectives - known as “The Murder Squad” - to investigate thousands of murders every month. Created after the Metropolitan Police’s spectacular failure to capture Jack the Ripper, The Murder Squad suffers rampant public contempt. They have failed their citizens. When Walter Day, the squad’s newest hire, is assigned the case of the murdered detective, he finds a strange ally in the Yard’s first forensic pathologist, Dr. Bernard Kingsley.
-
-
Know what you're getting into
- By connie on 09-08-12
By: Alex Grecian
-
Heathcliff Lennox - France 1918
- By: Karen Baugh Menuhin
- Narrated by: Sam Dewhurst -Phillips
- Length: 1 hr
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spring, 1918. The Great War is at a crucial stage, the Germans are making one last push into France, and the Allies are struggling to hold them back. Battle lines are shifting, and men, and their machines, are being sent up and down the front to shore up defenses. Major Heathcliff Lennox, and his batman Greggs, are told to report to their new HQ. They set off on a sunlit day to fly the distance, but the enemy is never far away, and disaster strikes. They're sent crashing to the ground behind enemy lines, where life, death, and love await.
-
-
Another great Heathcliff Lennox
- By Katydid65 on 06-04-21
-
Murder on Black Swan Lane
- By: Andrea Penrose
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Earl of Wrexford possesses a brilliant scientific mind, but boredom and pride lead him to reckless behavior. He does not suffer fools gladly. So when pompous, pious Reverend Josiah Holworthy publicly condemns him for debauchery, Wrexford unsheathes his rapier-sharp wit and strikes back. As their war of words escalates, London's most popular satirical cartoonist, A. J. Quill, skewers them both.
-
-
Tedious
- By Kathi on 10-02-17
By: Andrea Penrose
-
Maisie Dobbs
- Maisie Dobbs, Book 1
- By: Jacqueline Winspear
- Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maisie Dobbs got her start as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, suffragette Lady Rowan Compton, soon became her patron, taking the remarkably bright youngster under her wing. Lady Rowan’s friend, Maurice Blanche, often retained as an investigator by the European elite, recognized Maisie’s intuitive gifts. The outbreak of war changed everything. Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive.
-
-
All ‘round tip top
- By nancy M on 01-10-23
-
An Accidental Death
- A DC Smith Investigation Series, Book 1
- By: Peter Grainger
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story opens with the apparently accidental drowning of a sixth form student in the Norfolk countryside. As a matter of routine, or so it seems, the case passes across the desk of Detective Sergeant Smith, recently returned to work after an internal investigation into another case that has led to tensions between officers at Kings Lake police headquarters. As an ex-DCI, Smith could have retired by now, and it is clear that some of his superiors wish that he would do so.
-
-
Excellent British Mystery
- By Customer on 09-07-16
By: Peter Grainger
-
Twenty-One Days
- By: Anne Perry
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1910, and Daniel Pitt is a reluctant lawyer who would prefer to follow in the footsteps of his detective father. When the biographer Russell Graves, who Daniel is helping defend, is sentenced to execution for the murder of his wife, Daniel's Pitt-family investigative instincts kick in, and he sets out to find the real killer. With only 21 days before Graves is to be executed, Daniel learns that Graves is writing a biography of Victor Narraway, the former head of Special Branch and a close friend of the Pitts. And the stories don't shed a positive light. Is it possible someone is framing Graves to keep him from writing the biography-maybe even someone Daniel knows in Special Branch? The only answer, it seems, lies in the dead woman's corpse.
-
-
The Pitt Novels
- By Amazon Customer on 04-19-18
By: Anne Perry
-
A Beautiful Blue Death
- Charles Lenox Mysteries Series #1
- By: Charles Finch
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison.
-
-
I like cozy
- By Sheryl on 05-21-12
By: Charles Finch
-
The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency
- By: Lydia Travers
- Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid, Daisy, form a detective agency, they never dream their first case will take place at a glamorous house in the Scottish Highlands. But when the duchess of Duddingston, concerned that a notorious jewelry thief will target her lavish weekend party, employs Maud to go undercover as a guest to find the culprit, the agency has its first case to solve....
-
-
Many mysteries in one!
- By Kathy W. on 07-12-23
By: Lydia Travers
-
The Face of a Stranger
- A William Monk Novel #1
- By: Anne Perry
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A tragic accident leaves Inspector Monk with amnesia just moments after he solves the murder of a popular Crimean war hero. Forced to redo his entire investigation, a frustrated Monk faces a desperate murderer who will do anything to keep the inspector from discovering the truth twice.
-
-
promising start to the series
- By connie on 01-09-10
By: Anne Perry
Publisher's summary
The weathered remains of Eleanor Gray are found on a Scottish mountainside, and her mother, the domineering Lady Maude Gray, requires delicate treatment. This is a case that will lead Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard to Scotland, where his harrowing journey to find the truth will drag him back through the fires of his past into secrets that still have the power to kill.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about Legacy of the Dead
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DCinMI
- 12-19-13
What's up, Audible??? Why would you do this to us?
I've listened to all the Inspector Ian Rutledge books leading up to this one and several later ones before I realized it was a series. I enjoyed them very much. The problem is, this is the first one that ends on a cliffhanger, so I hopped on here to get the next one right away, only to find that Audible skips over the next 5 books. I'm so angry right now I could spit! Just be warned before you listen to this one. You're gonna be left hanging.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
54 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- The Louligan
- 06-21-13
AN ADDICTIVE SERIES!
Somehow I started with just one of the books in the series but soon bought all of them back to back. FYI: This is the 4th in the series. Simon Prebble, as always, is a superb narrator - much better than Samuel Gillies, who narrates like he's performing "Hansel and Gretel" to 6 year olds!
No matter how hard you try, you will never guess who will be murdered and by whom. There are so many twists and turns and red herrings that the reader is always kept guessing. The Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge is a tortured soul but a great detective. He suffers from World War I "shell shock" which is what we now recognize as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that is manifested by a dead "imaginary friend" named Hamish McCloud. This adds an interesting component into how this detective acts and reacts. Hamish is to Rutledge what cocaine is to Sherlock Holmes - a dangerous nemesis that both helps and hampers. All of the books are pretty much the same plot but just different enough in locations, people, class distinctions, and twists to make each worth reading. My suggestion is to go on Google or Wikipedia to learn the order of the series and start with the first one. Each book fills in the gaps if you start somewhere in the middle but the continuity really helps. It would be nice if Audible.com would assign chronological order to books which contain a series or prequels and sequels. )I will post this same comment on all of the Ian Rutledge books that I've read.)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Constance Jenkins
- 02-19-18
Denouement any one?
Holy cow. I had read other reviews mentioning a "cliff hanger" ending. They weren't kidding. I am not sure I would call it a cliff-hanger. I think there is just absolutely no denouement here. He/she (Charles Todd is actually two people), just solves the mystery and ends the danged book. So many of the peripheral threads are just left dangling. That actually did reduce my enjoyment of the book.
Aside from that rather large issue, the rest of the book was pretty good. It is well into the series, so if you like the previous books you are likely to like this one. It is generally a well plotted mystery, with the requisite red herrings and clues sprinkled through out.
The one other thing that bothered me was the whole "the copper handling the case is a complete jerk who won't listen to logic if it doesn't agree with his opinion" trope is getting a bit old. Honestly, Rutledge can't be the only semi-intelligent officer in the country.
Wow, that turned into more of a vent than I thought it would. I didn't actually hate the book, but as a fan of the series to date, this one didn't quite stack up. I hope the next one is better.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ted
- 12-01-20
Meh...
The schizzy split character's too old. The plot rambles about banging into characters like pinballs off bumpers but without the excitement. This was my third Rutledge mystery. Yeah, I finished it to let Todd tell me the why, what, and who. The where though was a big bore. Maybe it's time to let Hamish go? Won't know though since this is my last tag along with Rutledge.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Georgia gardener
- 05-29-20
Compelling double mystery
I enjoyed the plotting in this Ian Rutledge story very much as well as dipping into Ian’s relationship with his godfather, which makes a nice foil for his war trauma. Despite the religious tone more fitting the American south than the Scottish Borders, the compulsion of a village to go with the flow of gossip rather than stand up for what is right is again used as a pervasive theme. I couldn’t help but wish this was explored with a bit more nuance. So, too, the feminist theme introducing a lawyer who doesn’t listen to women and a priest who projects his own issues with sexuality onto single women could have been more thoroughly fleshed out. Everyone insisting that nasty letters were clearly a woman’s crime got a bit tedious after a while. That being said, the cast of characters is interesting and the links in their backstories are plausible. I wish there had been one more chapter to savor the resolution, as it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I hope the next novel will pick up where this one left off. There were a few holes in the authors’ geographic research in that one doesn’t simply nip down to Winchester from the Borders overnight, particularly in that era (arduous journey!) and I’m pretty sure hay is not a viable crop in Glencoe, nor are sheep traffic jams likely in that stretch of the glen that is so open and gorgeously barren. I also laughed at the notion of it being hot climbing up the side of the mountain (remotely possible perhaps, but unlikely, particularly in the context of severely cold and rainy weeks). But these errors don’t mar the story telling and as ever the visual descriptions are vivid and lush. Gilles’ performance is solid, though I know other reviewers dislike his reading style. My one complaint there is given Rutledge’s sister’s social status and that he went to a boarding school, and given the class tension with Boyles, I would have thought Rutledge’s accent would be a bit more posh? It doesn’t really matter to me as a reader but it doesn’t align with the class tension with his boss nor with the fact Rutledge is so often the one sent to sooth rich people.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cleo lane
- 03-27-20
struggled to finish. too complicated ;abrupt end
this was my least favorite of Todd's mysteries.the plot was confusing and it ended without resolution
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah
- 03-25-16
A very complex mystery - excellent narrator
If you could sum up Legacy of the Dead in three words, what would they be?
That is impossible - even after listening to the book the second time I had a hard time putting it all together - not that it wasn't well plotted by the author, but it was quite complicated.
What did you like best about this story?
The narration is perfect for this very intriguing story - Mr. Gillies conveys the nuance of the dialogue effectively. He is a true expert!
Which character – as performed by Samuel Gillies – was your favorite?
Of course Ian Rutledge, and Hamish along with him. Rutledge is unstoppable as a police inspector in spite of his residual psychological damage from the war.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The complex confrontation at the end was intense and thrilling.
Any additional comments?
I am re-listening to the entire series and find the books do not lose any of their power the second time through. The author sets up the mystery so the reader is very anxious to know what the solution is, but I can never figure it out before I finish.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 07-11-23
Long story
Struggled to finish drawn out story not recomended. like this mandatory review. why drag story out?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Opal Walker
- 05-26-23
Like all of Todd’s books so far.
Not too crazy about Gillies’ performances. He made Fiona seem whiney; however, Todd shows her as a strong character. Other than that, I liked the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Christine S.
- 10-07-22
Favorite of the series so far
I’ve been enjoying this series but at times have found a few of the mysteries hard to follow. What I like most about this book is the interplay and connection of the main characters. The plot was twisty but understandable.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- The Curator
- 02-12-20
A bit of a muddle and one huge howler
I like this series, I really do but this one, set in Scotland and just happening to feature Angus’ fiancée is a bit of a dogs dinner.
Even worse, and I can only guess how this got through, at one point the author talks about a body lying in the open being at risk from coyotes and crows. WTF? If the body had been left at Edinburgh zoo I could understand it but I can assure the author and editors that there are no coyotes in Britain!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Rogayah
- 03-23-16
Too much love and too much pain
Rutledge has to try to save Hamish's fiancee, Fiona, from being tried for murder. The many impediments from all quarters in the small Scottish Border town, and Hamish, all make it hard for Rutledge to get to bottom of this case. His dectective meanderings seem to be a trail of red herrings, but eventually, his terrier-tenacity pays off, but not without danger to Rutledge's life and his mental well-being. He has to search the past - the war, and its repercussions to see the entire picture.
The narrator, this time, seems to be less off the mark in his narration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- "CUPS"
- 08-25-23
Super story
Everything that’s good about historical detective fiction is here in these books - I shall be listening to them all
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 04-03-23
Gripping mystery
This is one of Charles Todd’s best stories in the Ian Rutledge series. I can thoroughly recommend it.
I have minor gripes with the U S authors and their editors arising from this and other books in the series: geographical howlers (Beachy Head overlooks the English Channel not the Atlantic!); and societal mistakes (English people of any class in 1919 /20 would never say ‘gotten’ & the English have milk in their tea, never cream). Other Americanisms in the narrative are not a problem when it is not the characters who are saying them (‘out ‘ instead of ‘out of’, the door/ window, for example).
But all is forgiven when the stories and the characters are so rich in observation and detail.
These are books that are satisfying in their complexity and length, unlike so many contemporary offerings in the genre (I name no names but other reviews have made it clear I am not alone in my dissatisfaction with some popular novels and novellas masquerading as novels),
I look forward to reading the rest in the series. I try to read them in the order of the action but am frustrated by the lack of numbering of the books in the series. I have to guess from the summaries and dates of copyright and often find myself reading them in reverse order, recognising references to the previous book’s story as I read! Fortunately they are good enough for this not spoil my enjoyment.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 08-07-20
Too complicated
I enjoyed the storyline and writing day by day but the final connections of the 2 storylines and characters was too complex.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- tinyNorman
- 01-21-15
Gripping tale, exquisite reading
This story is so skillfully written that you never know until the very end the whole picture. The narrator's reading is masterful, adding so much colour and life to all the different voices. This tale is one that I will enjoy revisiting several times more, to savour the subtler points and twists.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
A Test of Wills
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Samuel Giles
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 goes to investigate.
-
-
Difficult to follow the narrator
- By Carol on 01-02-13
By: Charles Todd
-
A Duty to the Dead
- A Bess Crawford Mystery
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a distinguished soldier, Bess Crawford follows in his patriotic footsteps, volunteering to serve her country as a nurse during the Great War. In 1916 she promises Lieutenant Arthur Graham that she will carry his dying request to a brother. When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference.
-
-
Terrific period mystery
- By Anne on 12-04-10
By: Charles Todd
-
The Murder Stone
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great War is still raging when Francesca Hatton’s adored grandfather dies on his estate in England’s isolated Exe Valley. She is his sole heir, for her five cousins are dead now on the battlefields of France. Among his effects, Francesca is stunned to find a letter cursing the Hattons. And at the funeral, a stranger publicly accuses Hatton of murder. Who was her grandfather? The kind man who raised her - or a secretive killer? For in the back garden where she and her cousins once played, there is a white stone they always called the Murder Stone
-
-
Unfaithful Narrator?
- By Chris McDonald on 02-14-20
By: Charles Todd
-
Fantastic Crimes
- Four Bibliomysteries by Best-Selling Authors
- By: Anne Perry, Christopher Fowler, F. Paul Wilson, and others
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley, Nicole Poole
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection includes four book-centered mystery novellas from four masters of the craft: The Scroll, Reconciliation Day, The Compendium of Srem, and The Mysterious Disappearance of the Reluctant Book Fairy.
-
-
Fantastic collection
- By Alexis☺ on 07-08-23
By: Anne Perry, and others
-
The Malvern Murders
- Inspector Ravenscroft Detective Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Kerry Tombs
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Jack the Ripper terrorised London, Police Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft patrolled the streets of Whitechapel. Clever and hard-working, Ravenscroft nonetheless has the worst record in the force. He lets a murderer escape during a chase and is banished to the spa town of Malvern for a water treatment to cure his asthma. Ravenscroft accepts a dinner invitation from a new acquaintance, Jabez Pitzer. Before dinner, the maid finds Pitzer slumped over his desk - dead. Ravenscroft immediately recognises the signs - Pitzer has been poisoned.
-
-
Inane writing
- By TerriL on 05-05-23
By: Kerry Tombs
-
A Hanging at Dawn
- A Bess Crawford Short Story
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Years before the Great War summoned Bess Crawford to serve as a battlefield nurse, the indomitable heroine spent her childhood in India under the watchful eye of her friend and confidant, the young soldier Simon Brandon. The two formed an inseparable bond on the dangerous Northwest Frontier where her father’s Regiment held the Khyber Pass against all intruders. It was Simon who taught Bess to ride and shoot, escorted her to the bazaars and the Maharani’s Palace, and did his best to keep her out of trouble.
-
-
Good back story for the series
- By Winsome on 12-06-20
By: Charles Todd
-
A Test of Wills
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Samuel Giles
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 goes to investigate.
-
-
Difficult to follow the narrator
- By Carol on 01-02-13
By: Charles Todd
-
A Duty to the Dead
- A Bess Crawford Mystery
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a distinguished soldier, Bess Crawford follows in his patriotic footsteps, volunteering to serve her country as a nurse during the Great War. In 1916 she promises Lieutenant Arthur Graham that she will carry his dying request to a brother. When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference.
-
-
Terrific period mystery
- By Anne on 12-04-10
By: Charles Todd
-
The Murder Stone
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great War is still raging when Francesca Hatton’s adored grandfather dies on his estate in England’s isolated Exe Valley. She is his sole heir, for her five cousins are dead now on the battlefields of France. Among his effects, Francesca is stunned to find a letter cursing the Hattons. And at the funeral, a stranger publicly accuses Hatton of murder. Who was her grandfather? The kind man who raised her - or a secretive killer? For in the back garden where she and her cousins once played, there is a white stone they always called the Murder Stone
-
-
Unfaithful Narrator?
- By Chris McDonald on 02-14-20
By: Charles Todd
-
Fantastic Crimes
- Four Bibliomysteries by Best-Selling Authors
- By: Anne Perry, Christopher Fowler, F. Paul Wilson, and others
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley, Nicole Poole
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection includes four book-centered mystery novellas from four masters of the craft: The Scroll, Reconciliation Day, The Compendium of Srem, and The Mysterious Disappearance of the Reluctant Book Fairy.
-
-
Fantastic collection
- By Alexis☺ on 07-08-23
By: Anne Perry, and others
-
The Malvern Murders
- Inspector Ravenscroft Detective Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Kerry Tombs
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Jack the Ripper terrorised London, Police Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft patrolled the streets of Whitechapel. Clever and hard-working, Ravenscroft nonetheless has the worst record in the force. He lets a murderer escape during a chase and is banished to the spa town of Malvern for a water treatment to cure his asthma. Ravenscroft accepts a dinner invitation from a new acquaintance, Jabez Pitzer. Before dinner, the maid finds Pitzer slumped over his desk - dead. Ravenscroft immediately recognises the signs - Pitzer has been poisoned.
-
-
Inane writing
- By TerriL on 05-05-23
By: Kerry Tombs
-
A Hanging at Dawn
- A Bess Crawford Short Story
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Years before the Great War summoned Bess Crawford to serve as a battlefield nurse, the indomitable heroine spent her childhood in India under the watchful eye of her friend and confidant, the young soldier Simon Brandon. The two formed an inseparable bond on the dangerous Northwest Frontier where her father’s Regiment held the Khyber Pass against all intruders. It was Simon who taught Bess to ride and shoot, escorted her to the bazaars and the Maharani’s Palace, and did his best to keep her out of trouble.
-
-
Good back story for the series
- By Winsome on 12-06-20
By: Charles Todd
-
The Walnut Tree
- A Holiday Tale
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1914, while visiting her friend Madeleine, Lady Elspeth Douglas's life is thrown into chaos when war breaks out and the Germans quickly overrun Belgium, threatening France. Having just agreed to marry Alain, Madeleine's dashing brother, Lady Elspeth watches him leave to join his unit, and then she sets out for England, only to find herself trapped on the French coast.