A False Mirror

Inspector Ian Rutledge, Book 9

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Samuel Gillies

Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Unhealed scars of the Great War still torment Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge. A haunted, damaged shell of a man, he has been sent to the small coastal town of Hampton Regis to solve a violent crime and to confront his own tragic past.

An officer who served with Rutledge in the trenches of France before being sent back to England under suspicious circumstances has now been accused of savagely beating the husband of the woman he still loves. The suspect has taken the wife hostage, threatening to kill her and her maid unless Rutledge takes charge of the investigation.

Although the case painfully mirrors Rutledge's own past and the love he lost to another man, he cannot refuse it. When the unconscious, brutalized victim vanishes without a trace, it's clear that this peaceful little town hides a vicious murderer and secrets powerful enough to kill for.

©2007 Charles Todd (P)2014 Recorded Books

Another great listen

Great story filled with well written characters and a fabulous performance, just as I have come to expect from Charles Todd.

Typical Ian Rutledge Mystery: Very Good

Others have complained about the plot, pace, and performance - If you enjoy Charles Todd & his characters you will enjoy this story. The reader alters his inflection and cadence subtly to indicate a variety of characters, and several characters are referred to by name in some places and title in others, so it can be challenging to determine whose dialog is being represented as the story moves to the conclusion. It is still entertaining, well written, and well performed. As for the reader’s Scottish brogue being extreme - yes, but not difficult to understand. I expect it is being read as it is written as opposed to the reader being creative on his own.

Very good with surprise ending

Charles Tood does it again. Didn't see the ending coming. very surprising. I would recommend this book to everyone.

 always fascinating

I look forward to the periods of time I have available to listen to the latest Charles Todd I have on my phone. The wonderful thing is you can listen to them out of order and be just as amazed and riveted as if you were following Ian Rutledge book by book. His books are way more than mysteries.

Good Despite The Improbable Plot

I'm a fan so I enjoyed this one, but rolled my eyes more than once at the author's choices for plot progression!!!
Not even close to The Red Door or A Fine Summer's Day.

Amazing twist

Never guessed this ending, well written, story great and narration wonderful. Great read, highly recommend!

Too Long!

The performance was excellent as a;ways. The book was too long and repetitive. Also the kidnapping/hostage was completely unbelievably. Worst of the series.

Reader Slow

It picked up in the ladt third of the book. Story took some patience with the hostage situation, but this was 1920s England.

Situation not plausible but still a great listen

A hostage situation with no effort to subdue the hostage taker in spite of countless opportunities? Maybe back in those days this would have not seemed absurd?

Nevertheless, the mystery kept me intrigued and I spent a lot of time just sitting and listening to find out what was going to happen, which is unusual for me - I usually just listen to audio books when driving, walking or doing chores.

The characters were well developed and interesting as was the plot if you are willing to overlook the unreasonable set up. This series is my favorite so I am willing to overlook the weakness in the stories.

I love the voice of Gillies - some have complained he doesn't differentiate the voices much, which is true but not really a problem, at least for me.

If you are a Charles Todd fan, do not skip this one. If you haven't read his books before, you should start earlier in the series, preferable the first book, A Test of Wills.

another good book in the series

An interesting story still bringing back connections from World war I and I'm sure that that horrific war will never leave the lives of all the characters. The authors as usual put together some twists and turns then making it interesting read in the performance that was given for the audiobook was good