The Red Door

An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery

By: Charles Todd

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

June 1920. In a house with a red door lies the body of a woman who has been bludgeoned to death. Rumor has it that two years earlier, she'd painted that door to welcome her husband back from the Front - only he never came home.

Meanwhile, in London, a man suffering from a mysterious illness first goes missing and then just as suddenly reappears. He is unable to explain his recovery.

Inspector Ian Rutledge must solve the cases. Who was the woman who lived and died behind the red door? Who was the man who never came home from the Great War, for the simple reason that he might never have gone? And what have they to do with a man who cannot break the seal of his own guilt without damning those he loves most?

Solve another case with Inspector Ian Rutledge.

©2010 Charles Todd (P)2010 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"One of the strongest entries yet in a series that shows no sign of losing steam. Once again Todd perfectly balances incisive portraits of all the characters, not just the complex and original lead." ( Publishers Weekly)

Best one yet!

Having read all Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge novels I think this may have been his best.

I loved the twists of the plot…

If I can’t figure out the bad guys by half way thru the book I am happy …even if I guess I am never quite sure … I love that suspense. Todd always delivers …

Ian Rutledge is back!

This is one of the better Ian Rutledge mysteries in the series that started in a Test of Wills, with Hamish still ever present. It is a great listen, but one that needs full concentration as the plot is full of shifting complexities.

long but well told

the story tends to be somewhat long, but the narrator's voice is so wonderful that I didn't mind the too lengthy story.

This one’s a bit of a mess, plot-wise

It’s still worth a listen, if you like the series — and of course it’s narrated by Simon Prebble, so the performance is brilliant. But the plot is all over the place, the sub plot is sketchy and abandoned for most of the book, I’m still not sure whether the mystery was solved — or even what it was, exactly. Still — the worst Ian Rutledge is better than the best of most of the market.

SPOILERS: I think the most interesting solution would have been for H and T to be THE SAME CHILD. Right? Because hemophilia! That was why it took so long for the family to approve of a cousin marriage — the brothers had to ensure a healthy heir first! There. Fixed.

So many characters

I wish I had taken pencil and paper and written down all the characters and their relationship to one another. I never could remember which sister/sister-in-law was married to which brother. Even the brothers became confused in my mind.

Kept my interest.

Lots of characters. Well developed. Easy to follow. Lots of smaller stories going on. Suspenseful.

The best one!

The Red Door is my favorite of the Inspector Ian R books. The writers have worked this mystery into many levels and secrets.

Ooooh My

It’s a tortured story. There are enough plot twists and deaths for six books. The narrator valiantly keeps the ear entertained but I must say the story is so convoluted at times it is verrrry tempting to punt it. So many characters have the last name that also makes it extra challenging to follow.

Good Narrator and story but slowwwww

THis novel is just too slow for me - didn't finish. Narrator is excellent it's well written but it's just too slow and quiet of a story.