A Matter of Justice
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Synopsis
Longtime business partners decide to go their separate ways. Then, one of the men is savagely murdered, and his body is strung up in an old tithe barn on his estate. When Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge is called in to investigate, he finds a whole village full of suspects. Rutledge doggedly follows a sparse trail that ultimately leads him to the one person who knows the whole truth. But by then, a secret from the past has unleashed more evil. Rutledge begins to understand the larger picture but isn't sure he can prove much of what he suspects. Is this to be the only case where Rutledge doesn't get his man?
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First Sentence: Ronald Evering was in his study, watching a mechanical toy bank go through its motions, when the idea first came to him.
During the Boar War, Harold Quarles committed a heinous act of cowardice, brutality and, along with a partner, greed. Twenty years' later, Inspector Ian Rutledge has been call to the town of Cambury. The local constable found Quarles dead and hanging in his barn in a Christmas pageant rigging with angel wings.
In the local town, Rutledge finds a multitude of people who had no love of Quarles and are happy to see him dead. In London, where Quarles did business, he seemed to have been liked and respected and liked. Rutledge finds he needs to understand the victim to find the killer.
Although the 11th book in the series, it's only one year later in time since the start, so Rutledge is still very much dealing with shell shock, the voice of Hamish, a soldier Rutledge had shot for desertion, in his head and trying not to let anyone know it.
Ian Rutledge is such a strong character. He is prideful yet dedicated to justice while still dealing with his internal scars from WWI. The secondary characters are numerous but strong and distinctive. It is a story of characters and the damage one person can do to so many others.
The sense of time and place is so well drawn, you feel you are there. The dialogue is well done and appropriate to the time. The story is so well plotted with an abundance of trails down which Rutledge is taken in his pursuit of truth. Even our knowing Quarles history doesn't does not detract from the quest.
Once again, Todd has delivered a complex, excellent book. There is something about Todd's writing that takes it a step above. Whatever it is, I'm happy to keep reading their books.
During the Boar War, Harold Quarles committed a heinous act of cowardice, brutality and, along with a partner, greed. Twenty years' later, Inspector Ian Rutledge has been call to the town of Cambury. The local constable found Quarles dead and hanging in his barn in a Christmas pageant rigging with angel wings.
In the local town, Rutledge finds a multitude of people who had no love of Quarles and are happy to see him dead. In London, where Quarles did business, he seemed to have been liked and respected and liked. Rutledge finds he needs to understand the victim to find the killer.
Although the 11th book in the series, it's only one year later in time since the start, so Rutledge is still very much dealing with shell shock, the voice of Hamish, a soldier Rutledge had shot for desertion, in his head and trying not to let anyone know it.
Ian Rutledge is such a strong character. He is prideful yet dedicated to justice while still dealing with his internal scars from WWI. The secondary characters are numerous but strong and distinctive. It is a story of characters and the damage one person can do to so many others.
The sense of time and place is so well drawn, you feel you are there. The dialogue is well done and appropriate to the time. The story is so well plotted with an abundance of trails down which Rutledge is taken in his pursuit of truth. Even our knowing Quarles history doesn't does not detract from the quest.
Once again, Todd has delivered a complex, excellent book. There is something about Todd's writing that takes it a step above. Whatever it is, I'm happy to keep reading their books.
Format:Hardcover
"A Matter of Justice" is the eleventh novel in a British historical mystery series by Charles Todd; Charles Todd being the name taken by a mother/son writing team that live in Delaware and North Carolina. The series of police procedurals is set just after World War I. It stars Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, who just about survived the war, with a touch of shell shock, as they used to call Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and the voice of his sergeant and best soldier, Hamish, a Scot, whom he'd had to execute on the field, in his head.
In the current instalment, Rutledge is sent to investigate the death of a highly successful London businessman, savagely murdered shortly after ending his partnership with another such. Furthermore, Quarles's body has been put on bizarre display in a medieval tithe barn on his Somerset estate. Rutledge's investigation in the local village of Cambury soon turns up an embarrassment of candidates for the killer, ranging from the victim's wife to the local police constable: yet Rutledge finds the man was highly regarded in London business circles. The Inspector soon begins to wonder if, perhaps, like many murders, the reasons for this one don't go back into the past, perhaps to an earlier war.
It's obvious that a lot of research has gone into "A Matter of Justice," and the ambiance of the period has been well-thought out, and -fleshed out, from cars to clothes to pastimes,toys and games. Descriptive and narrative are fine; dialog is good, though the writing is occasionally marred by fussy fustian language. It's surely not necessary to utilize such language in a novel written in a contemporary time, even if the book is set in the past. But the fast-moving tough-minded plot is satisfyingly complex, with so many candidates for villain, and so many possible scenarios. This book is the first of the series I've read: it's a good solid police procedural, and I'd be happy to read more, although I did, frankly, find that the wit and wisdom of Sgt. Hamish got a bit tiresome, particularly as delivered in rather overbaked Scottish, with way too many lads and lassies flinging themselves about for my taste.
The son of the mother/son writing duo that is Charles Todd, whom I imagine is the North Carolina-based party, spoke in recent years at two annual mystery weekends presented by the local Wilmington, NC, library. He's a nice-looking, polite youngish man, whom I believe actually is Charles Todd. He told us a bit about how he and his mother research and write these books: his talks were certainly interesting, and well-appreciated. So, Charles Todd, keep up the good work, please.
In the current instalment, Rutledge is sent to investigate the death of a highly successful London businessman, savagely murdered shortly after ending his partnership with another such. Furthermore, Quarles's body has been put on bizarre display in a medieval tithe barn on his Somerset estate. Rutledge's investigation in the local village of Cambury soon turns up an embarrassment of candidates for the killer, ranging from the victim's wife to the local police constable: yet Rutledge finds the man was highly regarded in London business circles. The Inspector soon begins to wonder if, perhaps, like many murders, the reasons for this one don't go back into the past, perhaps to an earlier war.
It's obvious that a lot of research has gone into "A Matter of Justice," and the ambiance of the period has been well-thought out, and -fleshed out, from cars to clothes to pastimes,toys and games. Descriptive and narrative are fine; dialog is good, though the writing is occasionally marred by fussy fustian language. It's surely not necessary to utilize such language in a novel written in a contemporary time, even if the book is set in the past. But the fast-moving tough-minded plot is satisfyingly complex, with so many candidates for villain, and so many possible scenarios. This book is the first of the series I've read: it's a good solid police procedural, and I'd be happy to read more, although I did, frankly, find that the wit and wisdom of Sgt. Hamish got a bit tiresome, particularly as delivered in rather overbaked Scottish, with way too many lads and lassies flinging themselves about for my taste.
The son of the mother/son writing duo that is Charles Todd, whom I imagine is the North Carolina-based party, spoke in recent years at two annual mystery weekends presented by the local Wilmington, NC, library. He's a nice-looking, polite youngish man, whom I believe actually is Charles Todd. He told us a bit about how he and his mother research and write these books: his talks were certainly interesting, and well-appreciated. So, Charles Todd, keep up the good work, please.
Format:Hardcover
I've liked this series from the very first book "A Test of Wills" but my big niggle is the series has not moved on timewise. It would be really nice to have a book say from 1925 or even 1930 where we can see how Rutledge prospers. I'm tired of the protracted baiting from his senior Bowles and this needs attending to in the next book by either a transfer to another division of Bowles or perhaps his death. I can see the need to retain Hamish but he should be receeding a little now and lets have a love interest for the poor man.
I did enjoy the Boer War sequence and was reminded of a very good book by John Harris written many years ago, but the practicalities of stealing a payroll and hiding it and getting it out of South Africa were never covered and there was an obvious gap there in the story.
I did enjoy the Boer War sequence and was reminded of a very good book by John Harris written many years ago, but the practicalities of stealing a payroll and hiding it and getting it out of South Africa were never covered and there was an obvious gap there in the story.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A must for lovers of mystery
I have read all the Inspector Rutledge books and have enjoyed them all, Also the stand alone "The Murder Stone". Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2009 by HappilyRetired
The Haunted Detective
Every great literary detective has a special quirk: Poirot has his little grey cells; Marple has her fleecy knitting; Rumpole has his claret and Wordsworth; and Morse has his pint... Read more
Published on 22 April 2009 by F. S. L'hoir
Decently Written But Lacks Suspense And Depth!
The writing team known as Charles Todd does a decent job in creating a historical sense of time and place for their eleventh book featuring Detective Inspector Rutledge. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2009 by bobbewig
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