Proof of Guilt

December 3, 2012
The mother and son who use the Todd nom de plume continue to impress with their 15th Rutledge mystery (after 2012’s The Confession), coupling a gripping whodunit with their ongoing exploration of the aftereffects of the hell of WWI on the human psyche. In 1920, the Scotland Yard homicide inspector is still haunted by his experiences in the trenches and guilt over shooting one of his men for disobeying an order. Adding to Rutledge’s anxiety is the arrival of a new boss, who sends him to look into a suspicious hit-and-run in London’s Chelsea neighborhood. No witness saw or heard anything. Only a valuable French-made watch in the possession of the unidentified victim gives a clue to his identity. As usual, the authors toss a lot of plot balls in the air and manage to juggle them deftly. Agent: Jane Chelius, Jane Chelius Literary.

December 15, 2012
Inspector Rutledge's 15th investigation concerns a corpse without a name. Although its injuries are consistent with being struck down by a motorcar, the body lying in a quiet street in Chelsea shows signs of having been dragged along, and all identification was removed except for a handsome heirloom watch in a vest pocket. Tracing the origin of the timepiece leads Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge (The Confession, 2012, etc.) to French, French and Traynor, wine merchants: Lewis French, grandson of the founder, inherited the watch after his older brother Michael died in the war. Mr. Lewis French is unavailable to interview. Gooding, the firm's chief clerk, says he's in Essex awaiting the arrival of his partner and cousin Matthew Traynor, who oversees the firm's production of Madeira in Portugal. But is he? His sister hasn't spoken to him recently. Nor has his fiancee, or his former fiancee. Could Lewis be the Chelsea corpse? Could it be Matthew Traynor, who has yet to arrive from Portugal? Rutledge discovers sibling squabbles and a heated encounter decades ago concerning the ownership of the Portuguese vineyards. Following this lead brings him to the doorstep of a Mrs. Bennett, whose husband is missing and whose staff is composed of prisoners and mental patients released to her care, including the manipulative Alfonso Diaz, who looks forward to returning to Portugal to die. When more unidentifiable bodies turn up, Rutledge will have his hands full putting names to them, identifying motives for their deaths and disproving his Acting Chief Superintendent's choice of villains. Sturdily if not elegantly plotted, with the ghost of Hamish, the soldier Rutledge ordered executed in the war, still haranguing him.

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January 1, 2013
It's 1920, and the body of a man turns up, apparently the victim of a collision with an automobile. With no identification on the body other than an expensive pocket watch, it seems unlikely that Scotland Yard's Inspector Rutledge will be able to get to the bottom of this unusual crime (this was a time when motorcars were still fairly uncommon). But the watch provides a clue, leading Rutledge to a wine-making family, one of whose members has been missing for a while. Some readers, familiar with modern-day forensics, might have difficulties with the basic premisethat a dead man can't be identifiedbut fans of the long-running Rutledge series will enjoy this one. It has a good, convoluted story and a few surprises that should keep readers on their toes. A solid entry in this always reliable series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)