A Lonely Death

November 22, 2010
Scotland Yard Insp. Ian Rutledge returns to France for the first time since he survived the horrors of trench warfare in the pseudonymous Todd's fine 13th mystery featuring the tormented and all-too-human sleuth (after 2010's The Red Door). In 1920, with his spirits shaken by the suicide of a fellow veteran, Rutledge travels to Sussex to catch a killer who's already garroted three men, all of whom served in WWI. When Rutledge presses his inquiries aggressively, a local's complaint leads to his removal from the case. Frustrated at the internal police machinations, which appear aimed at keeping him from advancement rather than assessing the validity of the charges against him, the inspector joins a friend on a mission of mercy across the Channel. The mother-son writing team could have dispensed with a contrived subplot involving a cold case, but as usual their subtle prose and profound empathy for all their characters enhance a suspenseful and twisty plot.

Suspense is the hallmark of the new Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery. A trio of murders of Great War survivors in rural Sussex is investigated by Rutledge, who continues to be haunted by horrific WWI experiences and the imaginary voice of his ethereal comrade, Hamish. Simon Prebble's husky performance infuses the ideal level of Rutledge melancholy while underscoring the period detail of the bygone era. He is especially skilled at vocalizing the throaty timbre of the more mature characters while softening women's tones without changing pitch. He performs accents expertly, especially that of the Scottish Hamish. However, Prebble's vocal volume sometimes drops sharply as characters speak softly or whisper, and some words are lost. Soon Rutledge is plagued by more deaths, few clues, and pressures that threaten his job, his reputation, and his life. A.W. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine