Inspector Ian Rutledge
23 primary works
Book 1
It's 1919, and the War to End All Wars has been won. But for Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, recently returned from the battlefields of France, there is no peace. Suffering from shell shock, tormented by the mocking, ever-present voice of the young Scot he had executed for refusing to fight, Rutledge plunges into his work to save his sanity. But his first assignment is a case certain to spell disaster, personally and professionally.
In Warwickshire, a popular colonel has been murdered, and the main suspect is a decorated war hero and close friend of the Prince of Wales. The case is a political minefield, and no matter what the outcome, Rutledge may not escape with his career intact. But, win or lose, the cost could be even higher: the one witness who could break the case is himself a shell shock victim, teetering on the edge of reality. And in this war-ravaged man, Rutledge sees his own possible future, should he lose grip on his mind....
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
For in Scotland Rutledge will find that the young mother accused of killing Eleanor Gray is a woman to whom he owes a terrible debt. And his harrowing journey to find the truth will lead him back through the fires of his past, into secrets that still have the power to kill.
Book 5
In a marshy Norfolk backwater, a priest is brutally murdered after giving a dying man last rites. For Scotland Yard’s Ian Rutledge, an ex-officer still recovering from the trauma of war, it looks to be a simple case. Yet the Inspector finds himself uncovering secrets that the local authorities would prefer not to see explored. Rutledge pares away layers of deception to piece together a chain of events that stretches from the brooding marshes to one of the greatest sea disasters in history—the sinking of the Titanic. Who is the mysterious woman who may have boarded that ship—and who is the secretive woman who survived it? Only Rutledge can answer those questions . . . and prevent a killer who’ll stop at nothing from striking again.
Praise for Watchers of Time
“One of the best historical series being written today . . . In the grand tradition of English murder mysteries.”—The Washington Post Book World
“With his tortured detective Ian Rutledge and the ghost who inhabits his mind . . . Charles Todd has swiftly become one of the most respected writers in the mystery genre. . . . The pair is unique among sleuths.”—The Denver Post
“Outstanding. Todd’s portrait of Rutledge and postwar England remains powerful.”—Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
Book 6
In 1912 Ian Rutledge helped gather the evidence that sent Ben Shaw to the gallows. Now, seven years later, Ben Shaw’s widow brings Rutledge evidence she’s convinced proves her husband’s innocence. Ben Shaw’s past is a tangle of unsettling secrets that may or may not be true. And it grows only more twisted when a seemingly unrelated murder brings Rutledge back to Kent. There an unexpected encounter revives his painful memories of war—and the voice of Hamish MacLeod, the soldier Rutledge was forced to execute. Two elusive killers are on the loose at the same time . . . and to catch them before they catch him, Rutledge will be forced to question everything he believes about right, wrong—and murder.
Praise for A Fearsome Doubt
“Brilliant . . . Who’d have thought that Charles Todd’s brilliant concept for a mystery . . . would not only continue but grow stronger from book to book.”—Chicago Tribune
“Todd raises the stakes in this series to new and nearly unbearable levels.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A brilliant and gripping whodunit . . . an outstanding historical mystery and literate period fiction.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Book 7
Called out into the teeth of a violent blizzard, Inspector Ian Rutledge faces one of the most savage murders he’s ever encountered. He might have expected such unspeakable carnage on the World War I battlefields where he’d lost much of his soul—and his sanity—but not in an otherwise peaceful farm kitchen in remote Urskdale. Someone has murdered the Elcott family without the least sign of struggle. But when the victims are tallied, the local police are in for another shock: One child is missing. Now the Inspector must race to save a young boy before he’s silenced by the merciless elements—or the even colder hands of the killer who hides in the blinding snow.
Praise for A Cold Treachery
“Todd’s Ian Rutledge mysteries are among the most intelligent and affecting being written these days.”—Washington Post Book World
“Brilliant.”—Chicago Tribune
“Traditional mystery lovers who prefer their whodunits enriched with psychological insight will heartily embrace A Cold Treachery. . . . A superb effort.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Brilliantly conceived and elegantly executed.”—Strand magazine
Book 8
Book 9
Book 10
Book 11
Book 12
Book 13
Book 14
Book 15
Alone in a no man's land rife with mystery and danger, Rutledge must tread very carefully, for someone has decided that he, too, must die so that cruel justice can take its course.
Book 16
To stop a murderer, will the ethical detective choose to follow the letter-or the spirit-of the law?
Book 17
As the clouds of war gather on the horizon, all of Britain wonders and waits. With every moment at stake, Rutledge sets out to right a wrong-an odyssey that will eventually force him to choose between the Yard and his country, between love and duty, and between honor and truth.
Book 18
Book 19
Is the crash connected in some way to the unfortunate events in the mountains above Nice the year before? The dead driver wasn't in France-although the motorcar he drove was. If it was foul play, was it a case of mistaken identity? Or was the dead man the intended victim after all? Investigating this perplexing case, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge discovers that the truth is elusive-and that the villages on the South Downs, where the accident happened, are adept at keeping secrets, frustrating his search. Determined to remain in the shadows this faceless killer is willing to strike again to stop Rutledge from finding him. This time, the victim he chooses is a child, and it will take all of Rutledge's skill to stop him before an innocent young life is sacrificed.
Book 20
Scotland Yard’s Ian Rutledge is a witness to murder in the twentieth installement of the acclaimed New York Times bestselling series
Rutledge gives the bride away at his sister's wedding, filling the role of his late parents. And when the evening ends, he's too restless to sleep. Changing his clothes, he begins to drive aimlessly. Late that night, he comes upon a motorcar standing, doors wide, in the middle of a dark and lonely road. Standing beside the motorcar is a woman with blood on her hands and a dead man lying at her feet.
She swears she didn't kill him-and there's no weapon to be found. Is her story the truth, that a stranger stopped them as they drove home from an evening party, and then without warning, took out a revolver and fired one shot at Stephen Wentworth before disappearing into the night? Certainly there's no sign of him now! And she swears she never saw the man's face.
The victim is well-liked in the village where he lives, yet his bitter family accuses him of murder. Who did he kill? And has retribution finally caught up with him? Or has his companion lied all along?
Rutledge manages to persuade the Yard that this should be his inquiry, although he is a witness after the fact. He believes this will give him an edge, but the Chief Superintendent is not completely convinced. Nor is Hamish, who flatly tells Rutledge he's evading the fact that he's not ready to go back to London, that the wedding has brought back too many memories he's unwilling to face.
Wolf Pit, the village where Stephen Wentworth lived, is where the last wolf in England was killed in Medieval times. When there is another death, the evidence begins to suggest that a lone killer, like a lone wolf, is hunting prey of his own.