Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
180th out of 738 books
—
1,610 voters
A Cold Treachery (Inspector Ian Rutledge #7)
by
Charles Todd (Goodreads Author)
Charles Todd returns to the world of Scotland Yard’s Inspector Ian Rutledge in a series that the New York Times Book Review called “harrowing psychological drama” and the Washington Post Book World hailed as “among the most intelligent and affecting being written these days.” This time the embattled Inspector has met his match hunting a brutal killer across a frozen hell a...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
August 30th 2005
by Bantam
(first published January 25th 2005)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,332)
The book kept me reading, but left me a little dissatisfied.
Ian Rutledge is called in to a real horror: an In Cold Blood-like murder of 5 members of a family, in a remote village, in the middle of a snowstorm of historic proportions. The locals judge it too treacherous for Rutledge to trek the snow-obscured paths alone, so much of the time he is confined to the village's lone "hotel," with two other guests, each connected to the murdered mother.
Like all the books I've read in this series, this w...more
Ian Rutledge is called in to a real horror: an In Cold Blood-like murder of 5 members of a family, in a remote village, in the middle of a snowstorm of historic proportions. The locals judge it too treacherous for Rutledge to trek the snow-obscured paths alone, so much of the time he is confined to the village's lone "hotel," with two other guests, each connected to the murdered mother.
Like all the books I've read in this series, this w...more
This is the second Charles Todd I read (first was A Fearsome Doubt, both downloaded from the NYPL and read on my Kindle) and I enjoyed it even more than the first one. I imagine this is in part because I'm more drawn in by the protagonist, Ian Rutlege, a shell-shocked policeman/detective from Scotland Yard in the years following WW1. He is haunted by the voice of Hamish in his head, a Scotts fellow soldier who he had to court martial for disobeying orders to take his men into battle and he was h...more
Ian Rutledge is assigned to investigate the murder of a family. A ten year old boy is missing. Either he is the killer, or missing in freezing weather. The entire village has turned out to search for him. But it has been days since the killings. It is hard to imagine the boy could be alive exposed to the brutal weather. The mother and son team, writing under the pen name Charles Todd, continue to explore the after effects of World War One on British society and on Ian Rutledge who suffers from h...more
Very good -- great atmosphere and description of the Lakes District countryside during a winter blizzard. I felt like I was there, in the little village and on the sheep farms, in 1919. WWI's horrors continue to play out here, both in the story and in Ian Rutledge's head. A bit different from the other Ian Rutledge stories -- more gruesome, modern murder. This was the first one of the Todd mysteries where my first guess of "who done it" was accurate. The plotting isn't as tight as in some other...more
I know I said I wouldn't continue this series, but I couldn't stay away and ended up awarding 5 stars. Go figure. The characters are worth the occasional frustrating plot device. Ian Rutledge works to solve the brutal murder of an entire family in the kitchen of their farm, while a blizzard rages outside. The young boy (who is missing) is the only survivor and is under suspicion of killing his entire family. Once again, the disruption of the country by WWI plays a major role in the schemes and o...more
Ian Rutledge breaks my heart. On the surface, he's an upper class British officer returned from the front after WWI to resume his position as an inspector at Scotland Yard. Underneath the handsome facade, he is the ultimate casualty of a terrible war-- tortured by his memories, haunted by a decision made in the heat of battle and abandoned by his fiancée, he throws himself full force into solving the cases he's assigned. Instead of a partner or a sidekick, Rutledge has only the ghostly specter o...more
Feb 11, 2010
Lynne-marie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
All Mystery readers
Once again, it's hard to write about this book without giving away secrets. The penchant for strafing even the innocent, is, I think, consistent with the theme of the damage done by WWI, especially in the person of Inspector Rutledge. The pictures of lonely lives in God-forsaken areas speaks also to Rutledge's inner isolation. In these things, the authors are skillful and literary. In terms of the mystery, as always the tension is ratcheted up to the breaking point before all is revealed. Excell...more
Another excellent Ian Rutledge mystery. Like Martin Cruz Smith, Charles Todd uses the mystery genre as a vehicle to explore his very human characters and to write excellent prose. Mysteries make up the plots--including twists and turns, some unexpected--but the core of these books lies in the tortured Rutledge and the other characters that Todd creates. The period details are also excellent in setting the time and place without overloading a reader with exhaustive detail. This novel is particula...more
Seventh in the series. The book dragged for me for much of the beginning but then got very dramatic in closing chapters, enough to win me over at the end. At times some bits of information were unnecessarily reiterated (to the point of mild annoyance) and to be honest, for much of the book the authorial voice sounded less skillful in utilizing detail and nuance than as these elements were employed in earlier Inspector Rutledge mysteries--almost as if it was a different author for much of this bo...more
Another good mystery from Charles Todd. The Ian Rutledge series is very good - I would give it another half-star if I could. The characters are interesting and realistic (warts-and-all), especially Inspector Rutledge himself. I keep rooting for him, hoping he'll make some friendship to help alleviate his loneliness and help him deal with his demons (or demon, as the case might be). There have been some possibilities, so perhaps in later stories he might be able to share time with someone besides...more
I've read quite a few in this series featuring Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard and although the format is similar in every case, and they can therefore be a bit predictable, I find I enjoy the plots and the background of the post-WW1 period in Britain with the many returned soldiers who are physically or psychologically maimed. This one set in the unforgiving winter landscape of the British Lake District so lots of striding about snow covered fells and cold houses.
view all 6 comments
I am a sucker for British whodunits and Charles Todd with his creation of Ian Rutledge, a WWI damaged Inspector, has a good story line and kept me guessing. Rutledge has his own demons to deal with as well as dispensing justice, and justice is what he feels compelled to pursue regardless of the cost. After the horrors of the "Great War", Rutledge sees being a cop and protecting the innocent on a par with bringing to justice those who deserve it.
No CSI, no DNA evidence, not even fingerprints. How crimes were solved without these conveniences.
Love these books. The mystery meanders along very slowly but the mystery does get solved and the journey is well worth it.
No heroes
No heroines
No sex
Just a scarred, damaged detective and a murder to solve.
Love these books!!
This book had a great murder mystery with many suspects, each with a secret. (Make a movie of these mysteries, please) This book even had a little altercation at the end in a small...more
Love these books. The mystery meanders along very slowly but the mystery does get solved and the journey is well worth it.
No heroes
No heroines
No sex
Just a scarred, damaged detective and a murder to solve.
Love these books!!
This book had a great murder mystery with many suspects, each with a secret. (Make a movie of these mysteries, please) This book even had a little altercation at the end in a small...more
My favorite Inspector Rutledge book so far,,,dead of winter..family slaughtered...boy missing... desolate English countryside. Close knit small English village. Blizzard...Takes place shortly after World War 2,,, Rutledge is still recovering from the horror of the trenches...He needed to go back to work for Scotland Yard as soon as possible. He fights his own demons and memories as he searches for truth and a deadly killer.
Fooled me again! These books are intelligently written, and about half the time I think I know who the killer is, only to realize that I've got it all wrong. And there's the suspense of Rutledge's psychological state: will he keep it together long enough to find the killer? Can he form a lasting relationship with someone--anyone--other than Hamish, the voice in his head?
I had a hard time getting into this installment of the series. It finally picked up during the last third of the book, but it was too late for me to really get hooked. Inspector Rutledge is sent to the Lake District to investigate the gruesome murder of almost an entire family. A nine-year-old boy is missing and is one of the suspects as are his aunt, uncle, and biological father. One of the hallmarks of Charles Todd's writing is the definite sense of time and place that is created, and in this...more
Another book in the WW I Scotland Yard detective series.
I had a sense of who the killer was but enjoyed how it unfolded. What makes this series of books interesting is how Todd vividly portrays England during the post WW-I era, both geographically and economically: it was a raw, cold, and difficult place in the rural areas (and that's without murderers running around!).
I had a sense of who the killer was but enjoyed how it unfolded. What makes this series of books interesting is how Todd vividly portrays England during the post WW-I era, both geographically and economically: it was a raw, cold, and difficult place in the rural areas (and that's without murderers running around!).
I'm not sure that this was the best Todd, but he/they are always worth reading. Rutledge's character is developing nicely, along with Hamish's, but I'm not sure about the motivation of this murderer. Rather distressing and sad, but it seems like almost all of the characters are lost sheep, unlike the real sheep, which are really rather bright, according to the "good sheep men." A nice irony.
The subject matter of this book almost made me put it aside. The darkness and evil in Todd's characters are generally more subtle, but in this novel, the opening pages were almost too painful. However, because I am a devoted/obsessed fan, I read on, and the layers of plot, character and insights into human behavior were once again compelling.
Read this one in two days. I'm not a big mystery reader, but this book was fine for its genre. Enjoyed the description of Urksdale--Todd develops a nice sense of time and place. Inspector Rutledge comes off as a flat character, despite his running conversations with the dead Hamish. I'd recommend this book to Brit mystery lovers.
Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge is at it again, this time in a blizzard. He and his invisible sidekick look for a killer in the North country. The killer slaughters an entire family except the little,boy who,is,either, missing or the killer. Atmospheric with rich descriptions and characters. The mother and son author team is back on its game.
As previously noted, Charles Todd is one of my favorites, and this one of the Ian Rutledge series mysteries is no exception. For folks who like historical mysteries, Charles Todd is an excellent choice--engaging stories, well written, good character development. Definitely will keep on reading the series!
I thought this Rutledge novel has a particularly strong sense of place (winter, the fells, etc), but I do tire of the whole Hamish device at times. This one is also unusual in the way it pretty much gives a big chunk of the mystery away in the first chapter. The plot is less the point than the psychological aspects.
Another great story by Charles Todd. The suspense of the child lost in the snow storm and our suspects all in the same hotel for the most part made for an exciting story. Inspector Rutledge is fast becoming one of my favorite characters, and I will be racing to the Library for the next one.
Rutledge is sent to north to solve the murder of a family of five. A terrible storm covers tracks and a sole survivor, one of the children, is missing. The authors do a great job at weaving the clues and keeping the reader wondering which of five suspects did it.
A good read, as usual, but the nexus between the crime and the motive was weak. But, as usual, one can't wait to find out what will happen to Ian and Hamish next. Plus I can't help wondering if eventually Bowles gets a real comeuppance!
I could not put this book down. My husband is so relieved I'm done. Now I can do things like cook dinner.
Once again, I got to the end of an Ian Rutledge book and discovered that I was wrong about whodunit.
Charles Todd is an amazing writer!
Once again, I got to the end of an Ian Rutledge book and discovered that I was wrong about whodunit.
Charles Todd is an amazing writer!
I randomly grabbed this off the library shelf and then returned to read everything I could find by this duo. The books take some work to settle into, but I love the characters and the carefully woven plots. Plus they're clean.
1 like · like · see review
Really good. Quirky in the rural Highlands way. Hard to figure out who done it. Atmospheric. I got a little bored 3/4 of the way through, but the ending was exciting and well-written. Nice to be with familiar characters.
Finally, a conclusion that's entirely satisfactory. In the other books in this series things were often left hanging - we knew who the killer was but not if he/she would really be brought to justice. In this one, all the loose ends are tied up well enough to satisfy.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Charles Todd is the pen name used by a mother-and-son writing team, Caroline Todd and Charles Todd.
More about Charles Todd...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
