Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
184th out of 738 books
—
1,613 voters
Search The Dark (Inspector Ian Rutledge #3)
by
Charles Todd (Goodreads Author)
The introspective hero of wings of Fire and A Test of Wills (Edgar Award nominee) return in a provocative new mystery. Inspector Ian Rutledge, haunted by memories of World War I and the harrowing presence of Hamish, a dead soldier, is "a superb characterization of a man whose wounds have made him a stranger i his own land." (The New York Times Book Review)
A dead woman two...more
A dead woman two...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
May 15th 2000
by St. Martin's Paperbacks
(first published 1999)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,700)
Another book in the Inspector Rutledge series, Search the Dark, is again set in a small English village. In this case, Rutledge is sent to investigate the death of a woman, and to help search for her missing and possibly dead children. The local police, who are not terribly welcoming to Rutledge, have arrested a man for the crime. But it is not as simple as that, being really pretty twisty! The man locked up thought he saw the wife and children he believed dead during the war getting off a train...more
Rating: 3.5* of five
What on Earth are the murders of some seemingly unrelated women in the Dorset countryside to do with Scotland Yard? Well, as always, Ian Rutledge and his internal nemesis Hamish are sent where the Yard thinks they stand the best chance of getting rid of them (though the only one they KNOW they're getting rid of is Ian). As always, strict instructions are issued for Rutledge to avoid antagonizing the powerful people involved in this case; as always, he fails; and as always, Ru...more
What on Earth are the murders of some seemingly unrelated women in the Dorset countryside to do with Scotland Yard? Well, as always, Ian Rutledge and his internal nemesis Hamish are sent where the Yard thinks they stand the best chance of getting rid of them (though the only one they KNOW they're getting rid of is Ian). As always, strict instructions are issued for Rutledge to avoid antagonizing the powerful people involved in this case; as always, he fails; and as always, Ru...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
In the third Inspector Ian Rutledge novel the author(s)--a mother and son team writing under the name Charles Todd--continue to examine the effects of World War I on British society. A grief stricken veteran named Mowbray is arrested for the murder of a woman whom he believes is his wife who deserted him while he was away at war. The evidence seems incontrovertible that Mowbray is guilty until it appears the victim wasn't his wife at all. Did Mowbray kill another woman, a victim of mis-identific...more
This one was better than the second one, but there's still this disappointing SAMENESS about these books. *Again* Rutledge gets sent off somewhere by his ill-wishing supervisor, *again* Rutledge is the only one that sees more to the story than is evident, *again* Rutledge is distracted by some attractive yet unattainable woman. *Again* the mystery drags along before being solved by a sudden fortuitous break in the final few pages.
Hamish seems to serve no point. It would be one thing if he was th...more
Hamish seems to serve no point. It would be one thing if he was th...more
I have a weakness for historical mysteries. So, since you can only read so much Anne Perry, I decided to give Charles Todd's Rutledge a try. This is an early book in the series and I can tell you it only gets better from here.
Ian Rutledge was an Inspector at Scotland Yard before WWI. He came home shell shocked and since partially recovering spends his time trying to solve cases while his boss, who hates him, keeps throwing him into dicey situations trying to get him to commit career suicide. I...more
Ian Rutledge was an Inspector at Scotland Yard before WWI. He came home shell shocked and since partially recovering spends his time trying to solve cases while his boss, who hates him, keeps throwing him into dicey situations trying to get him to commit career suicide. I...more
Apr 28, 2013
Dorothy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-mysteries
Search the Dark is the third in author Charles Todd's excellent Inspector Ian Rutledge series, and, in my view, it is the best so far. Several other entries have followed this one and I will be interested to read them later to see just where the series goes.
But not for a while, I think. After reading the first three books in quick succession in a matter of weeks, it's time for me to move on to something else. First, though, let me tell you about this book.
Inspector Rutledge suffered terribly in...more
But not for a while, I think. After reading the first three books in quick succession in a matter of weeks, it's time for me to move on to something else. First, though, let me tell you about this book.
Inspector Rutledge suffered terribly in...more
World War I has ended--or has it? For milions of people in England and in the other countries who participated in the senseless slaughter of that war, it will never end. Inspector Ian Rutledge is physically healed, but emotionally hanging on by a thread. He carries the voice of Hamish MacLeod, a soldier he was forced to execute in France for refusing to obey a direct order, in his head. Trying to keep anyone from realizing the extent of his emotional injuries, Rutledge returns to work at Scotlan...more
A really good series thus far; emphasis solidly on A) the inspector and his internal problems and B) the mystery at hand, without extraneous wanderings off after sordid details or salacious subplots. The romantic hints have been emotional rather than sexual, and nothing has come of any of them; I love a good romance, but it is a very rare mystery author (think Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Anne Perry) who can entwine the two without making it hokey or unrealistic (seriously? detective an...more
I have read most of the Charles Todd books. I had a little trouble with this one- I kept picking it up trying to read and would fall asleep. I think it was me, not the book. It's another story of the English country side in the fog that accompanied after the "Great War", a murder or two occurs and Inspector Rutledge is sent to investigate. Rutledge survived the war, only to come back to an England devistated by losses and a changed society. He has work trouble with his superior and his "baggage"...more
oh my goodness! I am on a roll with these Ian Rutledge books. These are fantastic mysteries with surprising twists and excellent plot lines. I am reading these suckers back to back to back! As in all great series mysteries, I am getting to know the main character more and more with each new installment. I am glad I came to Charles Todd late because I would be on pins and needles waiting for the next book. As it is, I can savor them one right after another. I respect how Todd handles post-WWI Eng...more
I'm sorry I've missed these but I can take delight that I've found them now. Ian Rutledge is a complex, intelligent and haunted man. Back from WWI shell-shocked and fragile emotionally he goes back to what he knows best - Scotland Yard. While dealing with his demon(s) - and not the Yard's fair haired boy - he's sent to find 2 missing children after the mother is murdered and the father accused of the crime. All the major characters are not what they appear and most are implementing their own age...more
Our war damaged Inspector is once again sent out by his boss to look into the murder of a woman and her missing children. The village police chief, resenting Scotland Yard's intrusion into his territory, believes he's arrested the murderer but Inspector Rutledge appears to harbor doubts. In speaking with the prisoner, he discovers another war damaged soul, but the man is horrified and shocked by what he believes he has done and cannot be drawn into speaking at length about his wife and children...more
A semi-dark mystery featuring Ian Rutledge, a veteran who is far from recovered from the psychic wounds of his service in WWI. Another veteran, unemployed and pursuing rumors of work, sees the wife and child he thought killed in a bombing during the war on a train platform. He unravels psychologically, wandering the village where he spotted them in a state of rage. Then the body of a young woman is found on the edge of a field, the man is arrested, and Rutledge brought in from London to help fin...more
Another soldier who is shell-shocked may have killed his wife and children or . . . Inspector Rutledge's investigation's differ from most other mystery stories by starting out with his total suspension of disbelief, thus the plot can lead anywhere, regardless of the vignette from which it begins. The beauty of Todd's vision of Rutledge's mind is like a piece of very finest Murano glass -- it differs in perspective depending on how you are allowed to look at it. The handling of plot goes beyond p...more
The third in the Ian Rutledge series finds Rutledge in another quiet town, dealing with another traumatized veteran and a mysterious murder that unravels the more he tugs at it. I found the cast of characters less intriguing than previous ones and intuited the truth a little too early for full enjoyment, but Rutledge's relationship with the "ghost" of Hamish continues to be interesting. There's a subtle build to it here and a surprising moment when Hamish supports and comforts him rather than je...more
A dead woman and two missing children bring Inspector Rutledge to the lovely Dorset town of Singleton Magna, where the truth lies buried with the dead. A tormented veteran whose fami8ly died in an enemy bombing is the chief suspect. Dubious, Rutledge presses on to find the real killer. And when another body is found in the rich Dorset earth, his quest reaches into the secret lives of villagers and Londoners whose privileged positions and private passions give them every reason to thwart him. Som...more
This is the second I've read in this series, and it was very good, I definitely didn't want to put it down. It's a little tighter and less gothic than the first one I read, Wings of Fire, but like that one (which is the second in the series; Search the Dark is fourth) it's more of a psychological study of all the character. There is a murder and a murderer, but you're so interested in the characters and their lives and motivations that the discovery of the murder is a bit of an Oh, yeah, at the...more
view 1 comment
Before it was PTSD it was shell shock. A different name, but still a debilitating, harrowing phenomena for hundreds of thousands of soldiers across the years. Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge is only one of the broken men who returned from the First World War emotionally shredded by his experience and further tortured by survivor's guilt. In an effort to regain some kind of normalcy, Inspector Rutledge returns to work...but is he ready? These mysteries are marvelously told stories, full of p...more
This was an extremely tragic story with consequences for the small town that was depicted. Murder is always a monumental bump in life on top of just the death of a fellow human being. The victim in this book was seen traveling with children who disappear. What has happened to the children in an already tragic event? I love the period around WW1, and with mysteries I always drift towards the English classic ones. "Search the Dark," although written recently falls right into my enjoyment of the gr...more
I love these books because they are not long books. The stories are short, no secondary characters, Ian Rutledge is a great character and the author really makes me feel like I am in England in 1919. I feel like I am in that little car (possibly a Model T or whatever Model they had in 1919 England) driving around the English countryside.
I didn’t like this book – Ian Rutledge was less tortured, I like him best when he uses his mental state to solve crimes. In this book, his relationship with a ma...more
I didn’t like this book – Ian Rutledge was less tortured, I like him best when he uses his mental state to solve crimes. In this book, his relationship with a ma...more
Jul 16, 2008
Stephanie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Historical fiction fans, anglophiles, mystery lovers
Third book in a series of English mysteries set just after the first world war. Many mysteries have a troubled cop, detective, etc... at their heart but in this case the Scotland Yard detective is literally haunted... or mad. Ian Rutledge is a talented detective but he came back from the war with a heavy conscience and the spirit of a scottish soldier that he had shot for disobeying orders squatting in the back of his mind. Whether this is a real supernatural twinge or Rutledge is suffering from...more
This has the usual creepiness and surprise that I have found and liked in the first two novels of this series. here, Rutledge travels to Dorset to investigate claims that a war-deranged drifter murdered his long lost wife and children. Of course the facts of the case are much different, but also involve wounded World War I soldiers and a French war bride. This is a sad and mournful story full of grief for the war and the damage it has causes. However, sloppy editing prevented this from rating 4...more
Rutledge is a WWI veteran with the voice of Hamish, a fellow soldier who died in the war, in his head. I love the dialogue between the two. Such an interesting way to move the plot along. Rutledge is sent to a small town to help find a murderer. The local constable is sure a veteran whose wife and children were killed in an air raid is responsible for the murder. Rutledge isn't so sure. I LOVE Sam Gillies as the reader. His Scottish accent is terrific.
The after-effect of World War I in England is the "main character" in this series by Charles Todd (a mother/son writing team). The mystery story is well-told but even deeper is the portrayal of "shell shock" (now known as PTSD) in the war veterans, especially our detective, Ian Rutledge. This is a terrific series. This was my second reading of this book for a book-club discussion. I'll be interested to hear my group members' opinions.
I really like this series. It's highly textured and, although I'm not given to visualizing, I feel like I can see the landscape of the novels. The detective was shell-shocked in WW1, and is haunted (literally) by the memory of a friend/fellow soldier whom he "had to have shot" in the trenches. He carries this person around in his head as an alter-ego who's particularly honest and brutally frank.
This wasn't the best, though, because I didn't think the ending really worked. It was a 9th hour, oh-g...more
This wasn't the best, though, because I didn't think the ending really worked. It was a 9th hour, oh-g...more
Search the Dark - G
Charles Todd - 3rd in series
Inspector Ian Rutledge, the war-damaged detective, is sent to a small Dorset town to locate two missing children. The body of a woman, assumed to be their mother, has been found. The local police have a suspect, a mentally unhinged veteran who believes he has glimpsed his wife and children on a railway platform there, even though he'd been told they'd died in an enemy bombing.
Face-to-face with a darkness more profound than that in his own mind, and...more
Charles Todd - 3rd in series
Inspector Ian Rutledge, the war-damaged detective, is sent to a small Dorset town to locate two missing children. The body of a woman, assumed to be their mother, has been found. The local police have a suspect, a mentally unhinged veteran who believes he has glimpsed his wife and children on a railway platform there, even though he'd been told they'd died in an enemy bombing.
Face-to-face with a darkness more profound than that in his own mind, and...more
Search The Dark by Charles Todd
Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent to a small town to find two missing children but instead of answers he finds more questions. Haunted by a ghost from his past the inspector expertly wades though the evidence to find the real truth.
This is a mystery book so there are several crimes to solve. I found that about halve way though I was yelling at the pages saying all right that's enough time to solve. The clues were subtle but obvious and a casual gumshoe would get it r...more
Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent to a small town to find two missing children but instead of answers he finds more questions. Haunted by a ghost from his past the inspector expertly wades though the evidence to find the real truth.
This is a mystery book so there are several crimes to solve. I found that about halve way though I was yelling at the pages saying all right that's enough time to solve. The clues were subtle but obvious and a casual gumshoe would get it r...more
High marks for characterization, historical detail and feeling, a strong and sympathetic detective with the most interesting sidekick in mystery fiction. I would read more in the series. The one cavil is that while I didn't anticipate the outcome, it didn't surprise me either, but I guess I've been spoiled by too many startling Agatha Christie endings. However, her characters are also much more one-dimensional...
I find the Ian Rutledge sereis to be well-written, complex, intelligent and intriguing. I loved this plot--and was surprised at the end. I thought I knew where it was going, but there was a surprise ending that I didn't expect. I like Ian Rutledge, both as an inspector and as a man. He is determined to find the guilty, but is also as determined to protect the innocent. Great series.
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 »
“But what kind of love? It had so many faces, so many names. Jealousy wove a thread around it, and envy, and fear. People died for love–and killed for it. And yet in itself it was indefinable, it wore whatever passions people brought to it, like a mountebank, with no reality of its own.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
