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Inspector Ian Rutledge #0.5, 12.5
Tales: Short Stories Featuring Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford (Ian Rutledge, #0.5, #12.5)
Now published together for the first time: Charles Todd's absorbing short stories—"The Kidnapping," "The Girl on the Beach," "Cold Comfort," and "The Maharani's Pearls"—featuring everyone's favorite Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge and intrepid battlefield nurse Bess Crawford. These vibrant tales transport readers from the home front in Great Britain where ominous clouds of war will soon lead to the trenches of France, to the bloody front lines where Lieutenant Rutledge must risk his life to save his men. And finally to the exotic, dangerous India of Bess Crawford's youth. Together they create a fascinating glimpse into the extraordinary backgrounds of two of mystery's most popular characters.
176 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2015
283 people are currently reading
747 people want to read
About the author
Charles Todd
112 books3,508 followersCharles Todd was the pen name used by the mother-and-son writing team, Caroline Todd and Charles Todd. Now, Charles writes the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford Series. Charles Todd ha spublished three standalone mystery novels and many short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
February 22, 2016
I'm quite thankful for this collection of short stories because it gave me a chance to finally read something by Charles Todd. I own the first book in both the Bess Crawford and the Ian Rutledge series, but I have not read any one of them yet. I also have the latest Bess Crawford book A Pattern of Lies so this gave me an opportunity to read about both Crawford and Rutledge and see if I find the stories and the characters to my liking. And, I did. Yes, these stories are not so long, but they are well written and interesting and left me with a feeling of needing more and of course since this is me we are talking about a need for both characters to actually meet since both series takes place during the same period. Another thing, perhaps it's the period, but reading Bess Crawford made me thinking about Laurie R. Kings series about Mary Russell. Something about Bess made me think about her. Can be that they both took care of wounded people during WW1 or something. But I think readers of the Mary Russell series would like Charles Todd's books as well.
Now on to the stories. There were two stories each about Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge.
Bess Crawford finds a dead body on a beach in “The Girl on the Beach” and she and the local police try to find out who the dead girl is and who took her life. I liked the story. I got introduced to Bess and I instantly liked her and felt that I wanted to know more about her. 3.5 stars
In the Maharani's Pearls, we got to meet Bess and her parents in India. Bess is told by a fortuneteller that someone she cares for is in danger. I liked this because we got a story about Bess when she was younger and it gave an interesting glimpse into her childhood in India. 3 stars
A young gets kidnapped in The Kidnapping: and Ian Rutledge must figure out why anyone would kidnap her and who's behind it. Since it's a very short story isn't it really time to get to know Ian Rutledge that well, but he seems to be a capable policeman. 3 stars
In Cold Comfort must Ian Rutledge figure out why two brothers want a man dead while fighting in the First World War. This story was really good, it started a bit slow, but, in the end, it was my favorite story in this collection. 4 stars
The collection also contained the first two chapters of the new book A pattern of Lies and I usually try not to read chapters of a book, but I did it this time since this was a blog tour and also since I do have the book so I knew I could continue with reading A pattern of Lies if I wanted to. And, I wanted to, but that is another story...
I received this copy from the publisher through NetGalley return for an honest review! Thank you!
Now on to the stories. There were two stories each about Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge.
Bess Crawford finds a dead body on a beach in “The Girl on the Beach” and she and the local police try to find out who the dead girl is and who took her life. I liked the story. I got introduced to Bess and I instantly liked her and felt that I wanted to know more about her. 3.5 stars
In the Maharani's Pearls, we got to meet Bess and her parents in India. Bess is told by a fortuneteller that someone she cares for is in danger. I liked this because we got a story about Bess when she was younger and it gave an interesting glimpse into her childhood in India. 3 stars
A young gets kidnapped in The Kidnapping: and Ian Rutledge must figure out why anyone would kidnap her and who's behind it. Since it's a very short story isn't it really time to get to know Ian Rutledge that well, but he seems to be a capable policeman. 3 stars
In Cold Comfort must Ian Rutledge figure out why two brothers want a man dead while fighting in the First World War. This story was really good, it started a bit slow, but, in the end, it was my favorite story in this collection. 4 stars
The collection also contained the first two chapters of the new book A pattern of Lies and I usually try not to read chapters of a book, but I did it this time since this was a blog tour and also since I do have the book so I knew I could continue with reading A pattern of Lies if I wanted to. And, I wanted to, but that is another story...
I received this copy from the publisher through NetGalley return for an honest review! Thank you!
January 8, 2016
These are entertaining. One of the Bess stories has her at 12 years of age in India where her father serves in the English regiment. And one of the Ian stories I had read before- it happens IN the trenches during the Great War. Not before or after. And has to do with logistics of the tunnel diggers.
The last quarter of this copy was an intro to a new Charles Todd. It's a marketing technique I personally abhor. There should have been another short story instead, IMHO. This mother and son have found their niche and are making up some grim tales. I prefer the Ian novels much over the Bess Crawford. She is super observant, but her hardness and prig style of independence tends to bore me. It's basically just too rigid? Most of the time I guess her every direction. With Ian copy, Hamish always adds enough guile and cheek to stir the depths of the pot.
The last quarter of this copy was an intro to a new Charles Todd. It's a marketing technique I personally abhor. There should have been another short story instead, IMHO. This mother and son have found their niche and are making up some grim tales. I prefer the Ian novels much over the Bess Crawford. She is super observant, but her hardness and prig style of independence tends to bore me. It's basically just too rigid? Most of the time I guess her every direction. With Ian copy, Hamish always adds enough guile and cheek to stir the depths of the pot.
January 19, 2019
It's always fun to go back into the past of a favorite character.
July 10, 2021
I have revised my initial review because I read another review that made a good point (see final paragraph). With that in mind, I lowered my rating to 3 stars—though frankly, I feel it deserves more like 2.5 stars.
This is a compilation of several Charles Todd novellas, or short stories, as I consider most of them. (“Novella” by definition is a smaller novel, longer than a mere “story”.) (Sorry that “mere” sounds biased; I just didn’t know how else to say it without ruminating ad nauseam on word choice.) Some of these titles barely qualify as short stories, they are SO short (“The Girl On the Beach”).
But length varies widely. In one case—“The Maharani’s Pearls”—I wish it had been much longer, because readers really have not been told much about Bess’s time in India. (Strictly speaking, the Northwest Territory of India is now Pakistan, but that did not occur until after Bess and her family left.)
So if you can’t find an individual title in your public library, remember this anthology. I’ve found that anthologies are often the only place to find short stories. Keep in mind that the term “novella” is used much more frequently now in publishing for what should be deemed a short story (no doubt to boost sales).
Final point: I agree with reviewer Elizabeth Elwood who criticized the fact that one third of this anthology was neither short story nor novella, but chapters from a future book. There should have been more “tales”, not a book preview. This publisher trend is getting out of hand. Yes, it’s nice to get a sneak peak, but NOT at the expense of the book in hand. I advise checking this out from the library rather than buying it. We need to remind publishers that we want value for our money—not filler.
This is a compilation of several Charles Todd novellas, or short stories, as I consider most of them. (“Novella” by definition is a smaller novel, longer than a mere “story”.) (Sorry that “mere” sounds biased; I just didn’t know how else to say it without ruminating ad nauseam on word choice.) Some of these titles barely qualify as short stories, they are SO short (“The Girl On the Beach”).
But length varies widely. In one case—“The Maharani’s Pearls”—I wish it had been much longer, because readers really have not been told much about Bess’s time in India. (Strictly speaking, the Northwest Territory of India is now Pakistan, but that did not occur until after Bess and her family left.)
So if you can’t find an individual title in your public library, remember this anthology. I’ve found that anthologies are often the only place to find short stories. Keep in mind that the term “novella” is used much more frequently now in publishing for what should be deemed a short story (no doubt to boost sales).
Final point: I agree with reviewer Elizabeth Elwood who criticized the fact that one third of this anthology was neither short story nor novella, but chapters from a future book. There should have been more “tales”, not a book preview. This publisher trend is getting out of hand. Yes, it’s nice to get a sneak peak, but NOT at the expense of the book in hand. I advise checking this out from the library rather than buying it. We need to remind publishers that we want value for our money—not filler.
January 14, 2016
A buyer beware comes with this review. Since I love books of short mystery stories, I was delighted to see that Charles Todd had published Tales, a collection of short Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge stories. However, much as I enjoyed the stories, I was really irked to see that 53 pages, or fully one-third of the book was made up of the first two chapters of the next Bess Crawford novel.
With regard to the stories themselves, they do serve to add interesting background for the main characters in the Todd mystery novels. One story is set during Bess Crawford’s childhood in India; another shows what Ian Rutledge went through in the trenches during the war. The plots are slim, with the solutions often appearing through chance or previous experience of the protagonists rather than straight detective work. However, the settings are vivid and the stories provide a pleasantly light read.
Therefore, my main concern with the book was a publishing issue. I have no problem with the fact that Tales was a slim volume with only four stories, but I consider it a cheat to have the book padded out with promotional material for a future mystery novel. There should have been additional stories in place of these chapters. I regularly buy the Charles Todd mysteries, often in hard cover, believing it’s important to support writers by purchasing books; however, as a matter of principle in protest of this cheap marketing trick, I will be getting the next Bess Crawford book from the library.
With regard to the stories themselves, they do serve to add interesting background for the main characters in the Todd mystery novels. One story is set during Bess Crawford’s childhood in India; another shows what Ian Rutledge went through in the trenches during the war. The plots are slim, with the solutions often appearing through chance or previous experience of the protagonists rather than straight detective work. However, the settings are vivid and the stories provide a pleasantly light read.
Therefore, my main concern with the book was a publishing issue. I have no problem with the fact that Tales was a slim volume with only four stories, but I consider it a cheat to have the book padded out with promotional material for a future mystery novel. There should have been additional stories in place of these chapters. I regularly buy the Charles Todd mysteries, often in hard cover, believing it’s important to support writers by purchasing books; however, as a matter of principle in protest of this cheap marketing trick, I will be getting the next Bess Crawford book from the library.
August 28, 2015
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/book-tou...
Tales offers four stories set in the worlds of Bess Crawford and Ian Rutlegde, and a sneak peek at the new Bess Crawford book, A Pattern of Lies. The Ian Rutlegde stories, “Cold Comfort” and “The Kdnapping” both take place during and after World War 1, whereas the Bess Crawford stories take place during the Great War.
Despite being short stories, the plot is fleshed out and the stories offer a good introduction to the series. There’s plenty of mystery and suspense in each of them, and they made me eager to read the full-length books featuring these characters.
Tales offers four stories set in the worlds of Bess Crawford and Ian Rutlegde, and a sneak peek at the new Bess Crawford book, A Pattern of Lies. The Ian Rutlegde stories, “Cold Comfort” and “The Kdnapping” both take place during and after World War 1, whereas the Bess Crawford stories take place during the Great War.
Despite being short stories, the plot is fleshed out and the stories offer a good introduction to the series. There’s plenty of mystery and suspense in each of them, and they made me eager to read the full-length books featuring these characters.
May 3, 2020
The Kidnapping - Ian Rutledge 4 Stars
The Girl on the Beach - Bess Crawford 3 Stars
Cold Comfort - Ian Rutledge 4 Stars
The Maharani's Pearls - Bess Crawford 4 Stars
The Girl on the Beach - Bess Crawford 3 Stars
Cold Comfort - Ian Rutledge 4 Stars
The Maharani's Pearls - Bess Crawford 4 Stars
August 5, 2015
Good fast read from one of my fav authors.
January 4, 2021
The Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge stories are set during, and after WWI respectively.
Ian Rutledge is a police inspector who is struggling with everything that happened during the war.
Bess Crawford is a nursing sister during the war who is usually in France, but often comes back to England, either for stints of leave or to transport prisoners.
This is an era of history I've enjoyed reading about for years, because while there are lots of stories set in older time periods, and tons of books about WWII, I didn't often come across stories set during the great war and the time period between the wars, excluding Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer mysteries that were written as contemporaries, which are fascinating in their own right.
Two of the stories in this collection are set during the one, one after, and one before, in India.
The Ian Rutledge mysteries are the stronger in this collection; if I ever re-read this I may well skip the Bess stories, because both felt exceptionally unrealistic to me.
But if you're curious to sample Charles Todd mysteries, this isn't a bad place to start.
Ian Rutledge is a police inspector who is struggling with everything that happened during the war.
Bess Crawford is a nursing sister during the war who is usually in France, but often comes back to England, either for stints of leave or to transport prisoners.
This is an era of history I've enjoyed reading about for years, because while there are lots of stories set in older time periods, and tons of books about WWII, I didn't often come across stories set during the great war and the time period between the wars, excluding Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer mysteries that were written as contemporaries, which are fascinating in their own right.
Two of the stories in this collection are set during the one, one after, and one before, in India.
The Ian Rutledge mysteries are the stronger in this collection; if I ever re-read this I may well skip the Bess stories, because both felt exceptionally unrealistic to me.
But if you're curious to sample Charles Todd mysteries, this isn't a bad place to start.
June 27, 2021
I recently read a book of short stories by CJ Box which was a genuine sample of his fiction and a pleasure to read. Unfortunately, the Todd Tales are really a disappointment. While one Rutledge tale is from the trenches in WW I, before the fatal events with Hamish, and a rather bleak whodunit in the army, the other one is dated 1920, with Rutledge at the Yard, and for the first time, we have a standard 3rd person narrative without Hamish, hence not really a Rutledge novel. As for the Bess Crawford stories, none of which I have read before, the first is a good one, but the second is a.tedious tale from her childhood. Finally the book ends with a teaser, two chapters from a Crawford novel. Since I hate such teaser chapters at the end of novels, I found this to be a huge ploy. My two stars is a huge over evaluation. A collection to avoid.
February 10, 2019
I am new to the Ian Rutledge stories but haven't started on the Bess Crawford books, so the two short stories about her in TALES gave me a brief introduction, enough to be interested in reading more.
There are four stories, two each about Rutledge and Crawford, plus an introduction to a Bess Crawford novel that pads the last third of the book. I read the stories but the book introduction can wait until I have the book in its entirety.
I like short stories, and in this instance they are part of a series for which they provide a bit of character background that didn't make it into one of the novels.
I would have preferred that there were more stories in place of the preview. In any case I look forward to reading more of the series.
There are four stories, two each about Rutledge and Crawford, plus an introduction to a Bess Crawford novel that pads the last third of the book. I read the stories but the book introduction can wait until I have the book in its entirety.
I like short stories, and in this instance they are part of a series for which they provide a bit of character background that didn't make it into one of the novels.
I would have preferred that there were more stories in place of the preview. In any case I look forward to reading more of the series.
July 14, 2023
Collection of 4 stories with lead characters from the 2 series by Charles Todd.
I rate the Rutledge stories - "The Kidnapping" and "Cold Comfort" as 3 *. I plan to read all books in Rutledge series and read 3 books already.
I havent' read any other Bess Crawford mysteries. I am not very impressed by the 2 short stories featured here - "Girl on the Beach" and "Maharani's Pearls", mainly because they are in the first person and feels pompous. Maharani's Pearls is set during the British Raj in India and am not happy about the glorification of British rule. The term 'Greater Good' was also used and implied in several paragraphs. No, British loot of Indian wealth served only to fill their coffers and not any other greater good.
I rate the Rutledge stories - "The Kidnapping" and "Cold Comfort" as 3 *. I plan to read all books in Rutledge series and read 3 books already.
I havent' read any other Bess Crawford mysteries. I am not very impressed by the 2 short stories featured here - "Girl on the Beach" and "Maharani's Pearls", mainly because they are in the first person and feels pompous. Maharani's Pearls is set during the British Raj in India and am not happy about the glorification of British rule. The term 'Greater Good' was also used and implied in several paragraphs. No, British loot of Indian wealth served only to fill their coffers and not any other greater good.
June 8, 2022
Two and a half stars: A "Charles Todd Lite" offering, with two stories each featuring Rutledge and Bess. None of the stories is particularly engaging, and the two that involve a crime to be solved are rushed and not served well by the short running time. The one set in India when precocious Bess was 10 was interesting for background on her early life, but was sort of silly. These characters are better served in full length novels, despite the Todd's over-reliance on coincidences to move the plot along. Note: the Witness Impulse edition also contains a 60-page sneak peek at a new-at-the-time Bess Crawford mystery, so the actual length of the four short stories is more like 102 pages.
August 1, 2017
A nice little companion piece, for fans of both Inspector Rutledge, and Bess Crawford. Two short stories for each, giving us a little more history of both characters. In Rutledge's case, one story set before the war, and one during. In Bess' case, one story when she was ten, in India, and the other set in 1916. All were well-written, of course, and quite entertaining. There's also a preview of "A Pattern of Lies", which is the 7th Bess Crawford novel, although I didn't read it. I have the actual novel, which I'll be reading next.
November 16, 2020
This collection of four short stories is an enjoyable read for fans of the Ian Rutledge and/or Bess Crawford mysteries. They provide an opportunity to observe the constitution of these great characters before the dominant timeframe of their respective series.
I will say that I was disappointed about how much of the whole book was taken up with a preview of another novel; of about 160 pages, some 60 of them were the preview. That doesn't take away from the quality of the writing but it is an unfortunate intrusion of the publishing business.
I will say that I was disappointed about how much of the whole book was taken up with a preview of another novel; of about 160 pages, some 60 of them were the preview. That doesn't take away from the quality of the writing but it is an unfortunate intrusion of the publishing business.
March 28, 2022
I read this because I'm an Ian Rutledge fan and could only find the short stories all together like this. That meant I wasn't that interested in the Bess Crawford ones, although they were nice enough. Also, as mentioned in other reviews, a third of this book is just previews for a new book, not a short story. I was kind of disappointed in the Ian Rutledge stories. I didn't feel like what makes Ian Rutledge Ian Rutledge was there.
June 9, 2019
Short stories are not my favorite reading but a librarian included this with another Todd novel. The best part was the preview of A Pattern of Lies, which now I must wait to finish.
July 22, 2019
I love the Ian Rutledge series (and plan to read the Bess Crawford books) and enjoyed this nice dip into their worlds. The last Rutledge book I read was actually a bit hard to get through (A Fearsome Doubt) so the short story format was a nice change of pace, and an enlightening peek into his wartime experiences, particularly when Hamish McLeod was still alive.
March 15, 2021
While I love the Ian Rutledge series the short stories in this book are below par with the rest of the books. Two of the stories were from a second series by the author that I have not yet read so I don't know if they are as good as the rest of that series, but as far as short stories go they are wanting.
July 20, 2017
Four for Four
Todd does not disappoint. While short stories are not his usual format, he draws a convincing setting, believable characters and interesting plots that pulls the reader in until the resolution of each cleverly drawn scenario.
Todd does not disappoint. While short stories are not his usual format, he draws a convincing setting, believable characters and interesting plots that pulls the reader in until the resolution of each cleverly drawn scenario.
August 26, 2018
This collection includes two Ian Rutledge stories, which were reasonably good, and two Bess Crawford stories, which were not. Plus, one of Todd's gifts as an author is characterization, and there just wasn't much of that here. A good collection for fans of these two series, but not for anyone else.
August 10, 2018
This is just a short book, with a few short stories involving the two heroes/heroines of the majority of Charles Todd's books, namely Bess & Ian. I was disappointed that there weren't MORE stories, but I sure enjoyed the ones in the book!
September 15, 2020
I prefer book length stories but this book with two Ian Rutledge stories and two Bess Crawford stories was a entertaining short reminder of the excellent writing of the mother and son team of Charles Todd.
December 8, 2020
Four nice short stories, two featuring Ian Rutledge, two with Bess Crawford. One of each is a prequel to the novel series— Rutledge during WWI, when Hamish Macleod was still alive, and Bess as a young girl in India.
July 16, 2021
Four very short stories, two each in the author's Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford series. Although the stories are interesting, they are so slight there is really no way to develop the plots — this is why I'm not much of a short story reader.
October 25, 2023
Very good book. I just wish they hadn't put the last story in as it doesn't have the ending. I know they want you to buy the book to find out the ending but I have already read the book but can't remember who did what. I don't want to buy it again.
November 22, 2023
A Peek into the Past
I enjoyed these stories immensely. They help fill in the backstories of Rutledge and Crawford, are quick reads, and as always, the writing is most engaging. I would like to see more of these little gems.
I enjoyed these stories immensely. They help fill in the backstories of Rutledge and Crawford, are quick reads, and as always, the writing is most engaging. I would like to see more of these little gems.
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January 4, 2026I am a fan of both of Charles Todd's mystery series. These stories are short enough that the solutions to some felt a bit contrived. However, it was great fun to meet Bess Crawford as a 10 year old in India.
June 13, 2017
A nice collection of short stories to enjoy, as the authors state in the intro, between the novels that feature Ian Rutledge or Bess Crawford.
September 5, 2017
Some nice detective mysteries featuring detective Ian Rutledge and nurse and would-be detective Bess Crawford.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews