by Charles Todd
Part of Inspector Ian Rutledge, book 8
First published 2008
Inspector Ian Rutledge leaves a New Year's Eve dinner in 1919 when Scotland Yard calls. Outside his friends' home, he spots a brass cartridge casing with strange engravings. The shell looks familiar from his war days, but the markings intrigue him enough to take it. Days later, Rutledge travels to England's southern coast to help local police catch a killer. With that case closed, he decides to drive along the Atlantic cliffs. He parks and walks the headland, but returns to find a second engraved casing placed on his driver's seat. Someone has been watching him. The casings seem connected to his wartime service and suggest unfinished business from those brutal years. Rutledge realizes he has become the target of an invisible enemy who knows his movements. The hunter remains hidden while Rutledge becomes the hunted. He must use every skill he possesses to survive this deadly game and discover who wants him dead.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, hidden-past, man-on-a-mission
Setting: England, Scotland Yard
Period: 1919
368 pages · Kindle Edition · HarperCollins Publishers
Content warnings: violence, war