by Charles Todd
Part of Inspector Ian Rutledge, book 4
First published 2001
Inspector Ian Rutledge receives a case that will drag him back to Scotland and the memories he tries to forget. Remains discovered on a Scottish mountainside may belong to Eleanor Gray, and her formidable mother Lady Maude Gray demands answers. The investigation points to a young mother as the killer, but when Rutledge travels north, he discovers the accused woman is someone from his past. He owes her a debt that complicates everything. The case forces Rutledge to navigate between his professional duties and personal obligations. Lady Maude Gray proves difficult to manage, but she represents only one challenge among many. Scotland holds too many of Rutledge's demons, and this investigation awakens them all. The truth about Eleanor Gray's death lies buried in secrets that still threaten lives. Rutledge must confront what happened to him during the war and face the consequences of choices he made long ago.
Genres: historical-fiction, suspense, mystery, crime
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: personal-obligations, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Scotland
Period: 20th-century
356 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Bantam Books
Content warnings: war