by Charles Todd
Part of Inspector Ian Rutledge, book 20
First published 2018
Ian Rutledge drives through the night after his sister's wedding, restless and troubled by old memories. On a deserted road, he nearly collides with a stopped motorcar. A woman stands beside it, blood on her hands, a dead man named Stephen Wentworth at her feet. She claims innocence. A stranger appeared from nowhere, fired one shot, then vanished into darkness. She never saw his face. Rutledge convinces Scotland Yard to assign him the case, but his motives remain unclear. Is he pursuing justice or running from London's painful reminders? Wentworth seemed well regarded, yet his family describes him as a killer. The investigation leads to Wolf Pit, a village with dark history where England's last wolf died centuries ago. When a second death occurs, the evidence points to a predator stalking the community. Rutledge must determine whether Wentworth's companion told the truth or if something more sinister connects these deaths. The twentieth Inspector Rutledge mystery plunges the detective deeper into danger as the killer moves closer to home.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-detective, unreliable-narrator
Setting: England, Scotland Yard, Wolf Pit
Period: 20th Century
336 pages · Paperback · William Morrow Paperbacks