by Charles Todd
Part of Inspector Ian Rutledge, book 12
First published 2010
Inspector Ian Rutledge carries the invisible wounds of the Great War as he tackles cases across England. A woman has died under suspicious circumstances, but the truth lies buried beneath layers of deception and a mysterious disappearance that refuses to stay hidden. Rutledge must untangle a web of lies that stretches back through time, each revelation pulling him deeper into a puzzle that challenges both his detective skills and his fragile mental state. The investigation forces him to confront not only the secrets others keep but the ghosts that follow him from the trenches. As Rutledge pieces together the connections between the victim's death and a vanishing that occurred years earlier, he discovers that some doors, once opened, can never be closed again. The case becomes a battle against time and his own demons as he fights to deliver justice for the dead.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: detective-story, unreliable-narrator
Setting: England
Period: Great War
352 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins Canada / Fiction
Content warnings: mental-illness