by Charles Todd
Part of Inspector Ian Rutledge, book 2
First published 1999
Inspector Ian Rutledge arrives in Cornwall to investigate the sudden deaths of three family members. The World War I veteran expects a routine case, but the investigation takes an unexpected turn when he discovers the identity of one victim. The reclusive spinster was secretly O.A. Manning, a war poet whose verses helped Rutledge survive the trenches of France. As he examines the deaths, Rutledge hears the voice of Hamish, the Scottish soldier he executed during the war. The ghost drives him deeper into the case, where he uncovers secrets buried within the family crypt. Rutledge must confront both the mystery of the three deaths and his own psychological wounds from the battlefield. The investigation forces him to face murder and madness while struggling with his continuing recovery from the war.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, detective, psychological-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cornwall
Period: World War I
323 pages · Mass Market Paperback · St. Martin's Paperbacks
Content warnings: mental-illness, war