|
Loading... A Pale Horseby Charles Todd
None.  auntieknickers | Apr 3, 2013 |  This one is kind of tiresome. Rutledge merely drives around, and around, and around, to repeated five-minute conversations - largely fruitless and pointless - with witnesses and suspects. However, there are some good moments, as when "Hamish had read his mind." " 'Kill us both, and he'll go free,' Hamish reminded him." "He and Hamish saw her at the same time." "Chief Superintendent Bowles lived by the philosophy, rock everyone's boat but mine." (  ) jzdro | Mar 30, 2013 | This is another great mystery from Charles Todd in the Inspector Rutledge series. Rutledge is an Inspector with Scotland Yard, still haunted by his experience on the battlefield of WWI, and suffering from shell shock. This story takes place in 1920 and leads Rutledge to Yorkshire to investigate a murder and to Berkshire to investigate a missing person. The British War office has a sinister interest in one of the men and Rutledge must battle the authorities as well as his own demons to find the truth. Highly recommended. (  ) bhowell | Jan 29, 2010 | Oh no almost up to date and then what? ( ) ElizabethAnnS | Jan 2, 2010 | A small group of young lads discover the body of someone they believe to be the Devil in a hooded cloak and gas mask, in the ruins of Fountain Abbey during a clandestine visit during the night. The local school master becomes a prime suspect even though he can throw no light on who the man is. When the school master's wife appeals to her father for help, Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent to Yorkshire to find out the identity of the dead man, and why he died in such mysterious circumstances. The story is set in 1920 against the background of the chalk horse of the Apocalypse on the Wiltshire Downs. The war is a recent memory and Rutledge is not the only one damaged by it. He is haunted by childhood memories of the chalk horse, and constantly reminded of the war by the ever present voice of Hamish MacLeod. This really is an excellent book, full of complexities, good character development. A fascinating range of characters live in the small village of Tomlin cottages on the Downs near the chalk horse. There is a good mix of murder mystery and Rutledge's personal story too. I was impressed by what felt like authenticity in the historical details from 1920. As an audio book it works really well too, with excellent voice characterisation by Simon Prebble. (  ) smik | May 4, 2009 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0061233560, Hardcover)In the ruins of Yorkshire's Fountains Abbey lies the body of a man wrapped in a cloak, the face covered by a gas mask. Next to him is a book on alchemy, which belongs to the schoolmaster, a conscientious objector in the Great War. Who is this man, and is the investigation into his death being manipulated by a thirst for revenge? Meanwhile, the British War Office is searching for a missing man of their own, someone whose war work was so secret that even Rutledge isn't told his real name or what he did. The search takes Rutledge to Berkshire, where cottages once built to house lepers stand in the shadow of a great white horse cut into the chalk hillside. The current inhabitants of the cottages are outcasts, too, hiding from their own pasts. Who among them is telling the truth about their neighbors and who is twisting it? Here is a puzzle requiring all of Rutledge's daring and skill, for there are layers of lies and deception, while a ruthless killer is determined to hold on to freedom at any cost. And the pale horse looming overhead serves as a reminder that death is never finished with anyone, least of all the men who fought in the trenches of France. (retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:51:40 -0500) "In the ruins of Yorkshire's Fountains Abbey lies the body of a man wrapped in a cloak, the face covered by a gas mask. Next to him is a book on alchemy, which belongs to the schoolmaster, a conscientious objector in the Great War. Who is this man, and is the investigation into his death being manipulated by a thirst for revenge?" "Meanwhile, the British War Office is searching for a missing man of their own, someone whose war work was so secret that even Inspector Ian Rutledge isn't told his real name or what he did." "The search takes Rutledge to Berkshire, where cottages once built to house lepers stand in the shadow of a great white horse cut into the chalk hillside. The current inhabitants of the cottages are outcasts, too, hiding from their own pasts. Who among them is telling the truth about their neighbors and who is twisting it?" "Here is a puzzle requiring all of Rutledge's daring and skill, for there are layers of lies and deception, while a ruthless killer is determined to hold on to freedom at any cost. And the pale horse looming overhead serves as a reminder that death is never finished with anyone, least of all the men who fought in the trenches of France."--BOOK JACKET.… (more) |
 Google Books — Loading...Popular coversRatingAverage: (3.67)
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia in English (1)
1
I enjoyed this book, and will keep reading new Charles Todd novels as they come out, but for some reason this one disappointed me a bit. Rutledge seemed to be floundering more than usual in his efforts to solve the mysteries. (