Book Review: A Cold Treachery

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

A Cold Treachery     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Charles Todd
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical   Police Procedural
Series: Ian Rutledge # 7
Bantam Books, January 2005, 373 pages

Inspector Ian Rutledge returns in the latest entry in this excellent series. Rutledge was an investigator for Scotland Yard in the years before WWI. He survived the nightmare of the trenches and has returned to his former job, however under the supervision of an officer who neither likes nor trusts him. As a result Rutledge inherits investigations in out of the way corners of England, in the worst weather and with the most perplexing questions.

The latest assignment takes him to the Lake District, to an area of winding roads little more than paths, with close confining rock formations, and a populace not at all willing to confide in, help, or trust an outsider.

A family of five has been found murdered by gunfire, and a sixth member of the family, a boy of twelve, has disappeared. Winter weather has made travel treacherous, and it's clear to Rutledge that his most likely suspects will be found among the villagers of the area.

Geography and weather combine to provide a very intriguing variation on the "locked room" mystery since it becomes more and more clear that there was virtually no opportunity for an outsider to have been present at the time the murders were committed.

Hamish McLeod, the ghost of one of the men from Rutledge's unit in the war, continues to berate Rutledge from the back of his consciousness, but Rutledge himself is gradually moving toward coming to terms with his experience.

Highly recommended!

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM