Book Review: A Test of Wills

Reviewed By: Cheryl - RAM

A Test of Wills     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Charles Todd
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical   Police Procedural
Series: Ian Rutledge # 1
Harper, December 2006 paperback reprint edition

This is the first of Charles Todd's series featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge between the Wars, and if this book is typical of the rest of the series, I have a lot of good reading to look forward to.

Rutledge has just arrived back at Scotland Yard after treatment for injuries suffered in the trenches of World War I. Although awarded a medal for his heroism and discharged from medical treatment, Rutledge is still struggling with his worst injuries; injuries he cannot admit to publically since 'shell shock' is so often considered a euphemism for the worst kind of moral failure. He is alone with his agonizing uncertainty as to whether or not enough of his pre-war self remains for him to do his job, and, even worse, must also deal alone with the voice in his head. He has few tools other than his strength of will in his battle to survive and re- build his life.

Shortly after Rutledge's return to work, a rural police force urgently requests Scotland Yard's assistance in investigating a murder. The murder doesn't actually appear that difficult to solve - but the possibilities for a career-destroying scandal are very high, given the positions of both the victim and the most obvious suspect. A spiteful and envious co- worker ensures that Rutledge is given the job, in hopes that it will destroy him.

Rutledge is a fascinating character in the tradition of the many fictional detectives who solve crime while fighting their personal demons. Rutledge's demons are not entirely personal, though; they are shared - but their existence never admitted - by others. Rutledge fits perfectly among all the other men trying to fit back into a post-war society when both they and it have changed profoundly during the war years.

Yet the changes are not obvious - most of them are under the surface. The class system may have been shaken by doubts inspired by the commanders of the bloody trench warfare, but it still is in place, superficially unchanged. The returning soldiers - including Rutledge - may have to fight to re-integrate into society, but must keep their brokenness and differences carefully hidden under an appearance of normalcy in order to avoid any accusation of failure or cowardice. Today's war casualties endure their suffering much more publically - whether this is an improvement or not over the post-World War I situation probably depends as much on the individual temperament as anything else. On the other hand, doctors have far more to offer today's patients than their ancestors had to offer Rutledge and his fellow-veterans, who often had to depend on their own will and strength rather than medical treatment for recovery.

Todd's vivid and convincingly realistic portrayal of a culture so closely related to our own and yet so different in the aspects most relevant to this story is a tribute to his skill as an author, perhaps especially because of the differences between the returning and wounded war heros in 1919 and today,

This novel is highly recommended to those who are enthusiastic about historical fiction, especially historical fiction set in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Cheryl - RAM

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