- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Morrow; 1 edition (2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0061726168
- ISBN-13: 978-0061726163
- Product Dimensions: 24.5 x 16.1 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #243,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Clever Mysery,
By
This review is from: THE RED DOOR (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: I've always wanted to read a book by this "author".Jumping in with book twelve in a mystery series has the potential to cause some problems. As to an ongoing personal story there was only a brief mention of that at the beginning and the end, plus some vague references to previous solved crimes which didn't interfere with my reading at all. What did make the book hard for me to get into was the character of Ian Rutledge. By this time, he is a well established character and readers are presumed to know him already. Being new to this type of character did hinder my getting settled into the story, especially since Rutledge is unlike any other inspector I've come across. Set two years after the end of the Great War, Rutledge is a war veteran who secretly suffers from emotional effects of the war, shell shock, which is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder. In particular, he carries around with him, so to speak, one of his fallen soldiers, Hamish, who speaks to him in his head and Rutledge needs to physically be aware that there is space for him, though he will never look at him, they do have conversations and Hamish can be considered to be Rutledge's partner as would be found in other books. This took some time for me to actually comprehend and now makes me want to start this series from the beginning. The story itself is wonderful. A full cast of characters connected in one way or another makes the list of suspects large but finite. The writing spends much time on the characters lives, giving each individual a real and true representation. Rutledge is given two cases to work on. The first involves a lone widow whose husband never returned from the War, who is found murdered at her own front door. The second is of a wealthy man who mysteriously disappears from hospital. The man turns up safe after being away long enough to cause considerable worry but soon Rutledge has more than just one body on his hands. A very clever mystery. What I usually term a "thinking man's" mystery. There are several secrets and mysteries along with the murder to solve and reveals come slowly and can change the reader's whole take on things. I had fun having the satisfaction of figuring out some secrets and mysteries but never could hold on to the murderer. In the end I was surprised. I really enjoyed this book. The time period is a perfect setting for British mysteries, invoking the charm of the the Golden Age writers, yet I wouldn't call this a cozy. This is much more a psychological drama with a lot of insight into the after effects of war, in all sorts of ways throughout British society. A very satisfying read and one that I will be adding to my must read list. Though I'll have to start at the beginning to get the full story on the intriguing Inspector Ian Rutledge.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Back on "the mark"...,
By
This review is from: The Red Door (Paperback)
"The Red Door" is Charles Todd's newest novel in their Inspector Ian Rutledge series. I say "their" because "Charles Todd" is actually a mother/son writing team. "Door" is their 11th Rutledge and they have started a series, based in WW1 about a nurse, Bess Crawford. (Think of "Maisie Dobbs" about 10 years earlier.) This is the first Rutledge I have reviewed for Amazon, though I have read the other ten books and I did read and review the new Crawford for Amazon/Vine.If I had rated the preceding Rutledge books, I would have given six out of the ten solid 5 stars. The remaining four - including "Wings of Fire" - I would have rated at 4 stars. "The Red Door", I can give 5 stars without any hesitation. Todd has told a story of a multi-generational family who has buried their secrets, only to have them turn up with a series of unsolved murders. With most Todd books, the main story - that of the Teller family - is balanced with a few "side" stories that are interesting in their own right. If you've enjoyed the Todd books in the past, you'll enjoy this one, as well as their new "Crawford" series. I do think, though, that if you're not interested in historical fiction, you're wasting your time reading the Todd books. They are incredibly filled with atmosphere of the times - the WW1 years and the early 1920's. I wonder, though, after finishing this book if the Todds will end this series and concentrate on Bess Crawford. Some of the ending of this book could possibly be the ending of the series, as well. I guess we'll see....
4.0 out of 5 stars
Needed better character development, but good mystery,
By
This review is from: THE RED DOOR (Hardcover)
First Sentence: She stood in front of the cheval glass, the long mirror the Peter had given her on their second anniversary, and considered herself.Insp. Ian Rutledge has two cases. First is disappearance of Walter Teller. Rutledge finds the behavior of the missing man's family decidedly odd. The second case is of a violent robber who attacked Rutledge and who murders his next victim. Rutledge is pressured to solve both cases, especially as deaths mount in both. This is another instance of an author making the mistake of assuming readers have read the previous books and, thus, not providing sufficient character identification or development, particularly of the secondary characters. Ian and, less so, Hamish are well-enough accounted for. However, there are two characters with similar names, and background is only somewhat provided for one, but not the other, and it takes most of the book before any account is given justifying the antagonism toward Hamish by his superior Bowles. I am happy to say, the Teller family fares better although there are so many of them a Cast of Characters would have been very helpful. This negative element is balanced by the positive pertaining to sense of time and place. Todd is very good at creating atmosphere, taking us to post WWI England. For historical accuracy, I rank Todd in the same category as Anne Perry, and that's high praise, indeed. The dialogue is very well done and reflects the period as well. The other skill is in plot. Some may wonder at the need for the second story line. On thinking about it, however, it worked well at provided another element of doubt regarding the primary story. It was also realistic in that most officers would handle more than one case at a time and it, again, displayed Bowles dislike of Rutledge. Even with the slight negative of character development, the book worked and Todd remains very high on my "must read" list. THE RED DOOR (Hist Mys/Pol Proc-Insp. Ian Rutledge-England-Golden Age/1920) - G+ Todd, Charles (aka Charles and Caroline Todd) - 12th in series Wm Morrow, C2010, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9780061726163
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