A long shadow

Review by Booklist Review

His eighth case takes Inspector Rutledge into the 1920s, although a sinister figure dropping machine-gun shell casings carved with poppies and skulls in his path seems intent on trapping him back in the trenches. When a town constable is found, an arrow in his back, face down in the cold and brooding depths of Firth Wood, where lie the ancient bones of a Saxon massacre and perhaps some of more recent vintage, Rutledge comes to Dudlington to dispel the miasma. His stalker follows him there with ill intent, as does his imaginary sidekick, Hamish, who seems quite content to trundle along offering broguish quips from the inspector's mental sidecar. This psychological twist aside, Todd's series has the feel of the classic whodunits of such Golden Age masters as Christie and Sayers. Its ever-thickening plot is sure to please serious puzzlers who thrill to a large cast of wary villagers spinning complex webs of rumor and deception. Add to this an eerie dash of Grimpen Mire reminiscent of the gothic feel of Anne Perry's Monk series, and you have a traditional mystery buff's delight. --David Wright Copyright 2005 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Set in 1919, Todd's excellent eighth psychological whodunit to feature the insightful but haunted Insp. Ian Rutledge picks up shortly after the harrowing events chronicled in A Cold Treachery (2005). Rutledge travels to the remote and desolate English village of Dudlington after the town constable is shot in the back with an arrow while exploring a forest shunned by the locals. The inspector suspects a connection between the attack and the disappearance of a young girl, but he finds himself in an unfamiliar role when an unknown stalker targets him, leaving ominous clues that indicate that he's vulnerable at all times. Rutledge's fragile psyche comes in for additional battering from an enigmatic woman who claims to be able to contact the dead. Todd's plotting and characterization are, as usual, first-rate, and the tormented motivations behind the novel's dark acts are presented with a sensitivity and refinement reminiscent of the best of P.D. James. The ambiguous ending will leave both longtime fans and new readers anxiously awaiting the sequel. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

When Constable Hensley is shot in the back with an arrow and left for dead in gloomy Frith's Wood, Inspector Ian Rutledge becomes convinced that this strange attack is connected in some way to the disappearance of young Emma Mason several years earlier. Will he find Emma's body in the woods as well, or did she start a new life for herself in London? Psychic Meredith Channing has uncanny insights into both cases, but Rutledge is reluctant to trust her. Meanwhile, he keeps discovering spent cartridge casings carved with skulls and poppies. These sinister casings, left only where Rutledge will see them, make him worry that an old enemy from the war might be stalking him. As with previous novels in the series (A Cold Treachery), this entry excels at intricate relationships among characters and the slow unveiling of Rutledge's personality. Another winning story from the East Coast mother-son duo. Strongly recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 9/1/05.]--Laurel Bliss, Princeton Univ. Lib., NJ--Laurel Bliss, Princeton Univ. Lib., NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Adult/High School-Scotland Yard Inspector Rutledge, a World War I victim of shell shock, is haunted by those he had to send out of the trenches to horrible deaths. His survivor's guilt is manifested in Hamish, whom he was forced to execute for refusing to fight, and whose ghost is his constant companion, always ready to chide, warn, and offer mocking opinions about the task at hand. The eighth in this acclaimed series finds Rutledge in an isolated rural village north of London, charged with bringing to justice the criminal who has gravely wounded its constable, sending an arrow through his chest while he was investigating a murder. And someone is hunting the inspector himself, leaving engraved cartridge casings behind to torment him. Authentic representations of the post-World War I era and an absorbing plot with twists and turns as challenging as the country roads that Rutledge travels make a gripping story. Well-drawn characters and scenes, wry local humor, and plot details steep the mystery in English country life. Frequent scene changes and puzzling dead ends may be a challenge for some teens, but their perseverance will be rewarded.-Molly Connally, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

The bow-and-arrow shooting of a Hertfordshire policeman carries Inspector Ian Rutledge (A Cold Treachery, 2005, etc.) back even further in time than his traumatic WWI memories. Everyone in Dudlington had avoided the wood in which Constable Bart Hensley was found. Even Hensley himself, when he regains consciousness, insists that he didn't go into the wood himself; he must have been carried there after he was shot. But Rutledge suspects the motive for the attack lies there. Even though the few locals who will talk to him say it's impossible, he wonders if Emma Mason, who vanished five years ago at 17, is buried in the wood. Hunkering down in Hensley's own house after misanthropic innkeeper Frank Keating refuses to put him up, Rutledge uncovers a sinister pattern in the Mason family. Emma's mother Beatrice, an aspiring painter, escaped Dudlington before the War to live in London, but she disappeared herself in 1906. Yet the body Rutledge eventually discovers in the wood isn't Emma's or Beatrice's; it belongs to a man who was laid to rest nearly 40 years ago. Aided by the ghostly presence of Hamish MacLeod, the world's most unusual Watson, Rutledge pursues the truth despite the villagers' denials, and despite his uneasy certainty that someone has followed him from London determined to kill him. Incisive as ever, though this time Todd's usual slow start is bookended by a conclusion that daringly leaves several loose ends hanging. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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A Long Shadow An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery Chapter One Dudlington, 1919 Constable Hensley walked quietly through Frith's Wood, looking left and right for some sign that others had been here before him. But the wet, matted leaves showed him nothing, and the cold sun, slanting through bare trees, was more primitive than comforting. It would be dark soon enough. The light never lasted this time of year, unlike the gloriously bright evenings of summer, when it seemed to linger as if unaware of dusk creeping toward it. And one particular summer evening . . . He came to the end of the wood and turned to retrace his steps to the small clearing where he'd left his bicycle. Halfway there, he could have sworn he heard someone moving behind him, a soft step barely audible. But his ears were attuned to the lightest sound. Wheeling about, he scanned the trees around him, but there was no one to be seen through the tangle of undergrowth and trunks. No one living . . . Imagination, he told himself. Nerves, a small voice in his head countered, and he shivered in spite of himself. After a moment he went hurrying on, not looking back again until he'd retrieved his bicycle and mounted it. Then he scanned Frith's Wood a final time, wondering how a place so small could appear to be so gloomy and somehow threatening, even in winter. The Saxons, so it was said, had beheaded men here once, long ago. Taking no prisoners, unwilling to be hindered by captives, they'd come only for booty, and nothing else. Not slaves, not land or farms, just gold or silver or whatever else could be bartered at home. A greedy people, he thought, giving his bicycle a little push to start it forward. Greedy and bloody, by all accounts. But nearly fifteen hundred years later, the name of the wood hadn't changed. And no one cared to set foot there after dark. He was glad to be out of it. Yet he could still feel someone watching him, someone on the edge of the wood, someone without substance or reality. Dead men, most likely. Or their ghosts. One ghost. He didn't look again until he'd reached the main road. Out of the fields, away from the wood, he felt safer. Now he could pedal back the way he'd come, make the turning at The Oaks, and sweep down into Dudlington. Anyone seeing him would think he'd been at the pub, or sent for from Letherington. He'd been clever, covering his tracks. It made sense to plan ahead and not go rushing about. If he had to go there. Of course a really clever man, he told himself, would stay away altogether. The way behind him was still empty. A Long Shadow An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery . Copyright © by Charles Todd. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from A Long Shadow by Charles Todd All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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