Sometimes in browsing the shelves you come across books that you have been meaning to read, and the fact of having the work in hand leads you to check it out. That was the case when I found myself pulling Charles Todd’s A Test of Wills off the shelves. I have always been fascinated by the First World War, perhaps because here in the U.S. it is much less-studied than other periods in American history. In any case, when I first heard about Todd’s mystery series featuring a shell-shocked WW I veteran as a detective and set in England just after the Armistice I was pretty sure that I would find the books interesting. That was indeed the case, as after taking home the first in the series, I quickly checked out all the others and read them over a couple of weeks.
Although the solution of the crime is an important part of the story here, what was equally compelling to me was the portrait that Todd develops of a man who is deeply scarred by his experiences of the war and haunted by a decision that he had to make. As an officer in the British Army, Ian Rutledge did his best to lead his Scottish troops in ways that preserved both their lives and their dignity, no small task in the trenches in France. Compounding the horrors of trench warfare that linger in Rutledge’s mind is the constant presence of the voice of a soldier, Hamish MacLeod, that Rutledge had to have executed for refusing to follow orders. Throughout the stories, MacLeod is present, at least in Rutledge’s mind and ear, commenting on what is happening, and reminding Rutledge of the cost of making decisions. This is a sometimes bleak and somber series, but Todd creates a compassionate and thoughtful picture of a man dealing as best he can with the dark side of his nature. The books also have a strong sense of place, and readers who enjoy English settings will find much to like here.
Check the WRL catalog for A Test of Wills
This makes me think of Maisie Dobbs by Winspear–WWI and a little bit of mystery.
Ruhama,
A good thought. There are definite parallels, though I think that the Todd books are on the whole much darker and more unresolved. Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy also is a good readalike for Todd’s books, but without the crime fiction elements.
Barry
[…] more in the series after this one, and personally I plan to turn to Charles Lenox periodically when Ian Rutledge has got me […]
I found it, Barry. Thanks for the recommendation. You did a blog four years ago!
Excellent. Let us know what you think.
Just finished “Test of Wills” and really liked it. Do you need to read Ian Rutledge in order??
Yes, you probably want to read the Rutledge books in order as there is a lot of character development from title to title. Here’s the order:
1. A test of wills
2. Wings of fire
3. Search the dark
4. Legacy of the dead: an Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery
5. Watchers of time: an Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery
6. A fearsome doubt: an Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery
7. A cold treachery
8. A long shadow: an inspector Ian Rutledge mystery
9. A false mirror
10. A pale horse
11. A matter of justice
12. The red door
13. A lonely death
Barry, did you know the library doesn’t have “Wings of Fire”? I just got “Search the Dark.” Thanks for the list.
Thanks for the heads up, Phyllis, I have reordered the book and put your name on the list for when it comes in.
Barry
Thanks, Barry!! Not only are you a good strings player and vocalist, but a good librarian as well!!
[…] a fellow veteran he knew from his school days. This series will appeal to fans of Charles Todd’s Ian Rutledge series, having in common a protagonist haunted by the Great War and its depiction of post-war England. […]
[…] a successful writer of mysteries. It’s pretty lighthearted compared to, say, Charles Todd’s Ian Rutledge mysteries or even Elizabeth Speller’s Lawrence Bartram series; in fact it’s almost a cozy and […]
[…] is a mystery which will appeal to fans of Charles Todd’s detective Ian Rutledge. Like Rutledge, the main character, John Madden, is a Scotland Yard detective struggling with shell […]