Hunting Shadows (Inspector Ian Rutledge Series #16)

by Charles Todd

Overview

A dangerous case with ties leading back to the battlefields of World War I dredges up dark memories for Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge in Hunting Shadows, a gripping and atmospheric historical mystery set in 1920s England, from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd.

A society wedding at Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire becomes a crime scene when a man is murdered. After another body is found, the baffled local constabulary turns to Scotland Yard. Though the second crime had a witness, her description of the killer is so strange its unbelievable.

Despite his experience, Inspector Ian Rutledge has few answers of his own. The victims are so different that there is no rhyme or reason to their deaths. Nothing logically seems to connect them—except the killer. As the investigation widens, a clear suspect emerges. But for Rutledge, the facts still don’t add up, leaving him to question his own judgment.

In going over the details of the case, Rutledge is reminded of a dark episode he witnessed in the war. While the memory could lead him to the truth, it also raises a prickly dilemma. To stop a murderer, will the ethical detective choose to follow the letter—or the spirit—of the law?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062237118
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/21/2014
Series:	Inspector Ian Rutledge Series , #16
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	116,504
File size:	649 KB

About the Author

Charles Todd is the New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries, the Bess Crawford mysteries, and two stand-alone novels. A mother-and-son writing team, Caroline passed away in August 2021 and Charles lives in Florida.

Editorial Reviews

01/01/2014
War memories always filter through Inspector Rutledge's consciousness, but World War I rears up again when a sniper ruins a wedding in Ely Cathedral—and the killer doesn't stop at one. This is number 16 for the popular 1920s set series (after Proof of Guilt). [See Prepub Alert, 7/15/13.]

Library Journal

Tricky plotting and rich atmospherics distinguish bestseller Todd’s 16th novel featuring Scotland Yard’s Insp. Ian Rutledge....Todd (the pen name of a mother-son writing team) has rarely been better.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on HUNTING SHADOWS

“Another well-written, well-plotted entry in this always engaging mystery series. — Booklist on HUNTING SHADOWS

“Another winner…Strong atmosphere and a complicated mystery make this book one that readers won’t be able to put down.” — Romantic Times 4 1/2 stars on HUNTING SHADOWS

“As always, the North Carolina-based mother and son who write under the pseudonym Charles Todd do a beautiful job with the period detail, making these books a nostalgic outing to England between the world wars.” — Raleigh News & Observer

“Readers who stick with the chase, though, should be enthralled, as Rutledge sorts through a fascinating portrait gallery of witnesses and suspects, most of whom aren’t telling him the whole truth.” — Wilmington News Journal

“Of all the places where Inspector Ian Rutledge’s Scotland Yard assignments have taken him, the desolate Fen country must surely be the eeriest. [This is an] excellent historical series.” — New York Times Book Review on HUNTING SHADOWS

“Elusive clues, suspense and excellent writing make for reading pleasure.” — Oklahoma City Oklahoman on HUNTING SHADOWS

From the Publisher

Readers who stick with the chase, though, should be enthralled, as Rutledge sorts through a fascinating portrait gallery of witnesses and suspects, most of whom aren’t telling him the whole truth.

Wilmington News Journal

As always, the North Carolina-based mother and son who write under the pseudonym Charles Todd do a beautiful job with the period detail, making these books a nostalgic outing to England between the world wars.

Raleigh News & Observer

Of all the places where Inspector Ian Rutledge’s Scotland Yard assignments have taken him, the desolate Fen country must surely be the eeriest. [This is an] excellent historical series.

New York Times Book Review on HUNTING SHADOWS

Another well-written, well-plotted entry in this always engaging mystery series.

Booklist on HUNTING SHADOWS

Elusive clues, suspense and excellent writing make for reading pleasure.

Oklahoma City Oklahoman on HUNTING SHADOWS

Another winner…Strong atmosphere and a complicated mystery make this book one that readers won’t be able to put down.

Romantic Times 4 1/2 stars on HUNTING SHADOWS

2013-12-19
Inspector Rutledge returns for another painstaking investigation of murders in the aftermath of World War I. When a sharpshooter kills Capt. Gordon Hutchinson at a wedding in Ely, Cambridgeshire, no one in the panicked crowd can tell precisely where the bullet came from. A similar shooting in the neighboring town of Wriston that kills the popular Tory candidate Herbert Swift draws Inspector Ian Rutledge from Scotland Yard. When he first arrives, Rutledge is nearly lost in the marshy Fens until a mysterious man emerges from the mist to steer him toward the hearth of Marcella Trowbridge. Even after Rutledge is able to find his way around by daylight, he's still enshrouded in fog in his attempts to discover if the two murders are related. Reports of a monster behind the rifle that killed the two men, a haunted mill and the mythical Green Man painted on the ceiling of Ely Cathedral lead Rutledge, in a blend of dogged research and intuitive leaps, to a case of two wronged women. But is more than one man exacting revenge? The mother-and-son team Todd (Proof of Guilt, 2013, etc.) may be letting up on their tortured hero: The ghostly voice of Hamish MacLeod, the soldier whom Rutledge had to shoot in the Great War, is a bit less prominent than in earlier installments. Less from ghost Hamish? That change may be as welcome to some fans as to the inspector himself, though others may miss the inspector's invisible partner and conscience.

Kirkus Reviews