A Test of Wills

 

By Charles Todd (read by Sam Gillies)

Book 1 of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series

 

 

 

This might be the first in the series but it is not the first Inspector Rutledge that I have read or reviewed. I love the series and am quite happy to read them in whatever order that I find them. I am in no rush to finish the series; I just hope I get it done before Audible loses the rights to them.

It bothers me only a little bit that the authors, a mother/son writing partnership, are American writing books set in post World War One England. The truth is that I am too engrossed in the story to pay attention to the vocabulary of the telling. Usually I yell at the tell-tale Americanism but in this case I'm just trying to hang on to the threads of the story.

Having read seven before this one, I have already met the PTSD-suffering Inspector and much of the information revealed was not new to me. I like that the story begins once the Inspector has returned to Scotland Yard after having been treated for his mental breakdown, after he has crawled out of the pit of darkness and shame. I don't need to have those details spelled out; it is sufficient to get his story in bits and pieces across the arc of the series.

But enough about the Inspector; what about the story? I loved the little twists at the very end of the story, the stuff I never, never saw coming. The skeletons all coming out of the closets. But, no spoilers. That would be unfair. You will just have to read it for yourself.

All in all, I'm giving this one 3.75 stars. It was a good start to the series.

Other review: Inspector Ian Rutledge: The Series