From Publishers Weekly
The muddy, bloody horrors of WWI continue to haunt Insp. Ian Rutledge, back at work at Scotland Yard, but just barely. Still guilt-stricken over his wartime murder of Corp. Hamish MacLeod, who "cracked" during the Somme offensive of 1916, Rutledge hears Hamish's voice in his head as a steady, moralizing conversationalist. Now Rutledge has been dispatched to Scotland to identify the probable remains of Eleanor Gray, an aristocratic suffragette inexplicably estranged from her mother, the imperious Lady Maude. Local police theorize that Eleanor was murdered on the Highlands by beautiful, young Fiona MacDonald, who's been raising Eleanor's newborn son as her own. Unconvinced of a link between the two women, Rutledge visits Fiona in jail and immediately recognizes her as Hamish's beloved fianc?e. But Fiona won't exonerate herself, refusing to identify the boy's real parents. Following the Edgar-nominated A Test of Wills (1996), this fourth installment in the series focuses narrowly on the question: is there a link between Fiona and Eleanor? Since the answer is never in doubt, there's not much to absorb suspense addicts, as Rutledge slogs through Scotland trying to break the apparently deadlocked circumstantial case. The resolution, implicating too many peripheral characters, is particularly unsatisfying. But readers will continue to be captivated by Todd's portrait of the dangerously unraveling detective, and his equally incisive evocation of the grieving postwar world. Agent, Jane Chelius. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A sensitive approach, literate prose, and provocative situations mark Todd's latest addition to his Ian Rutledge series. Although recovered enough from World War I shell shock to function ably in his job with Scotland Yard, Ian still carries with him an internal voice of guilt named Hamish, a soldier he ordered shot for cowardice. When Ian investigates a possible murder in Scotland, the main suspect turns out to be the dead Hamish's intended, who seems destined for the gallows but will not betray a confidence. Very forceful emotional scenes ensue as Ian ferrets out the truth. A special treat for series and historical fans.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.