A Fine Summer's Day (Inspector Ian Rutledge Series #17)

by Charles Todd

Overview

On a fine summer's day in June 1914, Ian Rutledge is planning to propose to a woman he deeply loves, despite hints from his family and friends that she may not be the most suitable choice for a policeman's wife. To the north, another man in love—a Scottish Highlander named Hamish MacLeod—asks his own sweetheart to marry him.

Back in England, a son grieves for his mother, dredging up a dark injustice that will trigger a series of murders that Rutledge must solve. The victims are all upstanding and well-liked. The local police have their suspicions about the culprits and are less than cooperative with the London detective.

As clouds of war gather on the horizon, Rutledge digs deeper, finding similarities and patterns between the murders. With every moment at stake, he sets out to right a terrible wrong—an odyssey that will eventually force him to choose between the Yard and his country, between love and duty, and between honor and truth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062237132
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/29/2015
Series:	Inspector Ian Rutledge Series , #17
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	264,196
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Charles Todd is the author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries, the Bess Crawford mysteries, and two stand-alone novels. A mother and son writing team, they live in Delaware and North Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

A very welcome addition to, and expansion of, a much-loved series.

Booklist

A FINE SUMMER’S DAY is an absolute pleasure to read and a true treat for faithful readers of this series.

Bookreporter.com

A bittersweet gift to longtime readers of this wonderful series.

Marilyn Stasio

Pure fun for fans.

Charlotte Observer

A Fine Summer’s Day” is a high point in this evocative series that has never disappointed.

South Florida Sun Sentinel

Readers familiar with the series can’t imagine a Rutledge who doesn’t hear the voice of MacLeod in his head, and this novel adds poignancy to the Rutledge we avidly follow. Grade: A

Cleveland Plain Dealer

The books are Charles Todd recounting the cases of Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge in the days following WWI are as quintessentially English as anything by Ruth Rendell, PD James or John Harvey....These are some of the finest historical mystery novels in print....Todd [is] in top form again.

BookPage on A FINE SUMMER'S DAY

An excellent tale. As always when it comes to Charles Todd, this mother/son team of authors are in-depth, refined, and offer up a true thriller of a story.

Suspense Magazine on A Fine Summer's Day

…a bittersweet gift to longtime readers of this wonderful series…This intimate look into the personal life of a detective we've known only as a damaged soul is no small gift…Although [the] mystery is intelligently developed and fairly resolved, the greater gift here is the portrait it presents of England before the war…

The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio

11/24/2014
Series fans will appreciate Todd’s 17th Ian Rutledge mystery (after 2014’s Hunting Shadows), a prequel set in the summer of 1914. Rutledge, a Scotland Yard inspector, has just gotten engaged, and as the guns of August loom, he lands a tricky murder case in Dorset. Furniture maker Ben Clayton—who had no obvious enemies—was hanged from his staircase by an intruder. More deaths follow, but a scene that Todd (the mother-son writing team of Caroline and Charles Todd) presents early on makes this a thriller rather than a whodunit. The writing is as sharp as ever, but without the series regular Hamish MacLeod, whom Rutledge was forced to execute during WWI for disobeying orders and who subsequently haunts the shell-shocked Rutledge as a sort of ghostly Watson, newcomers won’t appreciate how extraordinary this series is. Five-city author tour. Agent: Jane Chelius, Jane Chelius Literary Agency. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

An excellent tale. As always when it comes to Charles Todd, this mother/son team of authors are in-depth, refined, and offer up a true thriller of a story.” — Suspense Magazine on A Fine Summer's Day

“A very welcome addition to, and expansion of, a much-loved series.” — Booklist

“The books are Charles Todd recounting the cases of Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge in the days following WWI are as quintessentially English as anything by Ruth Rendell, PD James or John Harvey....These are some of the finest historical mystery novels in print....Todd [is] in top form again.” — BookPage on A FINE SUMMER'S DAY

“Readers familiar with the series can’t imagine a Rutledge who doesn’t hear the voice of MacLeod in his head, and this novel adds poignancy to the Rutledge we avidly follow. Grade: A” — Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A tight plot keeps readers on the edge until the stunning final pages.” — Library Journal

“A Fine Summer’s Day” is a high point in this evocative series that has never disappointed.” — South Florida Sun Sentinel

“Pure fun for fans. ” — Charlotte Observer

“A bittersweet gift to longtime readers of this wonderful series.” — Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

“A FINE SUMMER’S DAY is an absolute pleasure to read and a true treat for faithful readers of this series.” — Bookreporter.com

From the Publisher

A very welcome addition to, and expansion of, a much-loved series.

Booklist

Pure fun for fans.

Charlotte Observer

An excellent tale. As always when it comes to Charles Todd, this mother/son team of authors are in-depth, refined, and offer up a true thriller of a story.

Suspense Magazine on A Fine Summer's Day

01/01/2015
It was a fine summer's day in 1914 when life changed for so many people: Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge proposed to his longtime companion, Jean Gordon, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, and the death of a mother sparked a trail of murders, leading Rutledge across the English countryside in search of the killer. As Rutledge closes in on the solution to the case, rumors of war become a reality, and the inspector must not only deal with the aftermath of his investigation but also face the increasing needs of his betrothed, family, Scotland Yard, and Britain itself. VERDICT In this prequel and 17th series entry (after Hunting Shadows), Rutledge deals with a killer's past and his own future in a country readying for war. A tight plot keeps readers on the edge until the stunning final pages. [See Prepub Alert, 7/28/14.]

Library Journal

In this 17th Ian Rutledge mystery, fans will enjoy an exceptional performance by Steven Crossley. Charles Todd (a mother-son writing team) takes a step back to the summer of 1914. In this series prequel, the brutalities of war haven’t yet taken their toll on Rutledge. Newly engaged to the daughter of a military family, Rutledge has picked up a complicated case—suicide or murder? But as he gets closer to a solution, he’s pressured to drop the case. In true storyteller mode, Crossley disappears into every character, offering a seemingly endless supply of accents, voices, and personalities, whether from the Scottish Highlands or the English Lowlands. As war becomes a reality, Crossley’s remarkable character development combined with Todd’s deft plotting provides fine listening, whatever the season. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2015 - AudioFile