A FINE SUMMER'S DAY, by Charles Todd

17?/series starring Scotland Yard's Ian Rutledge. Part of the big appeal of this novel is how the days leading to the start of the Great War - World War One - are so skilfully woven into the narrative. Rutledge, newly engaged, is sent north of York to investigate a hanging. Suicide or murder? The victim's family insists it could not be suicide. Returned to London, after a tense meeting with his irascible supervisor, he's sent west, to Bristol.  Click below for more...
There, a man apparently killed himself. But there are similarities to the Yorkshire murder. His supervisor, looking for the easy solution, refuses to let Rutledge investigate further. Balancing his fiancee's demands with the demands of the Yard give him little time to reflect on the looming conflict. But he does unearth a bizarre history, and links the victims. The writing of this mother-son team is, after thirty-odd books, flawless. There wasn't even a typo! I thought the ending was a bit too contrived, but overall a marvelous book in a marvelous series. This one's a 4, and the ending may surprise you.
Find the author at www.charlestodd.com
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