Ian Rutledge returns to his career at Scotland Yard after years fighting in the First World War. Unknown to his colleagues he is still suffering from shell shock, and is burdened with the guilt of having had executed a young soldier on the battlefield for refusing to fight. A jealous colleague has learned of his secret and has managed to have Rutledge assigned to a difficult case which could spell disaster for Rutledge whatever the outcome. A retired officer has been murdered, and Rutledge fighting the torment of his illness goes to investigate. As he digs into the lives of the villagers, the witness who disturbs him most is a war-ravaged ex-soldier who chills Rutledge with the realisation that he could become like this man.
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. Originally a mother-and-son writing team, Caroline passed away in August 2021. Their novel Proof of Guilt was a New York Times bestseller, and A Test of Wills was named one of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's 100 favorite mysteries of the twentieth century and was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Their novels have won the Agatha Award, the Barry Award, and the Anthony Award, as well as being finalists for several other awards. Charles is continuing the series.
Sam Gillies is an experienced audiobook narrator whose titles include A Fearsome Doubt, Legacy of the Dead, Let It Bleed, Wings of Fire, and others.
Review :
"A first novel that speaks out, urgently and compassionately, for a long-dead generation...Both a meticulously wrought puzzle and a harrowing psychological drama."
-- "New York Times Book Review"
"A newcomer returns us to the essential pleasure of the well-crafted puzzle in this debut, the absorbing story of a young British WWI veteran returning from the war to his job as a Scotland Yard inspector...Todd depicts the outer and inner worlds of his characters with authority and sympathy as he closes in on his surprising--and convincing--conclusion."
-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"
"Expert plotting and keen insight into the human psyche [are] hallmarks of this series."
-- "Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel"
"Finely crafted...psychologically sophisticated, tautly written, and craftily plotted."
-- "San Jose Mercury News"
"In A Test of Wills, Charles Todd gives us a golden age crime story in its proper historical setting. This is an intelligent, controlled, and well-organized first novel, rich with promise of a bright future."
-- "Reginald Hill, author of The Woodcutter"
"More than an ordinary whodunit, this literate thriller raises disturbing issues of war and peace."
-- "San Diego Union-Tribune"
"Remarkable...Todd, an American, seems to have perfect pitch in his ability to capture the tenor and nuances of English country life."
-- "Kansas City Star"
"Strong, elegant prose, detailed surroundings, and sound plotting characterize the debut historical...highly recommended."
-- "Library Journal"
"The debut of Charles Todd's Inspector Ian Rutledge is an auspicious one. In a novel full of complex and believable characters, perhaps the most complex of all the Great War itself, which backlights this mystery with its monumental horrors."
-- "Gaylord Dold, author of The Last Man in Berlin"
"The emotional and physical carnage of World War I is used to remarkable effect in A Test of Wills, an excellent new mystery and, one hopes, the first of a series."
-- "Chicago Tribune"
"The twentieth century hasn't happened in Upper Streetham, which seems to have been cast out of Rebecca, or in first-novelist Todd's deeply old-fashioned storytelling, which eschews the slightest impropriety in favor of the patient subtlety and circumlocution that held readers in thrall seventy years ago. A feast for the like-minded."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"War-wounded Britain in 1919 is beautifully conveyed in an intricately plotted mystery. With this remarkable debut, Charles Todd breaks new ground in the historical crime novel."
-- "Peter Lovesey, author of Skeleton Hill"
"You're going to love Todd."
-- "Stephen King"
