The Red Door - (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries) by Charles Todd (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"One of the best historical series being written today."

--Washington Post Book World

The accolades keep pouring in for Charles Todd and his New York Times Notable, Edgar(R) Award-nominated series featuring British police inspector and shell-shocked World War I veteran Ian Rutledge. In The Red Door, a disturbing puzzle surrounding a lie, a disappearance, and a woman's death ensnares the haunted investigator. Richly atmospheric and unputdownable, The Red Door proves once more that New York Times bestseller Charles Todd belongs in the august company of Ruth Rendell, Anne Perry, Martha Grimes, Ian Ransom, Peter Robinson, P.D. James, and the other contemporary masters of British mystery.

From the Back Cover

At the end of a terrible war, a woman painted the door to her house red to welcome her husband home from the Front . . . but he never returned. Two years later, in the English summer of 1920, she lies lifeless behind that door, savagely bludgeoned to death.

In London, a man suffering from a mysterious illness goes missing, and his family members offer conflicting accounts of one another's whereabouts at the time of his disappearance. Then, suddenly, he reappears, miraculously recovered, offering no clues to the puzzle or to the reason behind his brothers' and sister's silence and rage.

Now Inspector Ian Rutledge, still haunted by the battlefield's horrors, must solve two possibly connected mysteries. He must uncover the family secret that nearly drove one man mad, and bring a ruthless killer to justice.

Review Quotes

"[A] complex British-style police procedural that explores the intersection of justice and vengeance served up cold. It's especially recommended for readers who relish P. D. James's Adam Dalgliesh mysteries." - Boston Globe

"The book is more than a whodunit. Todd's characters are well-wrought, his settings evocative, and the book a pleasure to read." - World magazine on The Red Door

"Engaging and atmospheric." - Library Journal on The Red Door

"Compelling." - San Jose Mercury News on The Red Door

"Superb...haunting tale of love and loss." - Globe and Mail (Toronto) on The Red Door

"In The Red Door, Charles Todd shows again that this series about Ian Rutledge, a battle-fatigued World War I veteran and Scotland Yard detective, is as fresh and original as when the shell-shocked detective debuted 12 novels ago." - Sun-Sentinel (Florida) on The Red Door

"Fascinating and compelling." - Winston-Salem Journal on The Red Door

"An intriguing story that's impossible to put down...reminiscent of Agatha Christie." - Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) on The Red Door

"No mystery series I can think of captures the sadness and loss that swept over England after World War I with the heartbreaking force of Charles Todd's books about Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge." - Chicago Tribune

"Todd continues to render a refreshingly original historical series that combines Agatha Christie's classical detection with P. D. James' psychological acuity." - Booklist, starred review

"This delightful series offers pure detection and rich ambience. . . . The spirit of Agatha Christie lives." - Otto Penzler, New York Sun

"A complex story with lots of unexpected twists and turns....A fun ride to a surprising conclusion." - Mystery Scene on The Red Door

"One of the strongest entries yet in a series that shows no sign of losing steam....Once again Todd perfectly balances incisive portraits of all the characters, not just the complex and original lead." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Red Door