A Fine Summer's Day (Inspector Ian Rutledge) Paperback – September 29, 2015

"A Fine Summer's Day", by the mother/son writing team of "Charles Todd" is the latest in their "Inspector Rutledge" series. They also write the "Bess Crawford" series. I read both series and I think they've maintained their "Rutledge" series a bit better than their "Crawford" one. Both series are about England during and after WW1 ("The Great War"), though this new book is actually set in 1914 and is a prequel to the earlier books. In "Summer's Day", Ian Rutledge's life and job as a Scotland Yard inspector is explained in the context of the summer before WW1."Context" in a book's plot is almost as important as "characters" to the reader. Many authors set their stories in a rather time-less setting which makes grabbing on to a plot difficult. "A Fine Summer's Day", beginning in June, 1914, brings Rutledge and his family and friends into a war-footing as the events in far-away Sarajevo, Berlin, Vienna, and at home in London come together in terrifying form as millions of young men prepare to march off to glorious battle. (And, of course, they'll ALL be "home by Christmas, 1914"...).A BIT OF A SPOILER FOLLOWS: Our old friend Ian Rutledge is a bit at sixes-and-sevens that beautiful summer of 1914. He's just become engaged to the spoiled daughter of an Army officer, who the reader knows from previous books jilts him during his time in the Army. (One of the nice things about writing a review of a prequel is that there are very few "spoilers"!) He's risen to the rank of Inspector at Scotland Yard and runs around in very cool car. But, he's also just tragically lost his parents in a ferry accident and lives with his younger sister. He doesn't get along with his immediate superior at the Yard and there is the uncertainty of war as the "cooler heads" of diplomats and rulers do all the wrong things after the assassination in Sarajevo in June and war is declared in August.Scotland Yard is asked to assist in a murder investigation of a man found hung in his house. The man has lived a blameless life and local authorities cannot understand why he would either be murdered or commit suicide. Several other men around southern England are also found dead with a glass of milk containing laudanum near their bodies. Suddenly Rutledge's investigation of one murder spirals into investigations of other suspected murders. He motors around southern England - the authors have helpfully included a map of England in the front of the book - and gets an "idea" about the murders that is not found acceptable in Scotland Yard. Between times on the road, Rutledge is also in London, attempting to placate his spoiled fiance, Jean Gordon.The Todd's book is just a grand story of life and crime and ultimate justice in that summer of 1914. The novel also includes characters from the other Todd series, "Bess Crawford". I've been waiting for the two series to intersect and in "A Fine Summer's Day" they begin to do just that.For the Charles Todd/Inspector Rutledge fan, this is another winner.

Those who, like me, have followed the Inspector Rutledge series from the beginning, might have a difficult time meeting the young Rutledge, full of hope for a happy life with his beloved Jean. The book is a kind of prequel to the Rutledge books we have come to know. It is the summer of 1914, war is about to be declared, and in England, Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard is puzzling over deaths all over the country that seem to be unrelated. The story unfolds slowly and I found the book easy to put down and take up--until the last third of it where the action became much more exciting and all of the pieces began to come together. The reason for the way the crimes are committed isn't perfect but it IS intriguing and I didn't really spot it until it was explained. The only problem with the book is that I now feel I have to go back and re-read every single Rutledge book as I don't remember what happens to all of the characters in this one. I shall enjoy doing so though!

A Fine Summer Day is the 16th and latest Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery series written by an extremely talented mother and son team writing under the pen name of Charles Todd.I have read many books in this series; however, this book presents a younger version of Inspector Rutledge set in June through December 1914 England prior to the protagonist's war time military service.If you are new to this series or a longtime fan, this is a must read. In this episode, the young Scotland Yard Inspector is assigned to several difficult cases that keeps him on the road where he is able to spend little time with his fiancé and faces added pressure and little support from a demanding and unreasonable supervisor in a time of diminishing manpower as Scotland Yard loses personnel who are eager volunteering for wartime service.Ian has developed extraordinary skills connecting the dots where others have failed. He suspects a connection between vandalized graves and unsolved murders that he believes are the work of a clever adversary using the same very personal modus operandi to somehow convince unlikely suicide victims to drink deadly poison in the dead of night. These seemingly unrelated victims from various towns are mounting.While Ian is an astute investigator, the antagonist has comparable skills.The mystery revolves around discovering the link before the killer strikes again. Suspense builds as victims fall while the odds of identifying and bringing the perpetrator to justice are slim.The Charles Todd writing team are a joy to read. They really know how to build suspense, develop strong and believable characters and keep the reader immersed and engaged through their descriptive well-thought out writing style.Like the many other tales in this series, I was thoroughly entertained by this spellbinding tale. I bet you will be too.Enjoy!

This was the book that started my love affair with Ian Rutledge. I first read it in 2016 and this second go around was as spellbinding as the first. If you prefer a setting in an era you can still relate to, with values you long for and men who understand what being a man really is, then you will love the tales of this Scotland Yard Inspector. It is so well written that it graphically transports the reader to a pre WWI England. Inspector Ian Rutledge seeks an elusive murderer while battling a spiteful superior who more often than not impedes his investigation, all while struggling with the havoc it causes to his personal relationships.The surprise ending is the icing on this delicious cake.

One of Charles Todd's best books, it goes back to the begining brfore the war. Highly recommended

A fantastic look into how it all began, before Ian Rutledge's war and survival. How the people who are mentioned in later books take form, even mentions the Crawford family from which I imagine came Bess and her nursing adventures.

I've developed a likeness for Ian Rutledge, even though the stories are a little slow.

Loved this book