Synopses & Reviews
Charles Todd returns to the world of Scotland Yards Inspector Ian Rutledge in a series that the
New York Times Book Review called “harrowing psychological drama” and the
Washington Post Book World hailed as “among the most intelligent and affecting being written these days.” This time the embattled Inspector has met his match hunting a brutal killer across a frozen hell and the one witness who may have survived a crime of…
A COLD TREACHERY
“Youll hang for this-see if you dont! Thats my revenge! And youll think about that when the rope goes around your neck and the black hood comes down….”
Called out by Scotland Yard into the teeth of a violent blizzard, Inspector Ian Rutledge finds himself confronted with one of the most savage murders he has ever encountered. Rutledge might have expected such unspeakable carnage on the World War I battlefields, where hed lost much of his soul-and his sanity-but not in an otherwise peaceful farm kitchen in remote Urskdale.
Someone has murdered the Elcott family at their table without the least sign of struggle. Was the killer someone the young family knew and trusted? When the victims are tallied the local police are in for another shock: One of the Elcotts children, a boy named Josh, is missing.
Now the Inspector must race to uncover a murderer and to save a child before hes silenced by the merciless elements-or the even colder hands of a killer. Haunted and goaded by the soldier-ghost of his own tortured war past, Rutledge will discover the tragedy of war that splintered one marriage-and pulled together another.
Love, jealousy, greed, revenge-or was it some twisted combination of all of them? Any one could lead a man or woman to murder. What had the Elcotts done to ignite their killers rage? With time running out, Rutledge knows all too well that such a cold-blooded murderer could be hiding somewhere in the blinding snow…
preparing to strike again.
From the Hardcover edition.
Synopsis
"Stunning . . . the tragic sweep of Todd's historical mysteries grows more expansive with each novel."--The New York Times Book Review Called out into the teeth of a violent blizzard, Inspector Ian Rutledge faces one of the most savage murders he's ever encountered. He might have expected such unspeakable carnage on the World War I battlefields where he'd lost much of his soul--and his sanity--but not in an otherwise peaceful farm kitchen in remote Urskdale. Someone has murdered the Elcott family without the least sign of struggle. But when the victims are tallied, the local police are in for another shock: One child is missing. Now the Inspector must race to save a young boy before he's silenced by the merciless elements--or the even colder hands of the killer who hides in the blinding snow.
Praise for A Cold Treachery
"Todd's Ian Rutledge mysteries are among the most intelligent and affecting being written these days."--Washington Post Book World
"Brilliant."--Chicago Tribune
"Traditional mystery lovers who prefer their whodunits enriched with psychological insight will heartily embrace A Cold Treachery. . . . A superb effort."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Brilliantly conceived and elegantly executed."--Strand magazine
About the Author
CHARLES TODD is the author of
The Murder Stone, A Fearsome Doubt, Watchers of Time, Legacy of the Dead, A Test of Wills, Wings of Fire, and
Search the Dark. He lives on the East Coast, where he is at work on the next novel in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series.
From the Hardcover edition.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Charles Todd