Proof of Guilt: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery - Hardcover

Todd, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062015680 ISBN 13: 9780062015686

Publisher: William Morrow, 2013

Synopsis

Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard must contend with two dangerous enemies in New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd's Proof of Guilt.

Can Rutledge solve the apparent murder of a top wine merchant while dealing with interference from his superior, the new Acting Chief Superintendent?

Readers of Charles Todd’s Bess Crawford books and London-based Ian Rutledge mysteries will be thrilled with Proof of Guilt, clue by clue.

About this title

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. A mother-and-son writing team, Caroline passed away in August 2021 and Charles lives in Florida.

From the Back Cover

Scotland Yard's Ian Rutledge must contend with two dangerous enemies in this latest complex mystery in the New York Times bestselling series

London, summer 1920. An unidentified body appears to have been run down by a motorcar and Ian Rutledge is leading the investigation to uncover what happened. While the signs point to murder, vital questions remain: Who is the victim? And where, exactly, was he killed?

One small clue leads Rutledge to a firm built by two families, famous for producing and selling the world's best Madeira wine. Lewis French, the current head of the English enterprise, is missing. But is he the dead man? And does either his fiancée or his jilted former lover have anything to do with his disappearance—or possible death? What about his sister? Or the London office clerk? Is Matthew Traynor, French's cousin and partner who heads the Madeira office, somehow involved?

The experienced Rutledge knows that suspicion and circumstantial evidence are not proof of guilt, and he's going to keep digging for answers. But that perseverance will pit him against his supervisor, the new acting chief superintendent. When Rutledge discovers a link to an incident in the French family's past, the superintendent dismisses it, claiming the information isn't vital. He's determined to place the blame on one of French's women despite Rutledge's objections. Alone in a no-man's-land rife with mystery and danger, Rutledge must tread very carefully, for someone has decided that he, too, must die so that cruel justice can take its course.

Reviews

It’s 1920, and the body of a man turns up, apparently the victim of a collision with an automobile. With no identification on the body other than an expensive pocket watch, it seems unlikely that Scotland Yard’s Inspector Rutledge will be able to get to the bottom of this unusual crime (this was a time when motorcars were still fairly uncommon). But the watch provides a clue, leading Rutledge to a wine-making family, one of whose members has been missing for a while. Some readers, familiar with modern-day forensics, might have difficulties with the basic premise—that a dead man can’t be identified—but fans of the long-running Rutledge series will enjoy this one. It has a good, convoluted story and a few surprises that should keep readers on their toes. A solid entry in this always reliable series. --David Pitt

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062015680
• ISBN 13: 9780062015686
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352