Claiming he needs to clear his conscience, a dying man walks into Scotland Yard and confesses that he killed his cousin years ago during the war. When Inspector Ian Rutledge presses for details, the man dodges the questions, revealing only that he hails from the north of London in Essex. With little information and no body to open an official inquiry, Rutledge begins to look into the case on his own. But less than two weeks later, the would-be killer's body is found floating in the Thames, a bullet hole in the back of his head. Searching for answers, Rutledge discovers that the dead man was not who he claimed to be. So what was his real name - and who put a bullet in his head Was the confession and his own death related Or was there something else in the victim's past that had led to his murder The inspector's only clue is a gold locket - found around the dead man's neck-that leads back to Essex, an insular village that will do anything to protect itself from notoriety. For notoriety brings the curious, and with the curious comes change and an unwelcome spotlight on a centuries' old act of evil that even now can damn them all.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Declaring he needs to clear his conscience, a dying man walks into Scotland Yard and confesses that he killed his cousin five years earlier during the Great War. When Inspector Ian Rutledge presses for details, the man reveals little else, only that he hails from a village somewhere east of London. With scant information to go on and no corpse, Rutledge cannot launch an official inquiry, but he is intrigued enough to look into the case on his own. Everything changes when the body of the confessed killer is found floating in the Thames, a bullet in the back of his head, and Rutledge discovers that the guilt-stricken alleged murderer was not who he claimed to be.
With but one clue to go on, a gold locket found around the dead man's neck, Rutledge finds himself drawn to an insular village in Essex, where the residents will do anything to keep out of the public eye. For notoriety could bring attention to a centuries-old act of evil that, even now, could damn them all.
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, they live on the East Coast.
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