The Red Door: An Inspector Rutledge Mystery (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries, 12)

Inspector Rutledge has come back from the front to his civilan job of police inspector as the Great War is over and he takes on two cases that supposedly aren't related. The first one is a case about a man named Walter Teller who disappears after he gets out of hospital. He's from an influential family, who also are looking for him, much to the chagrin of Rutledge. Murder is what the second case is about. Someone killed a Mrs. Peter Teller behind a red door. Walter returns and he has a brother named Peter, but Peter isn't married to the dead woman. The Teller's claim they don't know her. Rutledge, and the demons who haunt his memory, have a mystery on their hands, one I just loved reading. Inspector Rutledge is a great character and the Todds, mother and son, put me right in the setting, made me feel like I was seeing England right after World War I. And they kept me turning the pages, anxious to see what come next. You can't ask for more than that in a mystery.

Charles Todd's THE RED DOOR is one of the best in the 12 book series. Walter Teller, a missionary in China and Africa and a chaplain in WWI, is suddenly stricken with a paralysis. He is taken to an exclusive clinic in London where his wife, his brothers, Edwin and Peter, and their wives wait for some sign of improvement. The doctors are stymied and the family fears that Walter is dying. Then, as suddenly as the paralysis came on, it disappears and so does Walter. Ian Rutledge is assigned another impossible task: find Walter Teller before the press learns of his disappearance. The Tellers are not a family to be discussed in the press. As Rutledge begins what he believes will be a fruitless search, Walter reappears with no memory of where he has been. In Lancashire, a woman has been waiting two years for the return of her husband from the war. Rutledge is sent to the village of Hobson because the dead woman is Florence Teller whose husband was named Peter. Somehow, in some way, Florence is tied to one of the brothers who has been living a lie with a wife in London. The book is the story of the visible and invisible wounds left by the war. It is the story of money, class, privilege, inheritance, and secrets. And it is the story of the destruction of a powerful family who are the victims of the control exerted by their father from beyond the grave. I liked THE RED DOOR for all the reasons that many other reviewers didn't. Rutledge is changing. Hamish is ever present but his voice is more hushed. The 12 books in the series represent a year in Rutledge's life and he is moving slowly back to the people who love him and whom he loves. He is becoming less a victim of the war and more a survivor of the carnage. I eagerly await book 13.

Readers who chose to begin their exploration of the Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery series with this book, The Red Door, need to have some information before they begin. This series has an unusual twist which sets it apart from most other period mystery books. Rutledge was an officer in World War I. The most brutal fighting he engaged in was in France in 1916 and in one of those battles he had to dispense military justice for a soldier disobeying a direct order. That dead soldier's voice has been locked inside Rutledge's head ever since. Rutledge hears the voice of Hamish, they hold conversations. Rutledge is convinced that the consequences of shell shock and guilt over what he had to do will keep Hamish as a very unwelcome resident inside his mind for the remainder of his life. This mystery takes place one year after Rutledge has returned to his pre-war job at Scotland Yard. I have read many of the Inspector Rutledge novels. I have enjoyed them all, even though some were slightly more interesting to me than others. I must put The Red Door right at the top of the list of favorites. Walter Teller has been a very important personage in the past because of his work in the missionary field. When he disappears from a clinic where he was being treated for a mysterious ailment Rutledge is assigned to find Teller and keep any unpleasantness out of the press. This turns out to be much more of a problem than it should have been because Teller's entire family is conspiring to keep the family secrets completely under wraps. While working on this case, two more cases are assigned to Rutledge. In one he is one of the intended victims of a violent robbery and in another, a woman is found dead just inside her home in the northern part of England. Her name is Florence Teller. I picked up this book intending to simply glance through the first chapter to find out what I might expect. I just kept reading. I love it when a book grabs my attention so thoroughly in the beginning that I simply must continue with it. I found it totally engaging and well written. The plot moves along very rapidly even though I did begin to feel rather sorry for Rutledge with all the driving he was forced to do all around England to investigate the two main cases. Because of his claustrophobia he refuses to use trains and therefore drives everywhere. The historical setting also predates the time when each home or business had a telephone so there is that aspect to contend with also. I felt that the presence of Hamish was more of a help in this story than he has been in other stories. Almost as if he is also settling down to be a help instead of a hindrance and a thorn in Rutledge's side. This book was so well written for me that I never would have guessed the outcome. After reading the entire book I can see how it would or could have happened, but these authors kept the solutions to these various cases very much in doubt. This book can absolutely be read as a s

A woman prepares for her husband's return from World War I, painting the front door red, but he never returns. On the anniversary of his return to Scotland Yard, Inspector Ian Rutledge is called to investigate the case of Walter Teller, a man who has gone missing during his treatment at Belvedere Clinic. He suffers from a mysterious disease that leads to increasing paralysis, but even more odd is his sudden reappearance and the sudden disappearance of an illness. The Teller family gives conflicting reports, prodding Inspector Rutedge to look more deeply at the case. Solving the case leads Rutledge to the woman behind the red door, an isolated woman with no known enemies, but whose bludgeoning death appalls Rutledge. The more Inspector Rutledge investigates the Teller case, the more family secrets and even lies create troubling questions. When the prime suspects end up meeting their deaths, is it by accident or design? Inspector Ian Rutledge feels determined to seek justice but can he solve all the disparate clues before it is too late? As twelfth in the Ian Rutledge series, THE RED DOOR may make an unsettling start to newcomers to the series like myself, coming to his book fresh from Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series in A DUTY TO THE DEAD. Primarily, the question of Hamish's identity leaves a reader new to the series puzzled initially. Who is he? What is his role in the unfolding story? As the voice of a fallen soldier inside of Inspector's head, one feels the effects of the Great War linger on after the armistice. Indeed, as more details emerge later in the book not only about Hamish but also the case itself, World War II and its aftermath become pivotal elements to the richness of this historical mystery. While the seeming disconnectedness of Hamish might cause new readers to pause and re-read certain sections in the beginning, the developing mystery makes the effort well worth it for readers who crave a mystery with enough richness and intricacy to keep one guessing until the final connection is finally unraveled. Twisting and turning, the clues lead one way until the next clue or corpse is discovered. THE RED DOOR does not present a straightforward line from murder through clues to the culprit. Instead, THE RED DOOR creates an interconnected nexus to thrill mystery lovers who enjoy a true puzzle in which the whole emerges only with the final pieces. In this historical mystery, mother and son writing team Charles Todd evokes the desolation of World War I in ways history books often do not, especially as THE RED DOOR focuses on the time period immediately afterwards. The war itself might be over but not in the mind of the characters. The war and its aftermath change even the personal lives of the characters and their children. Inspector Ian Rutledge himself struggles with his memories and past actions as do those he investigates. His pursuit of justice even in the face of a possible easier route creates some of the mo

The Red Door by Charles Todd is overflowing with cases to be solved. Inspector Rutledge is puzzled by a family with dark secrets. A missing persons case turns into a murder investigation. Convenient accidents confuse the investigation. The only witness may be a talking parrot. Meanwhile the Inspector becomes a target of a young robber. He must be caught before he cuts up another look-a-like. On the personal front Rutledge's godfather visits from Scotland. At first he fears that his insightful godfather will discover his weaknesses but as the week plays out he realizes how much he has missed his companionship. Unfortunately a train wreck threatens to cut their time short. Rushing to save the day Ruthledge encounters Miss Channing. She has decided to travel. He is faced with not seeing her for the next two years. As always Hamlish is in his head providing wisdom and guidance as well as the memory of war