Todd, Charles – A FALSE MIRROR

[LJ Roberts]

A FALSE MIRROR (Historical-England-1920) – Ex Todd, Charles – 10^th book
Wm Morrow, 2007 – US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780060786731

Inspector Ian Rutledge has been called to Hampton Regis on the southern coast of England. Facility Hampton is in love the two men; her husband, Matthew, and Stephen Mallory. When Matthew is attacked and nearly killed, Mallory is everyone’s immediate suspect, and he knows it. Mallory runs to Facility, bars them in the house and, the Facility’s collusion, claims he will kill her unless they send for Rutledge to prove Mallory’s innocence.

Rutledge is definitely the prime character of the story, and wonderfully developed and complex. The surrounding characters may not all have been likable, but they were strongly written. The sense of time and place are so evocative, it’s easy to feel part of the scene. The story was very well plotted. There was no way for me to see where the story was going and each new element drew me further in. The theme of the impact of war on those who’ve fought it is timely, but doesn’t overwhelm the story, and the ending is particularly poignant. This is an excellent book in an excellent series.