Todd, Charles – A LONG SHADOW

[LJ Roberts]

A LONG SHADOW (Police Procedural-England-1919) – VG
Todd, Charles – 8th in series
William Morrow, 2006-Hardcover

Inspector Ian Rutledge, still haunted by his past and the spirit of Hamish, keeps finding cartridge shells, etched with poppies, left for
him, first in London and still after he is sent to a remote country village where local Constable Hensley has been shot in the back with an arrow and left in a wood shunned by the locals. But Rutledge wonders whether the attack is revenge and associated with the disappearance of Emma Mason, a young local woman.

This is not a slap-bang procedural, but dogged, follow-the-clues investigation by Rutledge who stands for the dead. He is a complex, realistically drawn character whose past and the impact of WWI plays a major role in his present. The supporting characters are just as strong, each with their own history woven together into an atmospheric story with excellent sense of place, very good suspense and unexpected twists at the end. Highly recommended, but start with the first book.