A Test of Wills by Charles ToddMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Test of Wills is as fine an English country mystery as I’ve ever read. Inspector Ian Rutledge is an enigmatic protagonist, broken by horrible experiences in the Great War, voices speaking in his head, now returned to Scotland Yard to pick up the scattered threads of a life he once had. An envious superior has Rutledge assigned to a case that is a political minefield, hoping it will bring him down once and for all. But of course, Rutledge proves equal to the challenge.
The best part pf the book is the author’s meticulous characterization of the village of Streetham and it’s inhabitants. Everyone has a secret and all of them are revealed over the course of the story. The identity of the culprit is clear, but if Rutledge arrests him, he dooms himself. The author neatly resolves the conundrum his hero faces.
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