In 1914, Ian Rutledge left a brilliant career at Scotland Yard to fight in the Great War. Now, in 1919, he is back, burdened with a heavy secret: he is still suffering from shell shock. With him almost constantly is the cynical, taunting voice of the young Scots soldier he was forced to have executed on the battlefield for refusing to fight.
In a desperate gamble to salvage his sanity, Rutledge takes up his duties at Scotland Yard. But a colleague, jealous of Rutledge's pre-war successes, has learned his secret and maneuvers to have him assigned to a case that promises to spell disaster no matter what the outcome. In a Warwickshire village, a popular retired military officer has been murdered, and the chief suspect is, unhappily for the Inspector, a much-decorated war hero and a friend of the Prince of Wales.
Rutledge, fighting his malady and the tormentor in his head (who is the personification of his own doubts and guilt), doggedly goes about his investigation. He digs into the lives of the villagers: the victim's ward, a young woman now engaged to the chief suspect; a local artist shunned because of her love for a German prisoner; the reclusive cousins whose cottage adjoins the dead man's estate. But the witness who might be able to tell him the most is a war-ravaged ex-soldier who chills Rutledge with the realization that if he loses control of himself, he could become this man.
A TEST OF WILLS is an extraordinary first novel in a series that combines a unique kind of psychological suspense with vivid atmosphere and a tantalizing mystery.
In a desperate gamble to salvage his sanity, Rutledge takes up his duties at Scotland Yard. But a colleague, jealous of Rutledge's pre-war successes, has learned his secret and maneuvers to have him assigned to a case that promises to spell disaster no matter what the outcome. In a Warwickshire village, a popular retired military officer has been murdered, and the chief suspect is, unhappily for the Inspector, a much-decorated war hero and a friend of the Prince of Wales.
Rutledge, fighting his malady and the tormentor in his head (who is the personification of his own doubts and guilt), doggedly goes about his investigation. He digs into the lives of the villagers: the victim's ward, a young woman now engaged to the chief suspect; a local artist shunned because of her love for a German prisoner; the reclusive cousins whose cottage adjoins the dead man's estate. But the witness who might be able to tell him the most is a war-ravaged ex-soldier who chills Rutledge with the realization that if he loses control of himself, he could become this man.
A TEST OF WILLS is an extraordinary first novel in a series that combines a unique kind of psychological suspense with vivid atmosphere and a tantalizing mystery.
Similar Books by other authors...
Used availability for Charles Todd's A Test of Wills
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
November 1998 : Hardback
| Title: A Test of Wills Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 0-7089-4006-4 / 978-0-7089-4006-8 (UK edition) Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
June 1997 : Hardback
| Title: A Test of Wills Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 0-7472-1987-7 / 978-0-7472-1987-3 (UK edition) Publisher: Headline Book Publishing Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
January 1997 : Hardback
| Title: A Test of Wills (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 0-7838-2023-2 / 978-0-7838-2023-1 (USA edition) Publisher: G. K. Hall & Company Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
August 1996 : Hardback
| Title: A Test of Wills Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 0-312-14431-8 / 978-0-312-14431-9 (USA edition) Publisher: St Martins Pr Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
April 2010 : Paperback
| Title: A Test of Wills LP Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 0-06-194627-3 / 978-0-06-194627-1 (USA edition) Publisher: HarperLuxe Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
January 2007 : Mass Market Paperback
| Title: A Test of Wills (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries) Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 0-06-124284-5 / 978-0-06-124284-7 (USA edition) Publisher: Harper Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
July 1998 : Mass Market Paperback
| Title: A Test of Wills (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries) Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 0-553-57759-X / 978-0-553-57759-4 (USA edition) Publisher: Bantam Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
September 1997 : Paperback
| Title: A Test of Wills Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 0-7472-5737-X / 978-0-7472-5737-0 (UK edition) Publisher: Headline Book Publishing Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
1996 : Paperback
| Title: A Test of Wills. Author(s): Charles. Todd Publisher: St Martins Pr Availability: Amazon More details... |
Audio Editions
1999 : Audio Cassette
| Title: A Test of Wills [Unabridged Audio Cassette] Author(s): Charles Todd ISBN: 1-84197-006-9 / 9781841970066 (UK edition) Publisher: Clipper Audio Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
Other Editions
January 1997 : Unknown
| Title: Test of Wills, a Author(s): Charles Todd Publisher: G K Hall & Co Availability: Amazon More details... |
© 2009 FantasticFiction
Questions? Comments? Corrections? Please email webmaster@fantasticfiction.co.uk
Questions? Comments? Corrections? Please email webmaster@fantasticfiction.co.uk

