A Novel (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries, 23)
by Charles Todd
In one of his most puzzling cases, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge must delve deep into a dead man's life and his past to find a killer determined to keep dark secrets buried.
A peaceful Welsh village is thrown into turmoil when a terrified boy stumbles on a body in a nearby river. The man appears to have fallen from the canal aqueduct spanning the valley. But there is no identification on the body, he isn't a local, and no one will admit to having seen him before. With little to go on, the village police turn to Scotland Yard for help.
When Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent from London to find answers, he is given few clues—a faded military tattoo on the victim's arm and an unusual label in the collar of his shirt. They eventually lead him to the victim's identity: Sam Milford. By all accounts, he was a good man and well-respected. Then, why is his death so mysterious? Looking for the truth, Rutledge uncovers a web of lies swirling around a suicidal woman, a child's tragic fate, and another woman bent on protecting her past. But where among all the lies is the motive for murder?
To track a killer, Rutledge must retrace Milford's last journey. Yet death seems to stalk his every move, and the truth seems to shift at every turn. Man or woman, this murderer stays in the shadows, and it will take desperate measures to lure him—or her—into the light.
"Fans of the series will want Todd's latest historical mystery." —Library Journal
"A Fatal Lie provides an excellent book with which to walk into Rutledge's pursuit of crime and determination to make things right ... Those who value similar portrayals of place as character—as in Louise Penny's Three Pines, for instance—will treasure A Fatal Lie and its Welsh backdrop. As a police procedural, also, the book's persistent untangling of motive, means, and opportunity provides an instant classic for this mystery genre, along with an intriguing exploration of the heart's effects on the mind." —New York Journal of Books
This information about A Fatal Lie was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Charles Todd is the New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector IanRutledge mysteries, the Bess Crawfordmysteries, and two stand-alone novels. A mother-and-son writing team, Caroline passed away in August 2021 and Charles lives in Florida.

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