I love the Rutledge books by Mr. Todd, but this one was a little slow at times. It seemed that Mr. Rutledge kept going around in circles. Not my favorite of the series.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with this latest offering in an otherwise excellent series. I felt it to be rather dull and, as others have noticed, there is a lot of Rutledge driving around here and there. I'm not saying I'm right about this, but I didn't feel that the writers were as inspired as with other novels. I have put an order on the next book, and will trust that my anticipation will be rewarded.

Not the best of the series. Hamish definitely moves to the background. And Rutledge spends a lot of time jumping in and out of his car, driving around the country, and I lost track of exactly which person or clue he was pursuing. Still, I like the Rutledge character and will look forward to the next in the series.

I need to pay better attention to names. So many are thrown around in this book I had a difficult time keeping in mind who was who. Rutledge’s grace and gentle tact are in full force here, and his charm goes a long way to making up for any nominal confusion the reader might have.

I could only get through 2/3 of this book, during which time Rutledge drove back and forth between London, Essex, and Surrey tracking suspects for the PRESUMED murder of two men. But, no one had found the bodies, nor were they looking for them. There IS a body from the beginning which continues to be unidentified. New characters and hypothetical "answers" are on every page. This WILL BE my last Rutledge book.