Audiobook13 hours
Watchers of Time
Written by Charles Todd
Narrated by Samuel Gillies
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
Charles Todd brings his classic mystery series to a new level of intensity and intrigue. The year is 1919, and Ian Rutledge is a fragile yet courageous former soldier searching for his place in a post-war world. Now a Scotland Yard detective, Rutledge is called upon to probe a murder in the small Norfolk town of Osterley- but he soon discovers that the crime may be connected to one of the greatest disasters of all time .
Author
Charles Todd
Charles Todd is the New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries, the Bess Crawford mysteries, 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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Titles in the series (9)
A Test of Wills Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Search the Dark Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wings of Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legacy of the Dead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Watchers of Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Fearsome Doubt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Cold Treachery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A False Mirror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Long Shadow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Watchers of Time
Rating: 3.9428571044897955 out of 5 stars
4/5
245 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book honestly kept me guessing until the end...the weaving of characterizations was tight & terse!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Great plot but not well paced: too much unravelling of the mystery near the end, while momentum is quite slow and repetitious in the first 3/4 of the book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Synopsis: Rutledge, recovering from a gun shot wound, is sent to reassure a Monsignor that the murder of a priest is being handled appropriately by the local authorities. However, he finds that there is a lot more to this murder than the easy answer of a traveling strong man looking for money. The murder actually ties back to a woman who was presumed drowned on the Titanic.Review: This is another page-turner, but I'm beginning to see a bit of a prescription to Todd's writing.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The murder of a Catholic pastor sends Rutledge to Norfolk where the local police seek only that the killer not be anyone that they know. Angst ridden visitors and WW1 vets coupled with some old mysteries add complexity to what seems to be murder emanating from an interrupted burglary. The surprising solution will really upset the bucolic atmosphere of Osterley.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5another wonderful Inspector Rutledge book - my second and what a find. Set on post WWI England Inspector Rutledge a damaged veteran with a very unusual (mental) affliction. I must read the whole series and in sequence.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was a pleasant little mystery. It felt dated, due to the fact that it took place after WWI, and there are often references to same. This is the fifth book in the series, and one that was easily available from the library as an ebook. The Poor Inspector was in a bad way, but still managed to muddle through and put together the answers to bring a criminal to justice. He was aided in thisendeavor by Hamish, the voice in his head ( and his back seat).I felt it was a little too descriptive here and there, not getting to the pointquickly enough. I am not sure that I like Rutledge himself, but think that Iwill most likely read a more recent offering to see if my opinion changes. I likedit enough, in other words to give him another chance sometime.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not one of the best Inspector Rutledge mysteries to date, I'm afraid. As with 'Wings of Fire', the pace is too slack and the mood overly introspective to sustain interest in the crime being investigated. I was intrigued by the initial premise - a priest is murdered after hearing the deathbed confession of a man who knows too much about the apparent death of a woman on the Titanic - but the story didn't deliver. The connection with the doomed liner is tenuous to say the least, and there isn't enough tension in the case of the dead woman tying all the threads together. I just didn't care, especially after having to plough through half of the book before anything happened. Rutledge spends the first two hundred pages revisting three points of an eternal triangle - rectory, vicarage and hotel dining room - and asking the same witnesses increasingly desperate questions!The one vital development of this novel is actually Rutledge's health, both mental and physical. After meeting another shell-shocked veteran of the War - the scene where he leads the traumatised soldier out of a crowded pub is very emotional - and a woman with troubles of her own, the Inspector almost has a nervous breakdown. Instead of improving with time, the events of the previous novel have carried over as an additional burden, and Hamish's voice becomes louder and more critical of Rutledge's thoughts and actions. In fact, Hamish is very nearly a separate personality in this story, with Rutledge barely able to maintain his self-control on a couple of occasions. (I keep waiting for someone to catch him talking to himself!) On a trivial note, because the mystery was less than arresting in this case, I do wish these books could be re-edited and released for the UK market - it's not the American spelling that bothers me, but when words like 'sweater' start creeping into a novel set in post-WW1 England. I keep imagining farmers' wives dressed in Gap hoodies! 'Jumper' or 'cardigan', please. And on the same level, the word is 'barmy', meaning crazy or angry, not 'balmy'. Nitpicking aside, Charles Todd's attention to historical and cultural detail is beautifully consistent, and I almost feel I was there in Norfolk with Rutledge. The Inspector is that rare type of fictional detective whose private life is more than just a 'hook' to sell another mystery series, though, and I shall definitely keep reading.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As always, Charles Todd writes an atmospheric thriller, taking place in England shortly after the first World war. Scotland Yard investigator Ian Rutledge is sent to the village of Osterly, a tightly knit community on the Norfolk coast. to investigate the brutal murder of the village priest. Rutledge is a fragile ex-soldier still suffering from shell shock, and hearing the voice of Hamish MacLeod, a Scottish soldier Rutledge was forced to execute in the trenches.The local police have a suspect and want to close the case but Rutledge is not convinced. The village gradually reveals its secrets and Rutledge uncovers a chain of sinister events that lead to the startling conclusion.Highly recommended.