Reviews

A Test of Wills by Charles Todd

Only show reviews with written explanations

fiddler76's review

3.0

Pretty good mystery. Set in England, just after the first world war, so its an old-style mystery, no forensic stuff going on. The most interesting part of the overall mystery, is that the Inspector working the case just cannot find anyone who disliked the victim. So establishing motive becomes his toughest task.

This is the first in the series about Inspector Rutledge, himself a war veteran, fighting the devils he has brought back from the war. The author pitches us right into the action, and we know about the murder from the first three paragraphs of the book! Its also well established that Rutledge is expected to fail by his superiors, and this might be something of a running theme through the series, as its not completely explained why Rutledge's boss doesn't like him.

However, the problem i faced with the book is that it sort of loses the urgency at times, and its a bit repetitive at times, with the same facts being reiterated by several characters, over several chapters. But the writing is pretty good, and it wasn't so bad that i lost interest. The climax was pretty satisfying for me, and suddenly a lot of the buildup started to make sense!

So ya, liked it. Will definitely try more from the series. But my current favorite mystery writers still remain Colin Cotterill, Henning Mankell and Andrea Camilleri!

lilylanie's review

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3.0

As I was listening to the audiobook, I was thinking that I wasn’t particularly impressed. The story was a slow moving, there were far too many characters all with bland British names that were too easy to mix up, and it felt like the solution was obvious.

Once it was over, I had a slightly different perspective. On the plus side, I hadn’t even begun to suspect the actual solution to the murder. Although I’d be surprised if anyone did, given the number of characters and side plots.

But more than anything I found myself rooting for inspector Rutledge and his battle with his personal demons. I’m not sure these books are going to get more exciting, and I’m certainly hoping that the authors find a better way to disguise the secret than by burying us in characters, but I am willing to give it another go just to see how the inspector’s character develops.

sydkneelisa's review

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4.0

Better than I thought. Gripping.

hiba45's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

cmx's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Audible free, first of many in the series that are free. Not great, but okay listening to. I thought I had guessed the plot line and I was wrong, and then the actual culprit sort of came out of the blue, maybe with not enough supporting evidence. So I'm going to listen to the next one, probably all of the free ones,. Okay, but not great