In the summer of 1914, before shell shock and Hamish, Rutledge investigates a series of deaths scattered across England while preparing to marry and advance within Scotland Yard. The victims seem unconnected, and the approaching European crisis competes with the case for official attention. As the pattern becomes clear, Rutledge races to stop a murderer before Britain’s declaration of war transforms both the investigation and his own life.
The prequel shows the confident detective who existed before the trenches and measures how much the war will cost him. Edwardian routines continue even as mobilization approaches, allowing private crimes to hide inside a national emergency. The reader’s knowledge of Rutledge’s future gives every ordinary hope a sense of impending loss.
Jacqueline Winspear
20 books
Anne Perry
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Evelyn James
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
24 books
Rhys Bowen
53 books