The Red Door

The Red Door
By Charles Todd
William Morrow, 2010. 344 pgs. Mystery

Is it wrong to have a book crush on a psychologically-tortured man? If so, I don't care--I love Inspector Rutledge.

Florence Teller paints her front door a vibrant red color to welcome her husband home from the Great War. A year and a half later Florence’s husband has still not returned home and she is found dead in front of the red door. Around the same time Florence is murdered, and miles away, Walter Teller disappears after having a mysterious crippling incident. Inspector Ian Rutledge investigates both situations and wonders if the two families and cases are related. Walter Teller’s family insists that they don’t know the dead woman, however, and Rutledge is forced to press the family for the connection.

Inspector Rutledge is a first-rate detective and he doesn’t disappoint in this latest mystery. While he is still haunted by his service in the war, what is great about this entry and, one of the book's strong points, is that Rutledge finally starts to face some of his fears and feelings and begins waking up emotionally.

MN