Proof of Guilt by Charles Todd

Proof of Guilt by Charles Todd
Copyright 2013
William Morrow - Historical Fiction/Mystery
343 pp.

It's probably a very bad idea to start reading a mystery series so late in the game.  Proof of Guilt is apparently #14 in the Ian Rutledge series.  I used to read out of order all the time, back when I was a regular mystery reader, though; and, I wanted to give mother-son writing team Charles Todd a second chance after the disappointment of The Walnut Tree (which I still believe was simply rushed to press without a decent attempt at editing).

Proof of Guilt is a bit twisty without every becoming an utterly confusing story.  It is 1920.  A body has been discovered but the man appears not to have died at the location where he was discovered. Tucked inside the coat is a very distinctive and obviously expensive watch.  There's no identification on the body and when Inspector Rutledge takes the watch to a jeweler, he finds that it is, indeed, an expensive family heirloom.  However, the body in question is not that of the watch owner and the man who does own the watch is missing.

There are a lot of things going on in Proof of Guilt.  There is a new man in charge and Rutledge doesn't have a great deal of respect for him.  There is a body, a missing man, a broken engagement, a connection to Spain and another body that doesn't appear to have any relation to the story in question until late in the book.  Inspector Rutledge may be a continuing character but near as I can tell, not many years can have passed during the scope of this series.  He served in WWI and suffers from PTSD, the ghost of a man he was forced to shoot for insubordination still haunting him, the claustrophobia and the occasional shaking/sweating episode ever-present.  Having perused reviews of a few earlier books (I chose to avoid reading any reviews of Proof of Guilt so that my feelings about it would remain untouched), I can see that not much has changed.

And, therein the problem lies.  There was just something missing from this book.  Well, several somethings, actually.  First, there are loads of characters without apparent distinguishing characteristics. Hamish, the man who haunts Rutledge, is well-described (at least, inasmuch as the reason the inspector is haunted) but the vast majority of the men Rutledge works with are not.  So, they all tend to blur together.  It's hard to determine who they all are and their working relationships with Rutledge. But, in fact, Rutledge also doesn't seem to want to have much to do with anyone but his sister -- and she only shows up briefly.  So, the book is strongly lacking in emotion and meaningful interaction.  It's all mystery and little heart, in other words.

As to the mystery itself, I found it convoluted enough that it wasn't completely predictable.  There were scenes that I found transparent but the ending itself surprised me.  Would it have surprised me if I was a regular mystery reader?  I can't say.

Here's how I felt about the book, as the reading progressed:

Beginning:  Meh.  Having trouble getting into it.  Seemed like there was a lot of uncomfortable pummeling with questions but otherwise the dialogue was stilted and unrealistic. Nice light reading, though; apart from dialogue, the writing was smooth.
About 1/3 in:  Still no grip on any of the secondary characters but I was becoming accustomed to the rhythm of the story and not tempted to set the book aside.  Definitely better-edited than The Walnut Tree.
Halfway:  Too many characters and no idea where the hell the plot was going.  Also, were inspectors at Scotland Yard really that incompetent?  The thought processes of various people investigating seemed quite off to me.
80-90% in:  There were at least 5 characters whose last names began with the letter "B".  Keeping names easily distinguishable by using different letters is a basic of writing.  I was kind of stunned.  But, I was really enjoying the story, by this point, and just kept flipping back to try to keep the characters straight.
90% in:  Seriously?  Did they arrest people and threaten to hang them without even discovering the body of a missing person?  Still curious what would happen, though.
Ending:  Totally pissed off.  There was an answer to the mystery but no wrap-up.  The book simply ended . . . and, in fact, there was even a line to tease the reader into buying the next book.  At 80-95% in, I was beginning to rethink my aversion to mysteries and considering reading more by Charles Todd.  The ending blew that concept out of the water.  I cannot bear being teased by an author.  That is it for me.  No more Charles Todd books.

Having said all that, I did enjoy this book.  It took some time and I never felt emotionally invested in the story, but had the book been properly wrapped up I would have loved it.  It went from being a 4.5-star book at about 90% (in spite of many problems) to a 3-star because of the way it ended.  That's a pretty huge deduction for a crummy ending, but that's how I felt when I closed the book.

Recommended only to regular mystery readers who enjoy this author's writing.  A decent mystery but the lackluster characterization and a terrible ending ruined this book for me.

My thanks to TLC Tours for the advance reader's edition of Proof of Guilt.  I am glad I gave this author a second chance, regardless of how I felt upon closing the book.

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Minis: The Walnut Tree by C. Todd, A Walk in the Park by J. .Mansell, Comet's Tale by S. Wolf & L. Padwa

The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd is subtitled "A Holiday Tale" and I'm not quite sure why.  It may end at Christmas, but otherwise it is most definitely not a Christmas tale.  In fact, it's more of a war tale with a rather lame romantic love triangle and a heroine, Lady Elspeth Douglas, who feels compelled to deceive her best friend, everyone in the service in which she's trained as a nurse and both of the men in her little love triangle.

Get the feeling I didn't like The Walnut Tree?  Well, I did finish the book.  That's saying something. But I think The Walnut Tree is flawed, a bit juvenile and extremely cliche.  Lady Elspeth (again, in a manner that simply does not make sense) ends up on the front line of an important WWI battle and after seeing the casualties, decides to imitate Sybil of Downton Abbey and become a nurse.  By this point, she's helped a friend deal with childbirth and has become engaged.  But, she then encounters an old friend and falls even more in love with the second guy.

In the end, I was able to completely predict the outcome of absolutely every plot point.  It's ridiculously obvious what has to happen at every turn and the tiny hint of a mystery that's tossed in like an afterthought is patently annoying.  Why did I keep reading?  I suppose the war scenes are rather interesting. And, even though the book was terribly predictable, I still wanted to get to the goal and read about the heroine ending up with her guy.  But, honestly, I do wish I hadn't spent money on The Walnut Tree.

Since I've read a number of reviews in which regular readers of Charles Todd have said The Walnut Tree doesn't live up to the mother-son team's normal standards, I'm planning to give one of their mysteries a try, soon, because I'm now doubly curious.  We'll see how that goes.  Not recommended unless you don't mind transparent plotting . . . say you're just a fan of historical fiction and/or romance but you're not picky.  Maybe then.  

I must warn you that the words "have" and "had" are so overused that they even appear in dialogue:

"You must know how much your presence had brightened the lives not only of your cousin but of the other three officers who are working with Sister Macleod."  -- p. 153 

Drop the "had" (or change it to "has") and that bit of dialogue is acceptable, if a bit awkward.  If this particular grammatical atrocity continues in the mystery I intend to read, I will never touch another Charles Todd book.  It truly is unbearable.  But, The Walnut Tree may simply be one of those books that was rushed to press with minimal editing and I figure almost everyone deserves a second chance.  

In A Walk in the Park by Jill Mansell, heroine Lara Carson returns to her childhood home in Bath, England, for the funeral of her father.  At 16, she was kicked out of the house by the father who never loved her and the stepmother from hell -- and they didn't even know she was pregnant.  Now, Lara's daughter Gigi is 18.  Lara's best friend will be marrying soon and it turns out Lara is in her father's will.  So, as much as she'd like to avoid the boyfriend she left behind, Lara will have to stick around Bath a bit more than she intended.

Flynn always wondered what happened to Lara.  One day she was suddenly just gone and he never heard a word from her.  Now that she's back with his biological child in tow, he wants answers.  

Evie is thrilled to finally walk down the aisle but on the day of her wedding, things are going horribly wrong.  After she cancels the wedding, her ex-fiancee won't let go.  Determined to prove he's changed, he pursues her with a vengeance.  But, there's another man wooing Evie.  Will Evie make the right decision, or is there even a decision to be made?  Is Evie destined to make bad choices and remain alone?  

There's always so much going on in a Jill Mansell novel that it's a bit mind-boggling.  I love her books.  They're cheery and plotty and terribly fun. I must admit, I felt dangled a bit more than I like, didn't buy into one of the major plot points and thought A Walk in the Park ended too abruptly.  And, yet, A Walk in the Park is classic Mansell and I enjoyed it.  Recommended, but not her best.

Comet's Tale by Steven D. Wolf, with Lynette Padwa, is a pet story in which -- get this -- the dog doesn't die in the end!!!  Awesome. You have to appreciate that, since most pet memoirs do end with a death.  

Comet is a rescued greyhound.  I had no idea greyhounds came in a variety of colors; you can see from the cover image that she has an interesting calico-like coat of brindle and black and shades between.  When she was rescued, Comet had been left in a cage with a muzzle on.  The author, who goes by the name "Wolf", had two golden retrievers in Nebraska.  But, because his spine was severely degenerating, he was living away from his family and their pets in Sedona, Arizona most of the year.  Colder weather caused even more trouble with his constant pain.

Lonely and depressed after being kicked out of his own law firm, Wolf eventually decided to consider adopting a greyhound and visited the home of some people who fostered quite a few of them.  Comet was off in a corner and appeared to be depressed, herself.  But, just as Wolf was about to make a decision to adopt one of the other dogs, she appeared at his side.  The choice had been made for him.  

Comet's Tale tells about how Comet became not only a devoted pet but also eventually was trained by the author as a service dog when his condition further deteriorated and he needed help with simple tasks like opening doors and picking up dropped items.  Comet's Tale is a deeply touching story.  The only thing I disliked about it was the fact that the author went a little nutso when he had surgery that helped significantly reduce his pain.  However, he eventually "redeemed" himself, just like a fictional character, thank goodness.  An amazing story of love and devotion between pet and human, highly recommended.  

As I was reading Comet's Tale, I found myself desiring to adopt a greyhound -- which is pretty odd because I really don't have the right personality to be a dog owner, although I tend to fall in love with friends' dogs.  The way greyhounds are used and abandoned or killed is truly appalling.  

Here's our little Isabel hanging out on my legs on a day that I stayed in bed feeling yucky, recently.  Rescued pets are the best. 

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.