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Book Summary and Reviews of A Pale Horse by Charles Todd

A Pale Horse by Charles Todd

A Pale Horse

An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery

by Charles Todd

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Published:
  • Dec 2007, 336 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In the ruins of Yorkshire's Fountains Abbey lies the body of a man wrapped in a cloak, the face covered by a gas mask. Next to him is a book on alchemy, which belongs to the schoolmaster, a conscientious objector in the Great War. Who is this man, and is the investigation into his death being manipulated by a thirst for revenge?

Meanwhile, the British War Office is searching for a missing man of their own, someone whose war work was so secret that even Rutledge isn't told his real name or what he did.

The search takes Rutledge to Berkshire, where cottages once built to house lepers stand in the shadow of a great white horse cut into the chalk hillside. The current inhabitants of the cottages are outcasts, too, hiding from their own pasts. Who among them is telling the truth about their neighbors and who is twisting it?

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Award winner Todd, the pseudonym for a mother-and-son writing team, is brilliant at creating atmosphere and unforgettable characters. Fans of historicals by Rennie Airth and Anne Perry will snap this up." - Library Journal.

"Another penetrating, emotionally lacerating antiwar fable from a master of the form." - Kirkus Reviews.

"Todd, the pseudonym for a mother-and-son writing team, excels in this 10th novel in the series. A Pale Horse drips with atmosphere of the era and the landscape, with a keen attention to realistic characters. In a superior series already distinguished for its superior plots, A Pale Horse is exceptional." - Florida Sun-Sentinel.

"This deft psychological period piece, A Pale Horse, may be the best yet by Charles Todd, a pseudonymous mother-son writing team. A." - Entertainment Weekly.

This information about A Pale Horse was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Charles Todd Author Biography

Caroline Todd died on August 28, 2021.

From the authors' website, 2018

Charles and Caroline Todd are a mother-and-son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. Caroline has a BA in English Literature and History, and a Masters in International Relations. Charles has a BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Business Management, and a culinary arts degree that means he can boil more than water. Caroline has been married (to the same man) for umpteen years, and Charles is divorced.

Charles and Caroline have a rich storytelling heritage. Both spent many evenings on the porch listening to their fathers and grandfathers reminisce. And a maternal grandmother told marvelous ghost stories. This tradition allows them to write with passion about events before ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Charles Todd's Website

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