No Shred of Evidence (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries, 18) by Charles Todd

" This is a wonderful place for new readers to the Inspector Rutledge series to begin their journey with Ian and the not-so-often present Hamish. The Charles Todd writing team did a thorough job of allowing new readers to understand the background for Rutledge, his service in World War I, his ex-fiancé Jean Gordon, and the specter of Hamish McLeod which haunts Ian day and night. I was glad to see Hamish playing a smaller role in the story because that meant that Rutledge had a chance to proceed with this investigation without being so overwhelmed by what he had suffered through during the war. Yes, it is still there, but the depression isn't so all-consuming this time and as a reader I can hope for better mental health for this character in the days to come. Four young women were having an idle paddle on the river when they saw someone waving at them and trying to get their attention. One of the women wanted to ignore him because she thought he just wanted to flirt with them. When it became obvious he was in serious trouble the women tried to rescue him from the water. A witness on shore managed to swim to the boat, helped get the drowning man into the boat, but then accused all four women of trying to murder the man. When Rutledge arrives from London to investigate for Scotland Yard he finds that one of the women is Kate Gordon, the cousin of Jean Gordon the woman he was engaged to marry in1914. Rutledge had vowed never to return to Cornwall because of all the tragedy he associates with it. Now he's about to have to relive the past as well as deal with this case....."

시리즈의 이전 작품들처럼 난이도가 좀 있지만 재밌는 작품이었다. 미스터리한 여성, 복수, 양심, 보트, 맨허트, 미신, 증언, 고백, 희생, 폭력, 전쟁의 본질 등이 중요한 의미를 갖는 단어들이다. 전보에 의존해야 하는 상황이기에 전보내용을 다른 사람들에게 돈을 받고 파는 행위, 신원을 확인하기 힘든 시기이기에 신원을 확인하는데 시간이나 노력이 상당이 든다는 점등이 스마트폰시대에 살고 있는 독자들에게는 황당한 상황들이지만 '느림'의 미학을 생각하고 읽으면 읽을만하다.