Watchers of Time: An Inspector Ian Rutledge 5 by Charles Todd

" I picked this book out of my constantly growing to-be-read stack without checking where it falls within the series. As soon as I began to read I had to go look it up because I discovered that Inspector Rutledge is recuperating from a gunshot wound. Not a very usual circumstance to find when reading period English mysteries. This is the fifth book in the series so now, of course, I must read the fourth, Legacy of the Dead (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries), to find out what happened in Scotland and how Rutledge got shot. In this story Chief Superintendent Bowles sends Rutledge off to a small town called Osterley in Norfolk to make an appearance from Scotland Yard to show their support of the local police. A Catholic priest has been killed and all Rutledge has to do is make an appearance, assure the townsfolk by his presence that their local man has everything well in hand, and then return to London. He's not to get himself involved in the case. So, of course, he immediately does become involved...."

저자의 의도인지 출판사의 의도인지는 모르지만 시리즈 4권의 불만스러운 결말이 시리즈 5권의 관심을 증가시킨 건 사실인 거 같다. 그리고 5권을 읽은 독자는 4권을 읽어야겠다는 생각을 하게 된다. 다른 작품들에 비해서 페이지가 더 길고 장면들이나 심리적 묘사가 더 많다. 전쟁의 후유증에 대한 이야기는 항상 중심을 이루고 역사 허구소설답게 당시의 역사적 사건을 잘 조합해서 쓰인 작품이다. 성직자의 죽음으로 시작되는 이야기 자체는 흥미롭다. 지역방언들이나 표현들에 익숙하지 못한 독자는 읽는데 어려울 수 있는 작품이다.