A Day of Judgment

Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard travels to England’s windswept coastline to investigate a murder in a place where, several years after the end of WWI, the memory of the war still runs strong…

July 1921: England is suffering a heatwave and the coast of Northumberland, just across the border from Scotland, is filled with holiday-makers bird watching and enjoying the beaches. Pilgrims also come to visit the home of Saints Cuthbert and Aiden—the founders of Christianity in England—located on the “Holy Island” of Lindisfarne, accessible by a causeway at low tide.

When the murdered body of a local man washes ashore just south of Lindisfarne, the government and the Church of England are concerned about protecting both the reputation of the Church and the sacred sites that are a destination for hundreds of pilgrims at this time of year. With his ability to move in the highest social and political circles, Rutledge is sent by Scotland Yard to solve this crime and dispel any association with the Church.

Upon arrival, Rutledge finds himself pulled between two coastal fishing villages, scarred by home front battles and coastal bombardment from the German Navy, where animosity towards Germany still runs high even years after the war. This, combined with a constabulary in the process of being consolidated to form a countywide police force, with local militias still wielding a great deal of power, means Rutledge must tread with care.

Facing a puzzling case and a cast of locals that don’t take kindly to outsiders, the newly promoted Rutledge meets one of the most challenging cases of his career. To solve it, he’ll also have to confront his own demons left over from his time in the war.

Brilliant . . . Todd expertly balances a moving depiction of Rutledge’s torment with a masterful whodunit plot. The author is in fine form.”
—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

Sure to delight the enormous readership of this post–World War I mystery series.”
—Library Journal

A splendid addition to the series. . . . The writing is as crisp as it ever was, Rutledge continues to be an absolutely fascinating lead character, and the mystery itself is intricate and satisfying.”
—Booklist

You’re going to love Todd.”
—Stephen King

If there’s ever been a more complex and compelling hero in crime fiction than Inspector Rutledge, I can’t think of one.”
—Jeffery Deaver

Todd keeps readers off-balance throughout and poignantly explores his lead’s emotional struggles.”
—Publishers Weekly on A Christmas Witness

A Day of Judgment shows Todd’s most incisive plotting—his fine eye for the English landscape and in-depth look at characters, especially Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge, whose trauma in the trenches during WWI vividly persists. . . . A Day of Judgment moves at a brisk pace as Ian’s investigation takes him through Northumberland, which is both beautiful and bleak.”
—Sun Sentinel

There aren’t many crime novels more beloved or complex than Charles Todd’s Inspector Ian Rutledge series. . . . A Day of Judgment is taut and immensely satisfying, and I always enjoy spending time with such a complicated protagonist as Ian Rutledge.”
—BookReporter

Charles Todd is the New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries, the Bess Crawford mysteries, and two stand-alone novels. Originally a mother-and-son writing team, Caroline passed away in August 2021 and Charles lives in Florida.