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A Test of Wills

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A Test of Wills

By: Charles Todd
Narrated by: Samuel Giles
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About this listen

Ian Rutledge returns to his career at Scotland Yard after years fighting in the First World War. Unknown to his colleagues he is still suffering from shell shock, and is burdened with the guilt of having had executed a young soldier on the battlefield for refusing to fight. A jealous colleague has learned of his secret and has managed to have Rutledge assigned to a difficult case which could spell disaster for Rutledge whatever the outcome.

A retired officer has been murdered, and Rutledge, fighting the torment of his illness, goes to investigate. As he digs into the lives of the villagers, the witness who disturbs him most is a war-ravaged ex-soldier who chills Rutledge with the realization that he could become like this man.

©1996 Charles Todd (P)1999 W.F. Howes Historical Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Fiction Detective Solider
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I did enjoy this but I hope my review doesn’t sound like damnation by faint praise.

The story was twisty turny and while the ending may have been a bit of a cheat, there were some good characters and a meaty puzzle.

The reason it doesn’t get a higher rating (3 is my baseline for perfectly ok) is that the narrator just didn’t do it for me. I felt that a younger narrator would have better suited the age of the main character who would have been much more engaging with a livelier narrator.

Interesting set up let down by dull narration

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I wouldn't recommend this book as I got bored with it.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I like the period ,1st world war,characters weren't interesting to me

Would you listen to another book narrated by Samuel Giles?

Probably not but that might depend on the subject matter.

Was A Test of Wills worth the listening time?

No

Didn't get to the end of this one.

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This is the first time I have ever given up on an audible book but I found the narrator's voice so irritating that I gave up.

A Test of my patience

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Having listened to all the books over the years, I decided to revisit them and have not been disappointed. Love the twists that all the books have that keep you on your toes the whole time. Very entertaining

Brilliant start to the series

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Overall I enjoyed this listen, the plot romped along at a reasonable pace and I connected with the main characters.

The narration was reasonably good though the accents selected for the main character was inappropriate and sometimes this jarred but not enough to spoil the story.

The reason for the lower score is the ending. The last fifteen minutes seemed not to match the rest of the book, but I did enjoy the rest of the book and will try another.

Good character development

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