Charles Todd--A FATAL LIE

DEBORAH CROMBIE: You all know how thrilled I am whenever there is a new Charles Todd book! I have been reading both the Inspector Ian Rutledge series and the Bess Crawford series from the very first book and I eagerly await each new installment. How this mother and son (and my good friends!) writing team manages to be so prolific, I don't know!

Caroline Todd is here today to tell us about the newest Rutledge, A FATAL LIE. I loved this book! First, the setting is fabulous. The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales is not only one of the wonders of English Victorian engineering--it is also old home territory for me as I lived not too far from it in Chester. I know Shropshire, too, where other parts of the story take place, and have often visited my friends in Ludlow. And there are narrowboats in this book!

I think the Todds were very brave to have taken a narrowboat across the aqueduct, however. I'm not sure I'd have had the nerve. And no way would I walk across it!

Here's Caroline!

CAROLINE: One of the great things about writing is when you find “inspiration,” an idea that grows and blooms and finally takes shape as a book.  You just never know where that inspiration will come from. A photograph—that was THE BLACK ASCOT—a place—A DIVIDED LOYALTY—something we’d read that triggered NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE—it could be anything.  And suddenly your imagination is alive and taking that idea seriously.

           For A FATAL LIE, that inspiration was the Telford Aqueduct in northern Wales, where we took a narrowboat across the valley of the River Dee and looked down at the water far below. If you fell from the horse walk beside us, you’d be killed. We were asked when we got to the other side of the valley and stepped out of the narrowboat whether we’d like to walk back across. Neither of us volunteered!

            But then the question was, who fell? Or was he pushed….

           And over dinner we began to find answers.

           From that beginning, we found ourselves with the story of a good and decent man, whose body was found floating in the river, several days after he’d fallen. As Rutledge searched for the victim’s identity, everyone he interviewed seemed to have a secret they were willing to keep at any price, protected by a tangle of lies and half-truths. And Rutledge had to untangle all the lies, before he could discover which among them was the fatal lie, the one that had sent Sam to his death.

           The more we explored the lives of the people who knew Sam best, the more intrigued we were.  I think that’s the bedrock of a good mystery, that feeling of what’s going to come of this story? You’ve set yourself a puzzle—who killed this man?—and why? And then you begin to realize that the characters have taken on a life of their own and are leading you into paths you never anticipated.

           One of our favorite people was the elderly lawyer who sat like a spider in the center of a web, knowing more than he told, lying when it suited him, confusing the inquiry where he could, and trying to lead Rutledge down rabbit holes of deceit. He wasn’t easy to write, but the challenge of getting him right was well worth the effort because he gave so much to the story.

           And we got to see a side of Rutledge that was interesting too.

           One of the most fascinating aspects of England in the early years of the Twentieth Century, was how insular places were. Most people never traveled more than twenty miles from home. And crime was generally local too. What happened in a Shropshire village wasn’t reported to a Cheshire or Welsh village. A man might kill in Wales, move on and commit another crime in Shrewsbury—and chances were, no one connected the two. This makes life particularly difficult for even the best policemen trying to get to the bottom of a crime. Watching how Rutledge put together facts and leads, untangled the lies, and finally brought a killer to justice made us eager to see what the next day brought to the book.

           Why are we so intrigued with Rutledge—and Bess? Because they take us into a different world that we’re exploring with each mystery we write. We had always read mysteries because they were such terrific puzzles. And now we enjoy creating our own…

A peaceful Welsh village is thrown into turmoil when a terrified boy stumbles on a body in a nearby river. The man appears to have fallen from the canal aqueduct spanning the valley. But there is no identification on the body, he isn’t a local, and no one will admit to having seen him before. With little to go on, the village police turn to Scotland Yard for help.

In one of his most puzzling cases, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge must delve deep into a dead man’s life and his past to find a killer determined to keep dark secrets buried.

DEBS: Caroline, I have to ask, did you learn to pronounce Pontcysyllte?? Spelling it is hard enough!

READERS, tell us if you'd walk across that bridge!

Charles Todd--The Gatekeeper

DEBORAH CROMBIE: It's that time of year--as in time for a new Rutledge novel from CHARLES TODD!! I have been a huge fan since A TEST OF WILLS, the first book in the series featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, a WWI veteran suffering from shell shock, came out to critical acclaim in 1996. Since then I've been fortunate to get to know both Charles and Caroline, the mother/son team who write as "Charles Todd."

Isn't this a fab cover? Caroline and I got to chat about THE GATEKEEPER here in Dallas a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time and I could just kick myself for not getting a photo! But here is Caroline to share some of the things we talked about with you!

--Did you ever imagine, when you and Charles came up with the idea for A Test of Wills, that you would be writing 20 books (so far) about Ian Rutledge and Hamish? That's just an amazing achievement.

We didn’t even think the first book was going to sell—when it did, we were given only a one book contract!  But St. Martin’s realized that very quickly and renewed it for two more as soon as TEST got so much attention.   We’re just very glad Rutledge had a chance to do more with his career at the Yard, and we could follow it with him.

--And yet time has moved very slowly in the series. Did you make that decision early on?

We felt that the PTSD, the shell shock, was something we wanted to explore, and the only way to do that was to shorten the time period. We didn’t want to let a year pass and readers learn of what has happened in his secret life as a side bar in the mystery.  Shell shock defines Rutledge, and it’s how he deals with the shame of it and with the voice in his head—Hamish—that makes him what he is.   And so we’ve killed off a lot of English victims to achieve this, but I think it has been worth it.

--This case is different from any Rutledge has ever investigated in the series. Can you tell us why?

Because of the state of the English roads in this time frame, Rutledge always arrives on the scene a day—two days—after the murder, when the trail is cold and the local people have trampled all over the evidence that might have been there.  We thought it would be fascinating to see what would happen if he got there just as the crime was committed.  Not in time to see who did it, of course,  but while the blood, so to speak, is still fresh and he can begin straightaway to look for clues.  And we liked what that did to the local man who had his own reasons not wanting Rutledge there.

--A rare book about apples figures in the case. Is it based on a real book? Is there a photo?

How I wish there was a photo.  Years ago someone showed me a book that was fascinating. Plates of hand drawn and painted apples that no longer are grown but were popular in medieval times.  Just absolutely lovely workmanship. It obviously impressed me, because I can still remember the various plates.  Charles had to take my word for them, but he liked the idea.  This is what’s neat about working together.  We have two imaginations to draw on.

 --When you were here in Dallas a couple of weeks ago, you talked about this book exploring the dynamics of three different families--can you tell us more?

We were interested in how families work.  There are several in the book, each with a different take on what’s important.  For example, one woman has more or less forced her daughter into accepting an engagement with an abusive man, because he’s such a good catch. Her concerns are more social than motherly.

--What's next for Rutledge? 

We’re over halfway though the next book, and it’s a cold case that Rutledge—for his sins—is assigned to look into. One that’s been revived and looked at before, with no more luck that when the murder happened.  But Rutledge has one advantage.  A bit of gossip, shall we say, that makes him look deeper into the case than his superiors anticipated.  It’s a chase story in a way.   As he begins to search, building one piece of evidence at a time, he’s not sure where this is taking him. And at this stage, neither do we!  So we try to keep writing in between promoting THE GATE KEEPER.

 DEBS: Here's more about THE GATEKEEPER:

 On a deserted road, late at night, Scotland Yard’s Ian Rutledge encounters a frightened woman standing over a body, launching an inquiry that leads him into the lair of a stealthy killer and the dangerous recesses of his own memories in this twentieth installment of the acclaimed New York Times bestselling series.

Hours after his sister’s wedding, a restless Ian Rutledge drives aimlessly, haunted by the past, and narrowly misses a motorcar stopped in the middle of a desolate road. Standing beside the vehicle is a woman with blood on her hands and a dead man at her feet.

She swears she didn’t kill Stephen Wentworth. A stranger stepped out in front of their motorcar, and without warning, fired a single shot before vanishing into the night. But there is no trace of him. And the shaken woman insists it all happened so quickly, she never saw the man’s face.

Although he is a witness after the fact, Rutledge persuades the Yard to give him the inquiry, since he’s on the scene. But is he seeking justice—or fleeing painful memories in London?

Wentworth was well-liked, yet his bitter family paint a malevolent portrait, calling him a murderer. 
But who did Wentworth kill? Is his death retribution? Or has his companion lied? Wolf Pit, his village, has a notorious history: in Medieval times, the last wolf in England was killed there. When a second suspicious death occurs, the evidence suggests that a dangerous predator is on the loose, and that death is closer than Rutledge knows.

And more about CHARLES TODD:

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 and Charles will be stopping in to chat with us on JRW today, so get your questions ready! 

Charles Todd--No Shred of Evidence

DEBORAH CROMBIE: As I said at the beginning of the week, my one consolation for coming home from Left Coast Crime in Phoenix with the flu was my copy of Charles Todd's new Ian Rutledge novel, No Shred of Evidence, clutched in my hot (literally) little hand.

I am such a fan. I have been since the first Rutledge novel, A Test of Wills (talk about a binge read!), and long before I was privileged to know Charles and Caroline, the mother/son writing team who are "Charles Todd."

Caroline, unfortunately, was one of the many other people who went home from Phoenix with the flu, and she is still really under the weather. So we're going to do something a little different today. I'm going to talk about the book, and then Caroline is going to chat with us in the comments. AND she is going to give a copy of NO SHRED OF EVIDENCE to one of our commenters!

First, here's the synopsis:

In this absorbing new entry in the acclaimed New York Times bestselling series, Scotland Yard’s Ian Rutledge is caught up in a twisted web of vengeance and murder.

On the north coast of Cornwall, an apparent act of mercy is repaid by an arrest for murder. Four young women have been accused of the crime. A shocked father calls in a favor at the Home Office. Scotland Yard is asked to review the case.

However, Inspector Ian Rutledge is not the first Inspector to reach the village. Following in the shoes of a dead man, he is told the case is all but closed. Even as it takes an unexpected personal turn, Rutledge will require all his skill to deal with the incensed families of the accused, the grieving parents of the victim, and local police eager to see these four women sent to the infamous Bodmin Gaol. Then why hasn’t the killing stopped?

With no shred of evidence to clear the accused, Rutledge must plunge deep into the darkest secrets of a wild, beautiful and dangerous place if he is to find a killer who may—or may not—hold the key to their fate.

Oh, there's so much this doesn't say! I'm going to have to try really, really hard not to give spoilers.

This is the 18th Rutledge novel. Can you believe it? If it seems like hardly any time has passed since the beginning of the series, it is in large part because the novels are so gripping. But it is also because little time has passed for Ian Rutledge. Remember we were talking about fluid time with Glen Erik Hamilton the other day, and of how writers must make a decision about how to handle time in a series? A Test of Wills takes place in June of 1919, when Rutledge, suffering from PTSD, takes up the job he held before the war as a detective with Scotland Yard. No Shred of Evidence has moved forward to the autumn of 1920. Less than a year and a half has elapsed. (For a recent reference, the last episodes of Downton Abbey take place in 1924.) So that is my first question for Caroline and Charles: did you decide, at the beginning of the series, that time would move very slowly? It gives the series a great immediacy, almost as if we were living Rutledge's life along with him.

The book takes place in northern Cornwall, and oh, golly, do I wish a map was included in the book! I was too engrossed in the story (the binge read) to stop and look up the geography, but I did afterwards. The sense of place is so strong I find myself thinking about the village as if I'd been there. Why Cornwall, Caroline and Charles? And why this particular part of Cornwall? 

And I realize there's probably no easy answer to this, but how do you manage to imagine the setting so realistically as it was then? (Other than time travel, of course...)

The village (is it a real place?) is just there, near Rock and Padstow.

I can't say too much about the plot, but I will tell you that there is a fun twisty-turny time thing. The previous book, A Fine Summer's Day (which I adored) takes us back to 1914, the summer before the beginning of the war. We see Ian Rutledge as he was before the horrors of the trenches damaged him so badly, and there is an almost unbearable suspense in the fact that we know what is coming. We also meet Rutledge's fiance, Jean, and her cousin, a young woman named Kate Gordon. Kate is a strong and engaging character and I hoped to see her again. She is indeed back in No Shred of Evidence, one of the four young women accused of murder. There's an obvious affinity between Ian Rutledge and Kate.  
Are we allowed to hope that Rutledge might be allowed to find some personal happiness, Caroline and Charles? Alas, I fear that life can't run too smoothly for our fictional heroes and heroines, but I can't wait to see what happens next. Any hints?

I have to tell a little story on Caroline. When she told me she'd arrived home from Phoenix with a horrible case of the flu, she said, "It's given me a whole new perspective on the Spanish flu..." I think that's taking research a bit too far, Caroline! Armchair only, next time, please!

Readers, please stop and chat with Caroline and Charles in the comments. And join us at JRW in wishing Caroline a huge GET WELL SOON!

Charles Todd--An Unwilling Accomplice

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Most of you know I am a huge fan of Charles Todd (mother-and-son writing team Caroline and Charles) and not much makes me happier than a new book in their Bess Crawford series. While their series featuring Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge has moved into the 1920s, WWI nurse Bess Crawford is still in the thick of the conflict in 1918. But in the just-released Bess novel, AN UNWILLING ACCOMPLICE, Bess has a break from the battlefields. That certainly doesn't mean, however, that Bess stays out of trouble!

 

World War I Battlefield nurse Bess Crawford’s career is in jeopardy when a murder is committed on her watch, in this absorbing and atmospheric historical mystery from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd.

Home on leave, Bess Crawford is asked to accompany a wounded soldier confined to a wheelchair to Buckingham Palace, where he’s to be decorated by the King. The next morning when Bess goes to collect Wilkins, he has vanished. Both the Army and the nursing service hold Bess negligent for losing the war hero, and there will be an inquiry.

Then comes disturbing word from the Shropshire police, complicating the already difficult situation: Wilkins has been spotted, and he’s killed a man. If Bess is to save her own reputation, she must find Wilkins and uncover the truth. But the elusive soldier has disappeared again and even the Shropshire police have lost him. Suddenly, the moral implications of what has happened—that a patient in her charge has committed murder—become more important to Bess than her own future. She’s going to solve this mysterious puzzle, but righting an injustice and saving her honor may just cost Bess her life.

Like all the Bess books, AN UNWILLING ACCOMPLICE is chock full of fascinating historical details and a wonderful sense of place--not to mention a plot that kept me reading straight through until I finished it. And as a bonus, I got to quiz Caroline and Charles about the book!

DEBS:  Caroline and Charles, are your books most often inspired by particular places?

CAROLINE:  Absolutely!  For each book we look for just the right setting, and then spend some time there.  Take your own book, THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS.  I can’t think of any other part of London that would have suited Andy’s story as well.  So not only the look and feel of a place matter. You must ask what happened there in the past, because it will affect the lives of the characters in one way or another.  The setting also determines the action, because it’s the limit in time and space for what is going to happen.   Driving off a cliff may sound like a dramatic finale for a mystery—but you have to make sure to start with that you’re in a countryside that has cliffs.      

CHARLES:  Sometimes we drive to a village we think is going to be ideal.  Bur when we get there, we discover it has no "character" after all, nothing that would make a mystery interesting.   So we have to move on. One of the reasons Rutledge works in the countryside so often is that English villages have so much to offer in the way of opportunity and variety.  And the same is true of Bess.  Of course occasionally we change the name of the village, if we think it would be best for the people still living there.  This is particularly true in next year's Bess, which we're working on right now. But if you know England, you can usually figure it out from the geography.

DEBS: I was so fascinated by your depiction of Ironbridge (both the town and the bridge) that I had

to look it up. Did you visit it?

C&C:  We really enjoyed our time there.  It’s in Shropshire, not far from Shrewsbury.   That iron bridge is very dramatic.  Just right for the first murder.   And there’s a lovely little town that climbs the hill that rises on this side of the bridge.  We discovered a bookshop there, and found books on Shropshire and the Great War. (The story of our lives—we’re always hunting for a way to get books back home! ) Believe it or not, that bridge was opened in 1781, the first arched bridge ever built of cast iron.  It’s on the UNESCO Heritage list.  We tend to take bridges for granted, but this one spans the River Severn where it passes through a narrow gorge, and it must have been a godsend locally!  Imagine having to travel for miles to find a place where you could ford or take a ferry.  We liked it so much that Morrow put it on the jacket.

DEBS: Bess finds herself in a very difficult position in this book, appearing to have been remiss in her duty at best, and at worst possibly helping a soldier desert. Was there any particular incident that inspired this story line?

C&C:  We'd seen an audience with the Queen where she gives out honors and medals, and we were intrigued with the idea of taking Bess to one.  It was when we were deciding what sort of person the wounded man would be, the one she was accompanying in order to manage his wheelchair, that the rest of the story fell into place.  And we were in Wales on that same trip to Ironbridge when we happened to see something on TV that triggered a very intriguing possibility.   Can’t tell you more about that—some people haven’t read the book yet.  Oddly enough, though, most of that information is still classified, and we can’t help but wonder why…  

 

DEBS: Bess gets to spend almost the entire book with handsome and intriguing Simon Brandon, which was a real treat. They have such an interesting relationship, and we learn more about Simon in this book. And of course readers want to know if they will ever be more than friends. Do you know, or do you let the relationship chart its own course from book to book?

CAROLINE:  Everyone loves Simon, I think!   We just wrote an e-short story,  "The Maharani's Pearls," where we learn a little more about the early relationship between Bess and Simon while the regiment was still in India and she was a young girl.  What’s in their future?  We have no idea, they haven’t told us yet.  Whatever their ultimate relationship, though, there’s definitely a strong bond between them, and that has intriguing possibilities.  Meanwhile, there’s still a war on, and nobody is thinking about the future just yet.  Stay tuned.

DEBS: Are the Dysoes (a unique setting in the book) real, and if not, what inspired them?

C&C:  The Dysoes are quite real.   And such a strange formation of high rounded hills with a single road snaking through them.   Not what you’d ever expect to find in Warwickshire.  A perfect place to set a story.  Just driving through that area was claustrophobic.  And think how cut off those villages must have been for centuries.  Bess and Simon were the strangers there, and not very welcomed.

DEBS: Bess and Simon seem to drive all over England in this book! How do you figure out how long it would have taken them to get from one place to another in 1918?  I would love to have a map!  I think your (our) publisher should commission Laura Hartman Maestro to draw maps for the Bess books. And the Rutledge books!

 

CAROLINE:  We love your maps!  And we have a map for A FINE SUMMER’S DAY, the next Rutledge!  Morrow found a wonderful cartographer who put his travels on the map.  Literally.   Bess actually has only four sites in this book--for the mystery part of the story.  There's London, of course.  Then Shropshire (Shrewsbury --think  Brother Cadfael!—and Ironbridge).  And then traveling to Warwickshire and the Dysoes, which aren’t all that far away from Stratford.   Bess also goes to Bakewell, just a skip and a jump from Chatsworth.   We tried to keep it interesting but manageable.

CHARLES:  It’s often frustrating, figuring out mileage for Rutledge and Bess.  Some of the roads they would have used don't exist any longer, so you sort of have to imagine how they would get from A to B and how long it would take.  We don't know if we are always precisely right, but we’re close enough to feel good about it.   The roads were hopeless.  But the motorcars of the day were marvels. A friend owns Rutledge's motorcar.  We've driven in it many times. Just recently it went from Pennsylvania to New Orleans without a hitch. We think it has even climbed Pike's Peak.   A hundred years old and still one of the most beautiful motorcars you can imagine. A burgundy red with a dark cream top, everything on it spit and polish, and an elegant Flying Lady (The Spirit of Ecstasy) for the bonnet ornament.

DEBS: You got a head start on the Great War, long before current writers decided to go back to that period.  The first Rutledge, A TEST OF WILLS, was published in 1996. Now we’ve come to the centennial of 1914-1918. What are you doing to mark this occasion?  (The photo is the stunning exhibit filling the dry moat of the Tower of London to mark the centennial. The installation of 888,246 ceramic poppies by ceramic artist Paul Cummins is called "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red." Each poppy represents a British military fatality from the war.)

C&C:  We’ve just turned in A FINE SUMMER’S DAY, and we think it’s rather special.  January always means a Rutledge mystery, but this year we go back to June of 1914, when Rutledge had a brilliant career going at the Yard and is falling in love.  He has one last inquiry he must close before he can think about enlisting in the British Army.  What happens in those months between June and late September made him not only the detective he is, but the man he’s to become.  Not a prequel so much as a chance for readers to look deeper in Rutledge’s past, before the Battle of the Somme in 1916 changed him forever.  

CAROLINE:  On a personal note, it was a very emotional book to write, and we had just turned it in, still fresh in our minds, when I went to see WAR HORSE in London, with a friend.  I can’t describe the impact it had on me. It was as if I’d suddenly stepped into war with Rutledge. 

C&C:   Before we move on, we’ve just got to say something about your newest Kincaid and Gemma, TO DWELL IN DARKNESS.   Having the same publisher, we managed to get our hands on an early copy, and it blew us away.   It all takes place in four days, and the plotting is so clever we were unable to put it down.  There was only one problem with it:  we read the whole thing in one weekend, and now we have to wait a year before we find out what happens next!  Get to work! 

DEBS:  Thank you, Caroline and Charles! Caroline and Charles are great motivators (they write TWO fabulous books a year!) and cheerleaders! We're very fortunate that, because we have the same publisher, we often get to do events together, so I'm including a couple of my favorite photos. In the first we are

signing together somewhere in the wilds of central Florida (I think.) In the second, we had an event together in Charleston, SC. We got to eat oysters (Charles and I share the passion) and do a little sightseeing. This is Caroline shooting me shooting

Caroline!

I'm very excited about the map in the new Rutledge, A FINE SUMMER'S DAY, in January (and what a great title!) and I wondered, REDS and readers, if everyone else loved maps in books as much as Caroline and Charles and I do? 

Charles and Caroline will be dropping in to chat today, so do tell us in the comments! 

P.S. I want to see a photo of Rutledge's motorcar!

P.S.S. Isn't that a terrific cover???

Breaking News--Scotland Yard Detective Solves Mysterious Deaths at Downton

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I've just finished reading Charles Todd's latest Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery, HUNTING SHADOWS. It hits the bookshelves on Jan. 27 but I was lucky enough to get an early copy. And I loved it! So I called Caroline and Charles to tell them that, and to ask them to join us here on JRW to talk about the book. Then we wandered into a discussion about the new season of Downton Abbey, and before we knew it, we were off and running as authors sometimes do when they get together. 

HUNTING SHADOWS opens with Rutledge driving through a heavy mist. He's on his way to Ely to look into two murders. Each of the victims was killed by a single rifle shot, and in the chaos the shooter gets away unseen—except for a lone witness who swears the shooter was a monster. Scotland Yard has been sent for since one victim is an Army officer and the other was standing for Parliament. On his way to Ely, in the Cambridgeshire Fen country, blinded by the mist, Rutledge nearly plunges into one of the many drainage ditches that over the centuries have turned this watery land into fertile farm country. That sent us off on a tangent, remembering Matthew dying in that awful car crash in the last season of Downton Abbey as he was on his way to tell the Earl that Lady Mary was fine and the Grantham succession had been secured by the birth of little George. 

CAROLINE: And then I mentioned to Deborah that Julian Fellowes had skipped the next six months, during which there must have been an investigation into Matthew's death, his rate

of speed, the condition of his motorcar, and of the other driver. An inquest would have been held before Matthew's death would have been declared an accident.

CHARLES: But I'd never seen a constable walking the village streets. Yes, some burly policemen came to take Bates away on a charge of murder, but they were from York. Who then investigated the accident? Since it was the Earl's heir, I can't believe that the inquiry would have been left to the local constable. Had the Chief Constable sent someone from York? Or even Scotland Yard? 

DEBS: And at this point in the conversation, I asked, what if Rutledge had made a wrong turn in the mist and found himself in Yorkshire instead? And because he was the man on the spot, London put him in charge of the investigation? What would he have thought about the Abbey as he came up the drive to the front of the house?

CAROLINE: Rutledge has always been interested in architecture. And the Abbey--actually Highclere Castle--is a very handsome place. I think he'd have been intrigued because it's actually a smaller house that was expanded by a false façade. He'd have wanted to know

more. 

CHARLES: It had to be Rutledge of course--Duncan Kincaid wasn't around in this timeframe.
  
DEBS: There would have been black mourning crepe on the door as he pulled up in front of the house.

CAROLINE: And of course Carson would have answered the door. And probably looked down his nose at Rutledge, who wasn't an Earl or Duke or even a minor Lord. But he'd have been gracious and taken Rutledge to that fabulous library where the Earl usually attends to his affairs.

DEBS: Who would have fallen under suspicion? The Earl himself, of course, because if Matthew died, it was likely he'd have management of the estate again. 

CHARLES: I don't want it to be the Earl. He's the strength of that family, the one who holds it all together, even if Julian Fellowes did let him lose most of his money in unsound investments. 

CAROLINE AND DEBS: No, we have to agree there. He's one of our favorite characters. But we will let him be under suspicion for a little while, as long as he's cleared.

DEBS: Of course Lady Mary would be under suspicion. After all, she left Matthew in Scotland to come back to Yorkshire to have her son. Perhaps she was tiring of him and his meddling in the estate. She's always been the one closest to her father. 

CAROLINE: It was a tradesman's van that ran him off the road. Could it have been the butcher in Thirsk who had longed to marry Mrs. Patmore for her cooking? He would have had just such a van.

DEBS: Rutledge will definitely have to question him. And he'll have to ask Mrs. Patmore if she thinks the butcher was capable of such a thing as a way to get back at her for dashing his hopes.

CHARLES: There's Branson, we can't forget he's the estate manager now and might prefer to work with the Earl rather than Matthew. Or maybe he's a little jealous of Matthew as the favorite son in law.

DEBS: I can't think of any reason why Cora or Lady Edith or God forbid, the Dowager, had any reason to want him dead. That leaves us with the rest of the staff.

CHARLES: Certainly not Carson, who is so fond of Lady Mary. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Nor Mrs. Hughes, who is a good Scot, sharp, but with a kind heart.

DEBS: It's too bad O'Brien was in Scotland. It could have been her--meddling again.

CAROLINE: I'd certainly like HER for a villain. Which reminds me. What about Thomas?

DEBS: Hmmm. He's always plotting, isn't he? Wait--I just saw Rutledge going into the housekeeper's parlor with Mrs. Hughes. He can't suspect her! Can he?

CAROLINE: Hurry, we can listen through the grating on the wall just outside her room. Shhh. There's a clink of china. She must have offered him tea! If it were anyone else, I'd think Poison.

"Well, now, Inspector. You've spoken to every soul in this house. Have you got even a clue as to who murdered poor Mr. Matthew? Whoever he is, he's a black-hearted villain to leave Lady Mary and the bairn without a husband or father."

"It's been a hard case to crack," Rutledge agreed. "And the reason I've come to you is that I've heard several people mention a fellow up from London. Is that a reference to Mr. Carlyle, the newspaper magnate? Was he still jealous of Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley?"

"Oh, bless you, no, Mr. Rutledge. We've seen neither hide nor hair of Mr. Carlyle for some time. No. A fellow up from London... Oh, I see where you went wrong. It's that fellow Fellowes. My goodness, I should have thought of him from the start. He's Baron Fellowes, now."

"A friend of the family?"

"You might say that. I'd call him a great meddler. He was here, staying at the Abbey when Mr. Matthew was killed. He CLAIMED he was out walking the hills, thinking. But I wouldn't have put it past him to waylay Mr. Matthew. He always had a fondness for Lady Mary, in spite of putting that Turkish gentleman in her way. Jealousy, that's what it was! And I just thought--he was here as well when Lady Sibyl, the youngest daughter of the house, died in childbirth. It was his idea to let that fancy doctor from London tell everyone that nothing could be done to save the poor lass. And she died. If our doctor had had his way, she'd be alive still, and that pretty little thing upstairs wouldn't be motherless."

Standing there by the grill we heard a chair scrape across the floor, and we scampered away before we were caught. But we heard Inspector Rutledge say, "Thank you, Mrs. Hughes, you've been a great help. I'm on my way to London now to apprehend that man. For murdering Mr. Matthew and letting Lady Sibyl die. Baron or not, he will hang for what he's done!"

"I can't think of a better fate for him," Mrs. Hughes said firmly as the door to her parlor opened and Rutledge came out.

DEBS: Thank you, Caroline and Charles, and Inspector Rutledge. I'm sure we all feel better knowing that the man responsible for the tragic deaths of Matthew and Lady Sybil will be brought to justice. 

And what about you, REDS and READERS? Do you think the mysterious Mr. Fellowes should be allowed a "Get Out of Jail Free" card?

We hope everyone is enjoying their Yorkshire puddings and looking forward to British telly, and we want to send out a special HURRAH to Dame Maggie Smith, who just won a SAG Best Actress in a Drama Award for her portrayal of the Dowager Duchess!!!

Proper English Yorkshire Pudding

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  In anticipation of tomorrow night's episode of Downton Abbey, as well as Episode 1 of Sherlock, Series 3 (in the US) we have a real treat for tomorrow's JRW--Charles Todd's Inspector Ian Rutledge is going to visit Downton Abbey and solve a very mysterious crime!

To whet our appetites even more, I thought we could plan our Sunday around a roast with very proper Yorkshire Puddings.  Afterwards, you can have your mince tarts, and then curl up with your sherry for an evening of British telly.

Would you believe I had never made Yorkshire pudding until this last year, when my friend convinced me to try the recipe in Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution cookbook (which I had convinced her to buy. So what goes around, comes around.) Yorkshire pudding had always sounded daunting to me, and to be honest, the puddings I'd had in English restaurants had been a bit soggy and tough.

Oh, the revelation!  The delight! Jamie's puddings are light and fluffy and practically melt in your mouth.  And they are easy peasy!  I also discovered that as good as they are with savories like roast beef or lamb, they are perhaps even better for breakfast the next day, reheated and served with a dab of jam.  Good English jam, of course.

Here is Jamie's recipe.  It serves 12, but believe me, if you have leftovers, you'll be hoarding them for breakfast.

3 eggs, preferably free-range or organic
1 cup all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
scant 1 1/4  cups milk
vegetable oil (I use canola.)

Whisk the eggs, flour, salt, and milk together really well in a bowl to make your batter. Pour the batter into a jug and let it rest to one side for 30 minutes before you use it--this helps to make it smoother, giving you wonderfully light and crispy puddings.

Turn the oven up to 475 F and let it preheat fully. As it's warming up, put a muffin pan on a cookie sheet and place on the top shelf of the oven. When the oven is up to temperature, carefully remove the pan and sheet, close the oven door, and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to each muffin hole in the muffin pan. Pop the pan and sheet back into the oven for 5 minutes until the oil is smoking hot.

Open the oven door and slide the rack with the pan and sheet on it halfway out. Quickly fill each muffin hole with batter, then slide the rack carefully back into the oven. Leave the oven door shut for at least 15 minutes, and don't open it to check on how the Yorkshires are doing, otherwise they'll end up all sunken.

After 15 minutes, the Yorkshires will be crisp and golden with a soft, fluffy center. If you prefer them to be crispy all the way through, turn the oven down to 300 F and cook 10 more minutes. 

Remove the pan from the oven once the puddings are crisp, golden, and puffed up. Serve as soon as possible with your roast beef and gravy--or anything else you fancy...

I cooked them the way Jamie recommends, still fluffy in the center, and highly recommend it!

So, REDS and READERS, have you ever made Yorkshire puddings?   Did they turn out as well as Jamie's?

And what will you be doing to get you in the mood for a great night of British telly?