My second read in this beloved series kept me rapt and made me admire author Charles Todd even more. I love their Bess Crawford series and am new to the Ian Rutledge stories, but plan to go back and read them all. Recommended!

I’ve read all the books in this series and love Rutledge. He such a compelling protagonist and this book may be one of the best. I was surprised by the ending and love the way his relationship on the romantic front is progressing. Highly recommend the entire series.

I have been a Charles Todd fan for many years, having read every book Todd has published. Todd is a pen name for a mother and son writing pair. The partnership ended with the death of the mother, and it has seemed like a long time since the last Rutledge novel. I am so happy to see another Rutledge novel appear. While I enjoyed the short Christmas set novella, a long novel is a terrific treat. I enjoy the Bess Crawford series and the Ian Rutledge series. A Day of Judgment is book 24 in the Ian Rutledge series. Rutledge is more than a police procedural. Like so many soldiers to return home after the Great War, Rutledge suffers from PTSD, a response to trench warfare that was considered dishonorable in the early 20th century. His alter ego Hammish reveals what Rutledge is thinking. At the same time, I would like to have him buried.

The descriptions in A Day of Judgment are very much like the descriptions in all of the novels in this series. Readers follow Rutledge on many road trios in his 1914 Rolls Royce--I looked for the car online to see the photos and am quite impressed. Just as Rutledge learns about the area, so do readers. We learn about the food, since it is described by Todd, as well as abut the war years and the bitterness and anger directed against "the Huns," who took so many English. lives. All these descriptions help paint a picture of the area and the people who inhabit it. These descriptions are a strength of the novels. They help to define Rutledge and to help readers understand the kind of people who live in the Northumberland area. It is the same location where Vera, another terrific police inspector, lives.

The mystery in A Day of Judgment works well. This is not a mystery to be solved in a 3o minute tv show. Each of these books would be good as a short season. Rutledge has been promoted to Chief Inspector at the Yard, but is still willing to work outside, instead of inside the office. Just as his meals make Rutledge more real (how does he eat some of those things?), so do the many whiskies help to define Taylor's personality. This entire series is well researched. Readers can easily visualize the area of harbor and small towns. Any reader who enjoys police procedurals and mysteries with good plotting and characters will enjoy reading A Day of Judgment.

Thank you to Penzler Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. The above is my honest review. I do recommend A Day of Judgment. This is a wonderful novel and can stand alone, for readers who have not read all of the previous novels, as I have,

5 stars