A Pale Horse, Charles Todd
A Pale Horse, Charles Todd
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A Pale Horse

Author: Charles Todd

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Unabridged: 11 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/15/2009

Synopsis

Late on a spring night in 1920, five boys cross the Yorkshire dales to the ruins of Fountains Abbey, intent on raising the devil. Instead, they stumble over the devil himself, sitting there watching them. Terrified, they run for their lives, leaving behind a book on alchemy stolen from their schoolmaster. The next morning, a body is discovered in the cloisters of the abbey—a man swathed in a hooded cloak and wearing a gas mask.Scotland Yard dispatches Inspector Rutledge to find out who the man was and why he died in such mysterious circumstances. But the villagers clearly have something to hide. And what does the huge chalk sculpture of a pale horse of the Apocalypse have to do with the crime?

About Charles Todd

Charles Todd is a pen name used by the American authors Caroline (1934-2021) and Charles Todd, a mother-and-son writing team who write the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries and the Bess Crawford mysteries, as well as stand-alone novels. Their novel Proof of Guilt was a New York Times bestseller, and A Test of Wills was named one of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association’s 100 favorite mysteries of the 20th Century and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year selection. Their novels have won the Agatha Award, the Barry Award, and the Anthony Award, as well as being finalists for several other awards. Charles is continuing the series.

About Simon Prebble

Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices, he has received thirty-seven Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Beth on August 27, 2013

Not a review so much as a commentary, a quiet rant, some observations, a few complaints, and perhaps (to paraphrase Socrates) to "gently blame" the Todds for all of the following: Let me say first and again (and I blame the Todds for this, too) I LOVE this series! But I have observed and must say... -......more

Goodreads review by Heidi on February 17, 2025

Another excellent entry in this long-lived, very well-written mystery series. Great setting and a selection of characters that all become, at one time or another, suspects in the potential disappearance of a neighbor who is nothing like they thought. This neighborhood is just piled high with secrets......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on January 12, 2021

4.5* Another solid instalment in this great series by the mother-and-son duo who write as Charles Todd. It is April 1920 and Detective Inspector Ian Rutledge continues to suffer the vestiges of "shell-shock" (now known as PTSD) from his time on the front line in Northern France during the Great War (......more

Goodreads review by Carl on May 24, 2013

A classic, traditional Golden Age suspense novel from a veteran pair of savvy crime writers. The mother/son writing team persist in producing historical crime novels of excellence, taste and balance. That the stories are thoughtfully constructed with many seemingly disparate parts coming together in......more

Goodreads review by Andree on September 10, 2019

This one was solid, but not a favourite. I thought it dragged a bit in the second half, and the resolution of the murder (well, both cases actually), came around rather quickly. I did like the setting, with the remote hamlet in view of a pale horse on the hillside. I do think the two cases meant tha......more

Quotes

“The exemplary tenth Inspector Ian Rutledge historical whodunit (after A False Mirror) offers tight plotting and rich characterization amid understated but convincing evocations of post-WWI England.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Simon Prebble, the voice of Charles Todd's mysteries, creates another winner with this moody tale of soured love in the Yorkshire dales…Prebble reads atmospherically without over dramatizing the action, and the wide range of characters is well drawn.” AudioFile

“The tragic sweep of Charles Todd's historical mysteries grows more expansive with each successive novel in his stunning series.” New York Times Book Review

“Evocatively and suspensefully written…This is a terrific mystery, carefully spun, which leads us into the dark realms of the postwar era and reveals even darker plots.” Providence Journal

“A Pale Horse is, like its protagonist, a melancholy triumph.” Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Todd's rendering of characters—especially those of the country folk inhabiting rural Yorkshire—is absolutely superb.” Cleveland Plain Dealer

“This mother–son writing team delivers another spine-tingling mystery…Great characters and a fast-paced plot make this novel a page-turner.” RT Book Reviews (4 stars)

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