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This week’s review: "Not a book review, but a review of RB Digital, an app for reading magazines"

The Black Ascot | Charles Todd | 2019, 342 pages | Mystery/Fiction

This mystery is set in England in 1921. Inspector Rutledge is a World War I veteran, and is a complex and intriguing character.

Inspector Rutledge is given some new information about a 10-year-old murder. Alan Barrington was a suspect in a murder involving the crash of a motor car after the Black Ascot. (The race was called the Black Ascot because everyone was in mourning following the death of King Edward VII). Barrington is thought to have tampered with the car’s brakes, trying to kill his rival, Fletcher-Munro, who had married Blanche. Barrington was one of Blanche’s admirers. But Barrington disappeared and the case was never brought to trial.

The case is 10 years old but Rutledge takes it on. He investigates the lives of the victims, their friends and families. There are so many questions. Did Blanche’s first husband Mark really kill himself because he was bankrupt? Or was he murdered? What was behind Blanche’s last words, and why weren’t they to her new husband? Where has Barrington hidden himself for the last 10 years, and who is keeping up his estate? Who really witnessed the deadly crash? Rutledge goes all over the countryside following clues and leads. There are many twists and turns. This mystery will keep you guessing until the very end!

Robbin Bailey