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The Gate Keeper, by the mother/son team known as Charles Todd, is
a mystery with a huge ending twist. Fans of this series will
see Scotland Yard Detective Ian Rutledge having to solve a
case from a different point of view. He is not only the investigator
but is the first person on the scene so he has become a witness
as well.
Because this is a different type of mystery, The Todds wanted
to make sure readers understand that it is not a puzzle where
“there is a race between the writer and the reader as
to who figures it out first. This novel has Rutledge pursuing
the truth and finding a solution. He has a dogged determination
to keep tracking the killer.”
Having left his sister’s wedding in a distraught mood
Rutledge decides to take a car trip. He encounters on a deserted
road a woman standing next to a murder victim. She reports
how a stranger stepped in front of the car and without warning
fired a shot killing Stephen Wentworth immediately. With a
list of persons of interest piling up, Rutledge must sort
through the many different aspects of the case. He is helped
along by a voice in his head, Corporal Hamish MacLeod, the
ghost of the Scottish officer he had executed for cowardice,
who comments persistently inside this detective's weary ear.
Rutledge always listens and appears to have given Hamish a
life that was taken away. Hamish is real to Rutledge, sometimes
antagonistic, sometimes supportive, sometimes part of his
unconscious perception, an inner-self.
An interesting piece of the storyline is the similarities
between the victim, Stephen, and the detective, Rutledge.
They both had someone close to them killed in the war, although
Rutledge played more of a role. They were also both jilted
by the woman they loved.” The Todds noted, “Stephen
is the ultra ego of Rutledge in some ways, and that is probably
one of the reasons why he wanted to follow through and find
the killer. They both developed levels of coping skills and
were solitary people. Neither became involved in a relationship
after their engagement was broken. Yet, Ian came from a loving
family, and Stephen from a dysfunctional one.”
One of the secondary characters can best be described as
an early 20th Century “Mommy Dearest.” The mother
of Stephen is vicious, spoiled, and uncaring who tried to
thwart any happiness her son might achieve. “We wanted
to write a character where the mother hated her son all his
life. She sees him as a monster, an ugly duckling. She has
no redeeming qualities. She enjoys painting him in a dim light.
Basically, just a terrible person who is bitter and self-centered.”
Because World War I play such an important role in the storyline,
readers get a glimpse into the emotional wounds of many of
the men, including Rutledge. “We wanted to humanize
those who have served. Our goal as writers is to show how
they were ordinary people and then trained to be warriors.
When they come back they must learn to trust again and to
relate to those outside of their unit, the band of brothers.
They can talk amongst their peers because they know there
is a sense of understanding. Having experienced horrors first
hand they cannot just shut out what they saw on the battlefield.”
The Gate Keeper by Charles Todd is a ‘who
done it’ type of mystery. Readers will enjoy the investigative
process Ian Rutledge must go through to find the culprit
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