Title Profile & Character Information

Proof of Guilt
Annotation

Scotland Yard's Ian Rutledge must contend with two dangerous enemies in this latest complex mystery in the New York Times bestselling series

London, summer 1920. An unidentified body appears to have been run down by a motorcar and Ian Rutledge is leading the investigation to uncover what happened. While the signs point to murder, vital questions remain: Who is the victim And where, exactly, was he killed

One small clue leads Rutledge to a firm built by two families, famous for producing and selling the world's best Madeira wine. Lewis French, the current head of the English enterprise, is missing. But is he the dead man And does either his fiancée or his jilted former lover have anything to do with his disappearance-or possible death What about his sister Or the London office clerk Is Matthew Traynor, French's cousin and partner who heads the Madeira office, somehow involved

The experienced Rutledge knows that suspicion and circumstantial evidence are not proof of guilt, and he's going to keep digging for answers. But that perseverance will pit him against his supervisor, the new acting chief superintendent. When Rutledge discovers a link to an incident in the French family's past, the superintendent dismisses it, claiming the information isn't vital. He's determined to place the blame on one of French's women despite Rutledge's objections. Alone in a no-man's-land rife with mystery and danger, Rutledge must tread very carefully, for someone has decided that he, too, must die so that cruel justice can take its course.


Characters
NameRutledge, Ian
GenderMale
OccupationScotland Yard inspector
TraitsEnglish
World War I veteran

GenreHistorical
Fiction
Mystery
    --British
    --Police procedural
Suspense
TopicsHit-and-run deaths
Unidentified bodies
Missing persons
Vintners
Family histories
Heirlooms
Suspicious deaths
SettingLondon, England
England



Series
  Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery
1A Test of wills
2Wings of fire
3Search the dark
4Legacy of the dead
5Watchers of time
6A Fearsome doubt
7A Cold treachery
8A Long shadow
9A False mirror
10A Pale horse
11A Matter of justice
12The Red door
13A Lonely death
14The Confession
15Proof of guilt
Cold comfort (novella)
16Hunting shadows
17A Fine summer's day
18No shred of evidence
A Guid soldier (novella)
The Piper (novella)
19Racing the devil
20The Gatekeeper
21The Black ascot
22A Divided loyalty
23A Fatal lie
24A Game of fear