Caroline and Charles Todd explained

Charles Todd is a pen name used by the American authors Caroline Todd and Charles Todd, who were mother and son. Caroline Todd was the pen name for Carolyn Watjen (born Carolyn Linene Teachey; November 13, 1934 — August 28, 2021) and Charles Todd is the pen name for her son David Watjen.^[1] Caroline Todd died in August 2021, at age 86 from complications of a lung infection. Charles Todd lives in North Carolina.

The authors are best known for a series of novels, set in post World War I England. The books deal with the cases of Inspector Ian Rutledge, a veteran of the European campaigns who is attempting to pick up the pieces of his Scotland Yard career. However, he must keep his greatest burden a secret: suffering from shell shock, he lives with the constant, cynical, taunting voice of Hamish MacLeod, a young Scots soldier he was forced to execute on the battlefield for refusing an order and moments before a shell from their own artillery buried Rutledge's regiment alive. Only Rutledge survived because of a small air pocket between his face and Hamish MacLeod's body.^[2]

They are also the authors of a series about Bess Crawford, a nurse serving in France during World War I.

Recognition

• A Test of Wills (1996) – was nominated for the John Creasey Award in the United Kingdom; other nominations are the Edgar Award,^[3] an Anthony,^[4] and the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Dilys Award.^[5] The work won the Barry Award^[6] from the Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association named A Test of Wills one of the 100 favorite mysteries of the 20th Century,^[7] and it received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
• Wings of Fire (1998) – received a nomination for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Dilys Award and was shortlisted for first Ellis Peters Mystery Award in the United Kingdom
• Legacy of the Dead (2000) – received an Anthony Award nomination.
• An Unmarked Grave (2012) – received an Agatha Award nomination for Best Historical Novel.^[8]
• A Question of Honor (2013) – won the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel.

Publications

Featuring Inspector Ian Rutledge

• A Test of Wills (1996) .
• Wings of Fire (1998) .
• Search the Dark (1999) .
• Legacy of the Dead (2000) .
• Watchers of Time (2001) .
• A Fearsome Doubt (2002) .
• A Cold Treachery (2005) .
• A Long Shadow (2006) .
• A False Mirror (2007) .
• A Pale Horse (2008) .
• A Matter of Justice (2009) .
• The Red Door (2010) .
• A Lonely Death (2011) .
• The Confession (2012) .
• Proof of Guilt (2013) .
• Hunting Shadows (2014) .
• A Fine Summer's Day (2015) .
• No Shred of Evidence (2016) .
• Racing the Devil (2017) .
• The Piper (2017) .
• The Gate Keeper (2018) .
• The Black Ascot (2019) .
• A Divided Loyalty (2020) .
• A Fatal Lie (2021) .
• A Game of Fear (2022) .

Featuring Bess Crawford

• A Duty to the Dead (2009) .
• An Impartial Witness (2010) .
• A Bitter Truth (2011) .
• An Unmarked Grave (2012) .
• A Question of Honor (2013) .
• An Unwilling Accomplice (2014) .
• A Pattern of Lies (2015) .
• The Shattered Tree (2016) .
• A Casualty of War (2017) .
• A Forgotten Place (2018) .
• A Cruel Deception (2019) .
• A Hanging at Dawn (2020) .
• An Irish Hostage (2021) .
• The Cliff's Edge (2023)

Stand-alone novels

• The Murder Stone (2003) .
• The Walnut Tree (2012) .

External links

• Charles Todd official webpage

Notes and References

1. News: Risen . Clay . November 19, 2021 . Caroline Todd, Half of a Mystery-Writing Duo, Dies at 86 . The New York Times . March 19, 2022.
2. News: Vanderhoof . Tricia . February 26, 2017 . Mondays with Authors: Charles Todd focuses on war and peace . My Central Jersey . March 19, 2022.
3. Web site: Best First Novel Edgar Award . Mystery Writers of America . June 9, 2014 . April 4, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190404232840/http://theedgars.com/edgarsDB/index.php . dead .
4. Web site: Anthony Award Nominees and Winners . Bouchercon World Mystery Convention . June 9, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120207060829/http://www.bouchercon.info/nominees.html . February 7, 2012 .
5. Web site: Dilys Award . mysterybooksellers.com . June 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170114175708/http://www.mysterybooksellers.com/the-dilys-award/ . January 14, 2017 . dead .
6. Web site: 1997 Best first Novel Barry Award . Deadly Pleasures Magazine . June 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120423032903/http://www.deadlypleasures.com/barry.html . April 23, 2012 . dead .
7. Web site: Booksellers’ 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Twentieth Century . onmimystery.com . June 9, 2014.
8. Web site: Agatha Awards . Malice Domestic . June 9, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170121111008/http://www.malicedomestic.org/agathaawards.html . January 21, 2017 .