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solflo's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
3.0
Despite the fact that neither Robert Hathall nor his wife Angela seemed particularly likeable...and that each appeared to outsiders to be as paranoid and "nervy" as all get out, no one seemed to dispute the fact that they were very much in love with each other. There's not much money rolling about--Robert has been married before and his extra cash is destined for alimony and child support. So...no jealousy motive, no money motive, and a poor showing of a burglary motive...why was Angela Hathall strangled to death in her own home and found dead in the bedroom by her mother-in-law? From the beginning Inspector Reginald Wexford suspects the husband. But Robert has an iron-clad alibi that puts him in London at the time Angela was being murdered in Kingsmarkham.
There's not a shred of proof to point to the husband (or anyone else for that matter) and Wexford's Chief Constable tells him to back off of Robert after the man complains that Wexford is persecuting him. With no official backing...and even his subordinate Mike Burden wondering if the chief inspector doesn't just have a bee in his bonnet about the husband, Wexford uses up some of his leave time, employs an out of work acquaintance to "tail" Hathall, and even convinces his nephew, a police superintendent in London, to lend him a hand. Has Wexford gotten obsessed with a single idea? Is he over-reacting as his Chief Constable believes? Or are they up against a murder more ingenious than anyone else can believe?
Shake Hands Forever employs a rather nice twist that readers with less crime fiction experience will definitely find surprising. Even those of us who have been reading mysteries for thirty-some years can appreciate the way Ruth Rendell turns things upside down and forces you to look at the evidence from an entirely different point of view. Not an incredible amount of action--the solution is more slow and steady wins the race than the hurly burly of a dramatic chase and slam-bang finish. Lots of red herrings and it's fun to watch Inspector Wexford vamped by a beautiful witness. Highly enjoyable read at 3.5 stars.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
There's not a shred of proof to point to the husband (or anyone else for that matter) and Wexford's Chief Constable tells him to back off of Robert after the man complains that Wexford is persecuting him. With no official backing...and even his subordinate Mike Burden wondering if the chief inspector doesn't just have a bee in his bonnet about the husband, Wexford uses up some of his leave time, employs an out of work acquaintance to "tail" Hathall, and even convinces his nephew, a police superintendent in London, to lend him a hand. Has Wexford gotten obsessed with a single idea? Is he over-reacting as his Chief Constable believes? Or are they up against a murder more ingenious than anyone else can believe?
Shake Hands Forever employs a rather nice twist that readers with less crime fiction experience will definitely find surprising. Even those of us who have been reading mysteries for thirty-some years can appreciate the way Ruth Rendell turns things upside down and forces you to look at the evidence from an entirely different point of view. Not an incredible amount of action--the solution is more slow and steady wins the race than the hurly burly of a dramatic chase and slam-bang finish. Lots of red herrings and it's fun to watch Inspector Wexford vamped by a beautiful witness. Highly enjoyable read at 3.5 stars.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
anna_hepworth's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think that I've ever read anything by Rendell before, and I've certainly never read an Inspector Wexford novel. I've certainly heard of him as a significant character, but nothing that gave me any expectations. Lovely read, nicely paced. Unfortunately, I've either read the plot somewhere before, or it has been made into moving pictures and I've seen it, or I've now read enough of the genre to pick what is going on. About halfway through I had it worked out, as it was just far-fetched enough to explain everything that I could pick up. Still had an 'ah-hah' moment in the last couple of chapters, when I worked out what the apparently unrelated plot line had to do with everything, felt very smug when I turned out to be right (although there was a bit of a red-herring that nearly turned me away from my conclusion late in the piece). I'm certainly going to make an effort to read more of her stories.
indywonder05's review against another edition
4.0
Almost five stars. This was a great read. It was interesting and I was totally surprised at the ending. I have a theory why it was so surprising but I don't want to give anything away. Great book. Definately going to continue reading Ruth Rendell.
canadianbookworm's review
4.0
This is one of Rendell's that I missed and finally got around to reading. Inspector Wexford and his sidekick Burden, get a case of a murdered wife. The woman is discovered by her mother-in-law upon arrival for a weekend visit. The husband was at work when the murder occured, but Wexford is sure of his involvement. Wexford is however forbidden from more contact with the man after a complaint of harrassment and is forced to take his actions on the case onto his own time. He gets his nephew, in the London police, interested and along with him finds out more about the man's actions. When another investigator does Wexford a favour, things really start to come together, but it is a close thing. Good plot with interesting characters.
acmedia's review
1.0
Another highly dated novel in which the police work seems to be done by amateur sleuths, and the crime is done for unconvincing reasons.
spygrl1's review
3.0
All I really did yesterday was bake in the sun (in SPF 50, of course) and read this book. I picked up an absolutely pristine copy at the library book sale and decided to make my first foray into Rendell's Inspector Wexford series. Not my favorite Rendell, but certainly a solid showing.
When Angela Hathall is found strangled to death in her country home, Wexford's attention is drawn to the husband. Although by all accounts devoted to his wife, Robert doesn't seem to behave just as a bereaved spouse should. His grief is a bit too studied, he's a bit too impatient for news of fingerprints, and why did he send his mother upstairs where the body was found instead of looking for his absent wife there himself?
Before Wexford can ferret out any solid evidence, his superior orders him to leave Robert Hathall alone--the man has complained that he is being "persecuted" and Wexford's boss believes it's in the best interests of Sussex to leave Hathall alone.
But Wexford continues to investigate on the sly, enlisting the aid of his nephew and of a petty crook looking to pick up funds to exchange for a foul mix of Guinness and Pernod. Wexford is convinced that Hathall did away with his wife with the help of a female accomplice, a new lover. If he can catch Hathall with the woman, he'll know he's on the right track.
I had suspected for a while that the dead woman was not Angela Hathall, and I turned out to be right (very satisfying to feel smart, even though it was more likely just because I've become suspicious of any plot that seems too straightfoward). It was too strange that Angela would be wearing the very same outfit she had worn the first and only prior time she had met her mother-in-law, particularly since the mother-in-law detested those clothes. Hathall's devotion to Angela seemed genuine--the two twisted souls had found one another and now would stick at nothing to stay together.
Wexford finally manages to connect the murder of "Angela" with the disappearance of a woman who once worked at the same company as Hathall. She must have tumbled to his payroll fraud, and as an honest woman she posed a great risk to Robert and Angela. They contrived to get rid of her while laying the groundwork for secretly skipping the country. They are only barely caught before they can depart for Brazil.
When Angela Hathall is found strangled to death in her country home, Wexford's attention is drawn to the husband. Although by all accounts devoted to his wife, Robert doesn't seem to behave just as a bereaved spouse should. His grief is a bit too studied, he's a bit too impatient for news of fingerprints, and why did he send his mother upstairs where the body was found instead of looking for his absent wife there himself?
Before Wexford can ferret out any solid evidence, his superior orders him to leave Robert Hathall alone--the man has complained that he is being "persecuted" and Wexford's boss believes it's in the best interests of Sussex to leave Hathall alone.
But Wexford continues to investigate on the sly, enlisting the aid of his nephew and of a petty crook looking to pick up funds to exchange for a foul mix of Guinness and Pernod. Wexford is convinced that Hathall did away with his wife with the help of a female accomplice, a new lover. If he can catch Hathall with the woman, he'll know he's on the right track.
I had suspected for a while that the dead woman was not Angela Hathall, and I turned out to be right (very satisfying to feel smart, even though it was more likely just because I've become suspicious of any plot that seems too straightfoward). It was too strange that Angela would be wearing the very same outfit she had worn the first and only prior time she had met her mother-in-law, particularly since the mother-in-law detested those clothes. Hathall's devotion to Angela seemed genuine--the two twisted souls had found one another and now would stick at nothing to stay together.
Wexford finally manages to connect the murder of "Angela" with the disappearance of a woman who once worked at the same company as Hathall. She must have tumbled to his payroll fraud, and as an honest woman she posed a great risk to Robert and Angela. They contrived to get rid of her while laying the groundwork for secretly skipping the country. They are only barely caught before they can depart for Brazil.
prosewhore's review
2.0
The story is clever and although it is easy to guess the killer-s the real mystery is around the motives. Sadly it didn't keep me interested the whole way through and I ended up skipping a few paragraphs of descriptions.. I think it all lacked rhythm, thank God the book was fairly short (200 pages or so).
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