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livrekitty's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first Ruth Rendell mystery I've read and I really enjoyed it.
hopeevey's review against another edition
3.0
This was not the author's best work. The mystery felt forced and klunky. Some of the characterizations were so based on being told what the person was like they felt weak. That being said, it's still a good book, with some gorgeous writing. The recurring characters have the depth and truth I've come to expect in Ms. Rendell's books.
My big issues with the mystery plot could be a spoiler, so stop here if you don't want to know yet.
I figured out pretty early on that there was some sort of switch-up between Nell and Dawn, but I couldn't figure out what it was. At first I assumed the body was actually Nell and Dawn had taken her place... but they didn't resemble each other enough for that, and the body was very definitely Dawn. The key piece of information stayed bottled up until near the end of the book - and it was sheer chance that it came out at all. It was also pure chance that Wexford learned that Zeno wrote his songs based on people's stories. Without those two total coincidences, there couldn't have been a satisfactory conclusion.
Frankly, mystery stories often rely on coincidences - informational deus ex machina, if you will. It's only frustrating in this book because I don't remember the other books in the series needing them.
So, this isn't the best introduction to Ms. Rendell's work, although it does stand alone very well. It is a perfectly pleasant read.
My big issues with the mystery plot could be a spoiler, so stop here if you don't want to know yet.
Frankly, mystery stories often rely on coincidences - informational deus ex machina, if you will. It's only frustrating in this book because I don't remember the other books in the series needing them.
So, this isn't the best introduction to Ms. Rendell's work, although it does stand alone very well. It is a perfectly pleasant read.
gskenney's review against another edition
3.0
Ruth Rendell is consistently good, but this isn't one of her best. Good, though. I like the vivid realism of her characters.
caterinaanna's review against another edition
3.0
My first Inspector Wexford novel - at least as far as I remember. While the description and setting are dated, it's an intriguing enough mystery and not gory enough to put off this squeamish reader who can't cope with some more up-to-date blood, guts and all crime novels.
lnatal's review against another edition
3.0
When the body of a brutally beaten girl is found in a quarry during a hedonistic hippy festival near Kingsmarkham, Wexford is first on the scene. The victim's face has been pulped by the back-end of a bottle, but who, in this atmosphere of peace and love, could be capable of such violence?
A TV series was made based on this book and it's available at YouTube.
4* Going Wrong
4* The Keys to the Street
3* The Fever Tree and Other Stories
4* A Judgement in Stone
3* Fall of the Coin
4* People Don't Do Such Things
3* The Girl Next Door
2* To Fear a Painted Devil
3* Dark Corners
3* Live Flesh
Inspector Wexford series:
3* Some Lie and Some Die (Inspector Wexford, #8)
3* Shake Hands Forever (Inspector Wexford, #9)
3* The Veiled One (Inspector Wexford, #14)
4* Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (Inspector Wexford, #15)
3* Harm Done (Inspector Wexford, #18)
3* The Babes in the Wood (Inspector Wexford, #19)
TR From Doon With Death (Inspector Wexford, #1)
TR A New Lease of Death (Inspector Wexford, #2)
TR Wolf to the Slaughter (Inspector Wexford, #3)
TR The Best Man to Die (Inspector Wexford, #4)
TR A Guilty Thing Surprised (Inspector Wexford, #5)
TR No More Dying Then (Inspector Wexford, #6)
TR Murder Being Once Done (Inspector Wexford, #7)
TR A Sleeping Life (Inspector Wexford, #10)
TR Death Notes (Inspector Wexford, #11)
TR Speaker of Mandarin (Inspector Wexford, #12)
TR An Unkindness of Ravens (Inspector Wexford, #13)
TR Simisola (Inspector Wexford, #16)
TR Road Rage (Inspector Wexford, #17)
TR End in Tears (Inspector Wexford, #20)
TR Not in the Flesh (Inspector Wexford, #21)
TR The Monster in the Box (Inspector Wexford, #22)
TR The Vault (Inspector Wexford, #23)
TR No Man's Nightingale (Inspector Wexford #24)
A TV series was made based on this book and it's available at YouTube.
4* Going Wrong
4* The Keys to the Street
3* The Fever Tree and Other Stories
4* A Judgement in Stone
3* Fall of the Coin
4* People Don't Do Such Things
3* The Girl Next Door
2* To Fear a Painted Devil
3* Dark Corners
3* Live Flesh
Inspector Wexford series:
3* Some Lie and Some Die (Inspector Wexford, #8)
3* Shake Hands Forever (Inspector Wexford, #9)
3* The Veiled One (Inspector Wexford, #14)
4* Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (Inspector Wexford, #15)
3* Harm Done (Inspector Wexford, #18)
3* The Babes in the Wood (Inspector Wexford, #19)
TR From Doon With Death (Inspector Wexford, #1)
TR A New Lease of Death (Inspector Wexford, #2)
TR Wolf to the Slaughter (Inspector Wexford, #3)
TR The Best Man to Die (Inspector Wexford, #4)
TR A Guilty Thing Surprised (Inspector Wexford, #5)
TR No More Dying Then (Inspector Wexford, #6)
TR Murder Being Once Done (Inspector Wexford, #7)
TR A Sleeping Life (Inspector Wexford, #10)
TR Death Notes (Inspector Wexford, #11)
TR Speaker of Mandarin (Inspector Wexford, #12)
TR An Unkindness of Ravens (Inspector Wexford, #13)
TR Simisola (Inspector Wexford, #16)
TR Road Rage (Inspector Wexford, #17)
TR End in Tears (Inspector Wexford, #20)
TR Not in the Flesh (Inspector Wexford, #21)
TR The Monster in the Box (Inspector Wexford, #22)
TR The Vault (Inspector Wexford, #23)
TR No Man's Nightingale (Inspector Wexford #24)
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