Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
My second Rendell - but my first Wexford.
I enjoyed this novel. I was engaged as I tried to work out who was responsible for the murder/s.
I've read online that Rendell moved towards incorporating social issues into her novel. The consensus is that her "issue novels" are mixed, though Simisola generally gets good reviews. I think Rendell's presentation of immigration into a traditional English town/city is successful. (The novel also deals with unemployment.) But whether she jumps the shark with the social issue that features at the ending? I don't know enough to say. Though I suspect Rendell probably based her novel on a real story.
Also, I enjoyed and believed Rendell's depiction of Detective Wexford's home life, with Wexford powerless while watching his adult daughter argue with her husband.
I enjoyed this novel. I was engaged as I tried to work out who was responsible for the murder/s.
I've read online that Rendell moved towards incorporating social issues into her novel. The consensus is that her "issue novels" are mixed, though Simisola generally gets good reviews. I think Rendell's presentation of immigration into a traditional English town/city is successful. (The novel also deals with unemployment.) But whether she jumps the shark with the social issue that features at the ending? I don't know enough to say. Though I suspect Rendell probably based her novel on a real story.
Also, I enjoyed and believed Rendell's depiction of Detective Wexford's home life, with Wexford powerless while watching his adult daughter argue with her husband.
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Another great Wexford mystery by Rendell. I could have done without the extensive visits from Wexford’s family during this book, but the police characters as usual didn’t disappoint. Wexford and Burden work well together, and despite their faults, are very likeable characters. Wexford’s intuition always helps to solve the case and I’m left wondering if that’s why I never can or if I truly am just bad at mysteries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Another great Wexford book from RR . Wexford is confronted with his own racism and shuttered opinion, despite considering himself fairly enlightened. His reflections on race, the changing 'face' of Britain and racism make for thought provoking reading and sadly in many ways it's all too relevant still. Contrasting to this is a commentary on what has been seen as an increasing welfare state, particularly with relevance to small (affluent and predominantly white) rural communities.
Some weighty themes and a lot of time is spent on them making for a complex read. There's also some further character development especially around Reg and the relationships he has with his daughters.
The mystery itself is intriguing and has a fairly unexpected denouement (so much so that I couldn't actually recall the guilty party at first - thankfully Wexford provides a recap). A lot goes on and I have to admit that my audiobook listening may have been distracted at times. Still, the audiobook version I read was narrated by Christopher Ravenscroft - Burden himself! He does an excellent job and I wish he narrated more of them as he's far more natural and expressive than the usual guy.
Maybe one I'll come back to one day when I'm less distracted to pick apart the details.
Some weighty themes and a lot of time is spent on them making for a complex read. There's also some further character development especially around Reg and the relationships he has with his daughters.
The mystery itself is intriguing and has a fairly unexpected denouement (so much so that I couldn't actually recall the guilty party at first - thankfully Wexford provides a recap). A lot goes on and I have to admit that my audiobook listening may have been distracted at times. Still, the audiobook version I read was narrated by Christopher Ravenscroft - Burden himself! He does an excellent job and I wish he narrated more of them as he's far more natural and expressive than the usual guy.
Maybe one I'll come back to one day when I'm less distracted to pick apart the details.
Race Relations + Wexford’s Laws 4, 5 & 6
Review of the Audible Studios audiobook edition (May 15, 2009) narrated by [a:Christopher Ravenscroft|80670|Christopher Ravenscroft|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], of the original hardcover from Hutchinson (UK) (September 24, 1994)
[A solid 4, but the narration performance kicks this up to a 5, see below for more on that]
Wexford takes a strong personal interest when his new family physician Dr. Raymond Akande and his wife report their teenage daughter as missing. The Akandes are among the few black residents of Kingsmarkham at the time and Wexford overcompensates in his efforts in providing police assistance for their distress. He blunders badly though when the body of a dead black girl is found, by assuming it must be the missing teenager. It turns out the teenager is still missing and there is now a separate murder case to deal with.
The investigation takes some very dark turns and discoveries before the answers to both mysteries are found. Several characters are portrayed as unsympathetic, leading to an increasing list of suspects and motives. The usual tiresome subplot of Wexford's daughters involved eldest daughter Sylvia and her husband Neil in financial difficulties. But Sylvia does provide Wexford with a clue that leads him to the solution to his case.
The front cover of the original Hutchinson (UK) 1994 hardcover. Image sourced from Wikipedia By http://pictures.abebooks.com/BOOKFEVER/6651360265.jpg, Fair use, Link.
This was Wexford #16 in the series of 24 novels. I had previously skipped over #15 to #18 as they were proving difficult to source. No convenient Kindle eBooks exist and the Toronto Public Library online search & hold system was struck down in October 2023 (which is still ongoing) by a ransomware attack (rumoured to be Russian based) which prevents you from locating and placing books on hold throughout the system (short of physically going around Toronto to each branch personally and searching the shelves by hand). I've decided to complete my Wexford/Rendell binge by sourcing the audiobooks which are not ideal as I am also trying to spot Wexford's personal Laws and Rules along the way. Listening on audio might cause me to miss them.
On the Berengaria Ease of Solving Scale® I found this to be a difficult solve, a 9 out of 10, due to some quite clever misdirection. The actual culprit(s) came out of left field for me after I thought I had it all figured out.
The narration by Christopher Ravenscroft (who played DI Mike Burden in the TV series) was excellent in all voices in this edition. He was especially good at mimicking the West Country burr of actor George Baker (who played Chief Inspector Wexford in the TV series), so that actually made it sound as if both actors were performing the narration.
Wexford's Laws
There were several Wexford's Laws mentioned in this book. Wexford's Laws are quirky thoughts or observations that Wexford makes. The previous book [b:Kissing the Gunner's Daughter|83407|Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (Inspector Wexford, #15)|Ruth Rendell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390777408l/83407._SY75_.jpg|2238644] (Wexford #15, 1992) had none, the book before that [b:The Veiled One|361611|The Veiled One (Inspector Wexford, #14)|Ruth Rendell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389107440l/361611._SY75_.jpg|3092764] (Wexford #14, 1988) contained Wexford's Third Law. So I’ve numbered these new ones accordingly as the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Laws.
Trivia and Links
Simisola was adapted for television as part of the Ruth Rendell / Inspector Wexford Mysteries TV series (1987-2000) as Season 9 Episodes 3 to 5 in 1996 with actor George Baker as Chief Inspector Wexford. I could not find a free posting of it on YouTube. Here in Canada it is available on the Britbox streaming service.
Review of the Audible Studios audiobook edition (May 15, 2009) narrated by [a:Christopher Ravenscroft|80670|Christopher Ravenscroft|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], of the original hardcover from Hutchinson (UK) (September 24, 1994)
‘I’m sorry to trouble you with this, Mr Wexford, but I hoped you might help me.’ Wexford waited. ‘It’s probably nothing.’
Those words, no matter how often he heard them, always caused a small shiver. In his experience, it was nearly always something and, if brought to his attention, something bad.
[A solid 4, but the narration performance kicks this up to a 5, see below for more on that]
Wexford takes a strong personal interest when his new family physician Dr. Raymond Akande and his wife report their teenage daughter as missing. The Akandes are among the few black residents of Kingsmarkham at the time and Wexford overcompensates in his efforts in providing police assistance for their distress. He blunders badly though when the body of a dead black girl is found, by assuming it must be the missing teenager. It turns out the teenager is still missing and there is now a separate murder case to deal with.
The investigation takes some very dark turns and discoveries before the answers to both mysteries are found. Several characters are portrayed as unsympathetic, leading to an increasing list of suspects and motives. The usual tiresome subplot of Wexford's daughters involved eldest daughter Sylvia and her husband Neil in financial difficulties. But Sylvia does provide Wexford with a clue that leads him to the solution to his case.
The front cover of the original Hutchinson (UK) 1994 hardcover. Image sourced from Wikipedia By http://pictures.abebooks.com/BOOKFEVER/6651360265.jpg, Fair use, Link.
This was Wexford #16 in the series of 24 novels. I had previously skipped over #15 to #18 as they were proving difficult to source. No convenient Kindle eBooks exist and the Toronto Public Library online search & hold system was struck down in October 2023 (which is still ongoing) by a ransomware attack (rumoured to be Russian based) which prevents you from locating and placing books on hold throughout the system (short of physically going around Toronto to each branch personally and searching the shelves by hand). I've decided to complete my Wexford/Rendell binge by sourcing the audiobooks which are not ideal as I am also trying to spot Wexford's personal Laws and Rules along the way. Listening on audio might cause me to miss them.
On the Berengaria Ease of Solving Scale® I found this to be a difficult solve, a 9 out of 10, due to some quite clever misdirection. The actual culprit(s) came out of left field for me after I thought I had it all figured out.
The narration by Christopher Ravenscroft (who played DI Mike Burden in the TV series) was excellent in all voices in this edition. He was especially good at mimicking the West Country burr of actor George Baker (who played Chief Inspector Wexford in the TV series), so that actually made it sound as if both actors were performing the narration.
Wexford's Laws
There were several Wexford's Laws mentioned in this book. Wexford's Laws are quirky thoughts or observations that Wexford makes. The previous book [b:Kissing the Gunner's Daughter|83407|Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (Inspector Wexford, #15)|Ruth Rendell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390777408l/83407._SY75_.jpg|2238644] (Wexford #15, 1992) had none, the book before that [b:The Veiled One|361611|The Veiled One (Inspector Wexford, #14)|Ruth Rendell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389107440l/361611._SY75_.jpg|3092764] (Wexford #14, 1988) contained Wexford's Third Law. So I’ve numbered these new ones accordingly as the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Laws.
She addressed Karen, to whom she seemed to have taken a fancy. ‘He’s ninety-two, you know.’ ‘Ninety-three,’ said Mr Hammond, thus confirming Wexford’s Law that it is only when under fifteen and over ninety that people wish to add years to their true age. [Wexford's Fourth Law by my count.]
Laurette Akande shrugged and looked away. Wexford thought he might make it one of his laws – he had a mental catalogue of Wexford’s first law, second law, and so on – that if after the first two or three expressions of regret you stop apologizing to someone you have offended, they will soon start apologizing to you. [Wexford's Fifth Law by my count]
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Another of Wexford’s laws was that no truthful person ever makes this remark. It is exclusively the province of liars. [Wexford's Sixth Law by my count]
Trivia and Links
Simisola was adapted for television as part of the Ruth Rendell / Inspector Wexford Mysteries TV series (1987-2000) as Season 9 Episodes 3 to 5 in 1996 with actor George Baker as Chief Inspector Wexford. I could not find a free posting of it on YouTube. Here in Canada it is available on the Britbox streaming service.
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
About 3.5 stars, but I've given 3 to worse books, so this one receives 4 in the end.
Cons:
- A little too drawn out and a bit too many red herrings shoved in our faces for my taste.
- Too many mentions of clues (the pink car, the repeated "no problem", etc.), I was often rolling my eyes, thinking "ok, we get it!".
- A couple of characters die. I admit that having them never show up in the story alive makes it easier to emotionally detach from them; it's also more convenient for the victims or witnesses to be unable to tell what happened, so that we have a mistery on hand. That said, I still think the story could have been presented even without those (not without the characters and what happened to them, but without having to kill them).
- None of the characters were well fleshed out, not even the main heroes of the story and their families. I do sympathize with the victims, but I don't really feel a connection to any character; none of them is actually likeable. We're told at some point that Wexford has a favourite daughter, but that doesn't warm me up to either of them. Perhaps the closest to what I'd call "a fleshed out character" in this book is Ingrid, who appears shallow, fake, careless, childish and is shown solely through the eyes of Wexford, who starts off as highly infatuated with her, only for his idealistic descriptions of her to be phased out by the end of the book; the last we see of her she doesn't have the blue eyes anymore and doesn't even get a lift home (which could point to the fact that the inspector's feelings for her have also faded away).
- The way racial discrimination issues were presented could have been done better (and I'm not sure how I feel about it being used as a plot bunny), although, given how old this book is, I'd say it's quite progressive for its time.
- The way not much really happens until the last hundred pages or so (and even then it often throws even MORE red herrings our way).
- The way Wexford narrates much of the last hundred pages, based only on his own intuition. This might work in a 20-minute TV drama, but after having read so many pages of whatnot, him coming with all sorts of unthinkable connections feels like a cheap cop-out, as if the editors were chasing the writer "just finish this book already, come on, we need to hand it in next week".
- In addition to the overusage of "intuition", there were some information gaps, for instance, some of the clues mentioned by Wexford or Burden weren't actually mentioned before they did (such as the two keys on the nightstand), so for the most part it seemed to me like they were pulling presumptions out of thin air.
- The ending isn't very satisfying, for the below main reasons:
-- Wexford's intuition makes up most of the ending.
-- The "discoveries" and "resolution" are made by a single person in one sitting.
-- The bad guy is addressed a couple of (barely witty) words, we don't even get to "see" him getting dragged away.
-- Especially the way the "main" character is treated. Whereas when she's found Wexford seems sympathetic, at least feeling some pity and outrage for her, by the end it feels like he's grown indifferent to the entire matter, something along the lines of "yeah, horrible stuff happened to a poor helpless kid, but let's go grab a beer".
Pros:
- The ending was "more" unpredictable than I expected.
- The spotlight given to issues of immigrants, abused women, race and slavery.
- I could relate to some of the situations.
- It was easy to read. Not light, just flowing very well.
Overall, it was beyond decent. Some reviewers said it's one of the author's weaker works, so I'll certainly look more into the Wexford series in the future.
Cons:
- A little too drawn out and a bit too many red herrings shoved in our faces for my taste.
- Too many mentions of clues (the pink car, the repeated "no problem", etc.), I was often rolling my eyes, thinking "ok, we get it!".
- A couple of characters die. I admit that having them never show up in the story alive makes it easier to emotionally detach from them; it's also more convenient for the victims or witnesses to be unable to tell what happened, so that we have a mistery on hand. That said, I still think the story could have been presented even without those (not without the characters and what happened to them, but without having to kill them).
- None of the characters were well fleshed out, not even the main heroes of the story and their families. I do sympathize with the victims, but I don't really feel a connection to any character; none of them is actually likeable. We're told at some point that Wexford has a favourite daughter, but that doesn't warm me up to either of them. Perhaps the closest to what I'd call "a fleshed out character" in this book is Ingrid, who appears shallow, fake, careless, childish and is shown solely through the eyes of Wexford, who starts off as highly infatuated with her, only for his idealistic descriptions of her to be phased out by the end of the book; the last we see of her she doesn't have the blue eyes anymore and doesn't even get a lift home (which could point to the fact that the inspector's feelings for her have also faded away).
- The way racial discrimination issues were presented could have been done better (and I'm not sure how I feel about it being used as a plot bunny), although, given how old this book is, I'd say it's quite progressive for its time.
- The way not much really happens until the last hundred pages or so (and even then it often throws even MORE red herrings our way).
- The way Wexford narrates much of the last hundred pages, based only on his own intuition. This might work in a 20-minute TV drama, but after having read so many pages of whatnot, him coming with all sorts of unthinkable connections feels like a cheap cop-out, as if the editors were chasing the writer "just finish this book already, come on, we need to hand it in next week".
- In addition to the overusage of "intuition", there were some information gaps, for instance, some of the clues mentioned by Wexford or Burden weren't actually mentioned before they did (such as the two keys on the nightstand), so for the most part it seemed to me like they were pulling presumptions out of thin air.
- The ending isn't very satisfying, for the below main reasons:
-- Wexford's intuition makes up most of the ending.
-- The "discoveries" and "resolution" are made by a single person in one sitting.
-- The bad guy is addressed a couple of (barely witty) words, we don't even get to "see" him getting dragged away.
-- Especially the way the "main" character is treated. Whereas when she's found Wexford seems sympathetic, at least feeling some pity and outrage for her, by the end it feels like he's grown indifferent to the entire matter, something along the lines of "yeah, horrible stuff happened to a poor helpless kid, but let's go grab a beer".
Pros:
- The ending was "more" unpredictable than I expected.
- The spotlight given to issues of immigrants, abused women, race and slavery.
- I could relate to some of the situations.
- It was easy to read. Not light, just flowing very well.
Overall, it was beyond decent. Some reviewers said it's one of the author's weaker works, so I'll certainly look more into the Wexford series in the future.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes