A review by hopeevey
Some Lie and Some Die by Ruth Rendell

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.