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drgarry 's review for:
Dark Corners
by Ruth Rendell
I love Ruth Rendell for the dark places she explores, the quality of her writing, and the depth of her characters. Every Rendell villian is quite unique.
But in this, her final short book, she violates Chekhov's principle at every turn. To rehearse that idea, every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.
In this book, a minor character saves a busload of people from a bomb. Effect on the plot and the character? Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Irrelevant to the book. Why was this included?
Another minor character is kidnapped by persons unknown for reasons the author never really explains. Her kidnappers flee for unexplained reasons and the captive escapes. To compound all the inexplicable motives that all of the characters in this book deploy, the kidnap victim refuses to tell her own family and the police of her kidnapping. I mean really? To re-iterate: Effect on the plot and the character? Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Irrelevant to the book.
All of the protaganists in this book are either idiotically weak, or unbelievable. Their motives are incomprehensible and inane. This book reads like Rendell had a few plot ideas for a few more books, but her estate decided to throw them all together into an incompetent mishmash for one last hurrah.
If you love Rendell, do not read this book.
But in this, her final short book, she violates Chekhov's principle at every turn. To rehearse that idea, every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.
In this book, a minor character saves a busload of people from a bomb. Effect on the plot and the character? Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Irrelevant to the book. Why was this included?
Another minor character is kidnapped by persons unknown for reasons the author never really explains. Her kidnappers flee for unexplained reasons and the captive escapes. To compound all the inexplicable motives that all of the characters in this book deploy, the kidnap victim refuses to tell her own family and the police of her kidnapping. I mean really? To re-iterate: Effect on the plot and the character? Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Irrelevant to the book.
All of the protaganists in this book are either idiotically weak, or unbelievable. Their motives are incomprehensible and inane. This book reads like Rendell had a few plot ideas for a few more books, but her estate decided to throw them all together into an incompetent mishmash for one last hurrah.
If you love Rendell, do not read this book.