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A review by stacialithub
A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell
2.0
I read this one for my book club. What a grim book. I did not like it.
The premise of the book is stated in the first sentence, "Eunice Parchmann killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write."
The Coverdales didn't seem very likeable in the beginning (other than Giles, an introverted teen), but I had warmed to them somewhat by the end of the book. Really, though, their story was a depressing march toward death because you already knew what was coming. (Is watching their march toward a gruesome death supposed to be compelling reading? It's not. It's just dark & grim.)
The text itself was too repetitive. Thankfully, the book is under 200 pages. (Another gripe. The title. I'm having a hard time connecting it to the story.)
The only "mystery" part of the book was the police involvement (last 20 or 30 pages), a red herring of two other suspects (who had never been seen or heard from in the entire book up to that point -- a huge issue I have with many mystery writers), & whether or not the police would figure out who committed the killings.
This book is seen as one of Rendell's better works? Not my cup of tea, thanks.
P.S. If you want a mystery where you know "who done it" at the beginning & want to know if the police can figure it out, I would instead suggest [b:The Devotion of Suspect X|8686068|The Devotion of Suspect X (Detective Galileo #3)|Keigo Higashino|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312051518s/8686068.jpg|13558363] by Keigo Higashino.
The premise of the book is stated in the first sentence, "Eunice Parchmann killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write."
Spoiler
Rendell overworked & pounded the illiteracy angle too much. It was tiresome. (I'm a huge literacy advocate, but this was ridiculous.) It also simplifies the killing in that there were two murderers, one definitely unhinged, egging each other on. And, Eunice herself had already been a blackmailer (of acquaintances) and murderer (of her father) long before she ever knew of or killed the Coverdales. So while illiteracy might have been a latent factor, it was not the only one.The Coverdales didn't seem very likeable in the beginning (other than Giles, an introverted teen), but I had warmed to them somewhat by the end of the book. Really, though, their story was a depressing march toward death because you already knew what was coming. (Is watching their march toward a gruesome death supposed to be compelling reading? It's not. It's just dark & grim.)
The text itself was too repetitive. Thankfully, the book is under 200 pages. (Another gripe. The title. I'm having a hard time connecting it to the story.)
The only "mystery" part of the book was the police involvement (last 20 or 30 pages), a red herring of two other suspects (who had never been seen or heard from in the entire book up to that point -- a huge issue I have with many mystery writers), & whether or not the police would figure out who committed the killings.
This book is seen as one of Rendell's better works? Not my cup of tea, thanks.
P.S. If you want a mystery where you know "who done it" at the beginning & want to know if the police can figure it out, I would instead suggest [b:The Devotion of Suspect X|8686068|The Devotion of Suspect X (Detective Galileo #3)|Keigo Higashino|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312051518s/8686068.jpg|13558363] by Keigo Higashino.