“King Solomon’s Carpet” is one of the books Ruth Rendell wrote as Barbara Vine. An award-winning book, too, but I didn’t like it much when I read it for the first time, which must have been about four years ago. I found the book depressing and put it back on the shelf at once.
Read the rest of this entry »

“Harm Done” is the fourth – and so far the last – book from the Chief Inspector Wexford series that I have read. It’s also the longest, and no murder happens in it until page 350, which is the last quarter of the thick volume. But I never thought of putting the book aside.
Read the rest of this entry »

When Chief Inspector Wexford gets sick, due to a new virus that causes people to lose their balance and fall as they walk, he visits Dr Akande – and soon goes home consoled and even miraculously cured. When Dr Akande calls him in a few days and tells him his daughter Melanie is missing, Wexford is only too willing to help, but it takes him a lot more time – nearly a month.
Read the rest of this entry »

“From Doon with Death” is the first novel ever written by Ruth Rendell, the one with which she earned recognition as a new master of the genre. Probably its being the first is the reason why it reads so easily without putting any strain on the reader. In fact, it’s not much shorter than “Shake Hands For Ever” by the same author, but, unlike the other one, gives no feeling of being unnecessarily stretched. There’s nothing depressive about it, either.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a Chief Inspector Wexford mystery and my first ever acquaintance with the character. I’ve read a book by Barbara Vine – and Barbara Vine and Ruth Rendell are the same person – but my dear friend Ann once recommended that I read the Chief Inspector Wexford series. She thought I’d like it. What’s more, she sent me a gift – an parcel in which several of those books were neatly placed.
Read the rest of this entry »