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A Judgement in Stone [Paperback]


4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
17 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars She's the Best Mar 18 2000
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I've read this book twice,and it has the rare quality of being even scarier the second time around. It is an absolutely brilliant tour de force. Rendell begins in a flat, factual, true-crime style. She tells you immediately Whodunnit, and Why They Did. Then, at a seemingly leisurely pace, she recounts how it happened, and the result is absolutely chilling. All the characters are well-done, but the two teen-agers who are step-siblings are especially vivid, enough so to break your heart. Ruth Rendell is, to me, the best suspense writer in the business, and this book doesn't even make my top five favorites among her novels--but it's still awesome. She's the best.
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4.0 out of 5 stars "A stone that breathed was Eunice, as she had always been" Jan 10 2007
By M. B. Alcat TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
"A judgement in stone" is the story of a crime, and the reasons behind it. All that happens is in direct relation to a secret, Eunice Parchman's secret.

Eunice, the housekeeper of the Coverdale family, seems to be merely a dull woman with an insipid personality. She is cold and quite solemn, but not violent, at least she doesn't seem to be. However, events would prove otherwise, as the reader is informed from the very first page of "A judgement in stone": "Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write".

This is the story of how an apparently normal person is ridden by the all-powering obsession of protecting a secret she deems shameful, that she is illiterate. How far will she go to avoid the disclosure of that fact is something you will learn if you read this book, although you already have a pretty important clue...

On the whole, I can say that I highly recommend this book. The main character isn't likeable ("A stone that breathed was Eunice, as she had always been"), but the story is engaging and well-written. Moreover, the writer managed to write a convincing psychological study of Eunice that allows the reader to look into the mind of a cold-blooded killer. Those are the main reasons why you won't be able to stop reading this book once you start it :)

Belen Alcat
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4.0 out of 5 stars Another fine psychological thriller by the English master Jun 24 2003
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Once again, Rendell portrays what seems to others a quite ordinary woman as the violent psychopath that circumstances encourage. While Rendell's kernel idea, that a person's inability to read, the limits of the world thus caused, the shame it brings her, the desperate need to hide her inability, defines her life and her final fate, is a bit of a stretch, she is completely convincing in developing it in a step-by-step progression to what then seems inevitable. The main character's very ordinariness is what makes the story so horrible. It is a provocative idea, skillfully executed.
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars One of her best
I love Ruth Rendell, whether it's an Inspector Wexford or just one of her suspenseful stories, she claims my attention throughout the book... Read more
Published on April 26 2002 by Kathylene Privitera
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!
I know that people are always saying that, but it's true. Even though I knew from the beginning who was going to be killed and by whom, I was hooked. Read more
Published on July 6 2001 by A reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Literarcy Would Have Saved Lives!
As if it were some perverse Columbo plot, readers know the murderers from the beginning of the story and they know the motive: the inability to read!! Read more
Published on Jun 26 2001 by Karen Becker
5.0 out of 5 stars Compels the reader, willing or not
I had to add my comments; I absolutely adore Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine's unerring insights into human frailty, and her ability to create fully realized three dimensional... Read more
Published on May 29 2001 by Mary Contracts Queen
4.0 out of 5 stars A Victim Of Illiteracy?
Jacqueline Coverdale goes to London to interview a potential housekeeper. Impressed by her first impression she makes a rash decision and employs Eunice, a hardworking but cold and... Read more
Published on May 29 2001 by CheGueAut - Uwe W.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Judgement in Stone
I just want to say i really liked this book. This was my first Ruth Rendell's book. She really captures you from the very start. Read more
Published on Oct 6 2000
3.0 out of 5 stars Not an airplane book
This is clearly a well-written book, but at the risk of being politically incorrect, I did not enjoy it. Read more
Published on Oct 6 2000 by Pete
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning!
I read in reviews that many consider this to be Ms. Rendell's best work. Not having read all of her books, I can't agree or disagree, but I don't see how she could get much better... Read more
Published on July 15 2000 by Kathleen Cutsail
5.0 out of 5 stars Hooray! It's Back!
I was delighted to see this book re-issued. It's one of Rendell's most poignant, and once again she shows that she's the best psychological suspense writer today and possibly... Read more
Published on Jun 27 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars Not So Hard To Find Anymore
I hope that the fact that this book is back in print is a good sign that the other early non-Wexford novels of Ruth Rendell will also become easier to find. Read more
Published on May 3 2000 by "scoutfinch"
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