- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday Canada (Nov 9 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385258844
- ISBN-13: 978-0385258845
- Shipping Weight: 789 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,398,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
In Harm Done, Rendell has added a remarkable strand of acute social commentary to a book that still functions as an utterly compelling piece of detective fiction. In exploring the controversial subject of pedophilia, she takes the mainstay of her work--the problems of modern life--to a level of passion and commitment that gives the book a truly powerful underpinning.
Back in the familiar Sussex town of Kingsmarkham, Rendell's dogged sleuth Wexford is investigating the strange abductions of two young girls: Rachel, a bright middle-class student, and Lizzie, a mentally disabled 16-year-old living with her unsympathetic parents on a grim council estate. When both girls return home, apparently unharmed, Wexford is faced with a curious mystery: what really happened to them? As Wexford begins to uncover the disturbing truth, the dark psychological world that Rendell is so adroit at exploring suddenly comes into focus. And her gift for sharp but concise characterization remains untouchable, as in the case of a reluctant witness: '''We don't talk about that sort of thing.' She very nearly but not quite tossed her head." --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
In her latest Inspector Wexford mystery (following Road Rage), the prolific Rendell shows that, like Wexford, she too is a master of indirection. Like a stout, aging British Columbo, Wexford hides his intuition and keen powers of observation behind a rumpled, grandfatherly facade. Three of the cases that he unravels in this satisfyingly complex work have to do with the abuse of women or children. The crimes range from the ridiculous (a petulant university girl and a mentally challenged girl from a low-income housing project are each kidnapped to do housework and returned for ineptitude) to the monstrous (Wexford and his men must protect a child molester who was released from prison while a rich man tortures his wife in the comfort of his spacious home). Rendell is too realistic a writer to link her crimes together in a sensational way. Instead, each offense galvanizes a slew of colorful characters of all classes who live in the suburban community of Kingsmarkham. Wexford's daughter Sylvia, a strident volunteer for a battered women's shelter, fills in her father on the signs of abuse and abusers, and it is a measure of Rendell's subtle skill that she manages to address a social blight without ever losing track of her plot or flattening her characterizations. Thanks to Rendell's steadfast devotion to what is real over what is mere theory, what comes through in her 47th book is the unique human mystery at the heart of a crime.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not A Speaker Of Mandarin Yet No Harm Done,
By Liz "Birdmother" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Harm Done (Paperback)
It is quite difficult to witness Reg (Inspector) and Dora Wexford being pulled into the twenty-first century beset with political correctness, domestic violence, ad hoc babysitting duty, and a daughter's crumbling marriage. It was ever so much nicer when they were insulated from these distractions because we became insulated along with the Wexfords as we turned the pages and vicariously lived in the lovely Kingsmarkham mythical town for a time.Well, Harm Done, is still a page-turner and not once did I not enjoy the novel. It was a bit tepid when stacked up against the wonderful, A Speaker Of Mandarin, and earlier Ruth Rendell Inspector Wexford fiction. Nonetheless, a lukewarm Ruth Rendell offering is worth a thousand mediocre mystery bestsellers we could all name. So, dear readers and fellow fans, dive in anytime to Harm Done for a truly decent read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Domestic violence a topic for Wexford mystery,
By Nancy Trease (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Harm Done (Paperback)
Wexford and his elder daughter appear in one of the later Wexford mysteries. Although the plot is simple it is anything but easy to unravel as it moves toward the end. Displays Rendell's typical excellent development of characters (even if you haven't read the earlier Wexfords -- which I also recommend -- it's fun.
4.0 out of 5 stars
No Harm Done Here,
By
This review is from: Harm Done (Paperback)
I have just stumbled upon some of the great books by Ruth Rendell, the first being "A Sight for Sore Eyes" which I absolutely loved. "Harm Done" was the 2nd book I read (actually listened to on audiobook) and liked it too, but not as well as the first. I was really getting into the story line about the girls who mysteriously disappeared, then returned in a few days unwilling or unable to tell police what had happened to them. I was sure the pedophile brought into the story was the culprit, but the two things had nothing to do with the other. I was a bit disappointed when the explanation came out midway through the book and it wasn't anything to get too worked up about. Then the author went on a completely different track with the abused woman plot. I guess they did all tie in together as the abused woman's baby had turned up missing too. I liked the book and will be reading more of Ruth Rendell's work, but I prefer the books that are more suspense and less Inspector Wexford.
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