Chief Inspector Reg Wexford is probably Ruth Rendell's greatest creation. In this Wexford mystery we have the typical wealthy family which lives in a mansion with the requisite servants. But things are never what they seem in any Rendell story and, thanks to the sublime presentation by actor Robin Bailey, each member of the cast is portrayed appropriately. Particularly effective is how the irritations, grudges and animosities among characters are immediately discernible to the listener. Additionally, the many subplots and minor characters are well-presented by both author and narrator. This is a wise purchase. S.G.B. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Kirkus Reviews
Rendell's last few books haven't been up to her extraordinarily high standard, but Chief Inspector Wexford's first appearance since The Veiled One (1988) is cause for celebration. The crime under investigation--the murder of monstrous old novelist Davina Flory, her younger MP husband Harvey Copeland, and her daughter Naomi, along with the shooting of granddaughter Daisy--is thick with mysteries beyond whodunit: What were the two criminals looking for beyond a bit of jewelry? How did they make their escape? What's happened to Naomi's business partner, Joanne Garland, and what's her connection to Daisy's father, George (Gunner) Jones? What links the killings to a fatal bank-robbery a year before? Wexford, ruefully treating Daisy as a replacement for his beloved actress daughter Sheila, who's deserted him for an obnoxious, postmodern novelist, patiently sifts the stories of the large cast, setting off the string of quiet, continuous, steadily deepening revelations of character that are the hallmark of Rendell's best work. No matter that the final revelation is at once surprising, predictable (Rendell falls back on one of the oldest clich‚s of the genre), and anticlimactic. The story marks a masterful return to form for the supreme living exponent of the English detective story. --
Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
