From Doon With Death: A Wexford Case - 50th Anniversary Edition (Wexford, 1)

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In fact, I never thought of myself as Wexford when I was writing, although I don’t suppose anyone is as well qualified as me—apart from Ruth herself—to know how Wexford thinks by now. Ruth Rendell’s references to Victorian poetry of love’s longing plays well considering the grief-stricken husband who’s lost his wife. There is a strong sociological commentary throughout, in this book in particular as far as class differences and sexual politics go and author's attitude is stunningly, notably progressive for the time. This is a reread for me in preparation for our first Ruth Rendell buddy read in the English Mysteries book club starting May 1.

Although a fairly short novel, it is filled with intrigue as Wexford and Burden investigate the murder of a seemingly friendless, quiet wife named Margaret Parsons. He does a great job here voicing the different characters distinctly and he is easy to follow so I would certainly recommend that recording if audiobooks are your bag.I am sure that a proof reader could have easily rectified the mistakes and, although I expect to see them in a self published book, it is unacceptable to find so many in a traditionally published ebook. It seemed grimmer and more adult than the Christies and Chestertons I was used to, and the twist surprised me.

Finally, books belonging to that lady are inscribed with the titular name and we strive to suss out who that is.After reading the "Dossier" I knew I wanted to read more about Ruth Rendell and would encourage everyone to read more about her fascinating life and diverse accomplishments. Why in the world would any one go to the bother of killing and dumping a boring, plain woman like Margaret (Godfrey) Parsons? What I mean is that having read other Inspector Wexford books, I know that the author takes time to more fully develop Wexford's character as the series progresses.

Chilling, richly characterized, and ingeniously constructed, this is psychological suspense at its very finest. The character of Chief Inspector Wexford here is somewhat colder than the character in the later books and the TV series.One of the hosts, Meredith, is a huge Louise Penny fan, as I was for the first eight novels of her series. Several copies were sent to libraries, making copies like this, unmarred by library labels or stamps, uncommon.