
So I am overcoming the temptation of just leaving this review at the end of the previous paragraph (which I thought would be funny but acknowledged would also be pointless).
This was an interesting story, unusually done. As I said, in the first chapter, the outcome is revealed. We know who committed the murders and to some extent why. We just don't know what actually triggered the murders. And as a result, Rendell actually keeps one glued to the pages. This book was suspenseful and believable.
The characters she created in here were also quite impressive. I found myself even caring for the murderer occasionally - which says quite a lot. OK, perhaps 'caring for her' is a bit of a stretch. I did sympathise with her though. There were also times when I found the victims a bit annoying - but then, was I seeing them through the eyes of the murderer?
Having said that though, I have so far preferred the one and only Wexford crime novel I have read. While she does pull off these weird psychological crime thrillers quite well (I am referring to The Killing Doll which I read earlier this month - Was that this month? I thought it was ages ago!), I have not felt that they are as enjoyable as the crime series with Inspector Wexford. I have another Wexford here, and I am going to give it a go soon. But I must confess that I will not be fighting off crowds to buy more of her books.
A decent read. Not perhaps one on the top of my recommendation pile, but for a book I got at a super reasonable price, it kept me occupied for a few hours. I gave this a 3 star rating on Goodreads, and a 2.5 rating on my own records. It was decent, not fantastic.
No comments:
Post a Comment