Rating: 
Summary: This may be her best.
Review: I have read Rendell for years and I believe this may be the best of all her books as Rendell or Vine.
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing
Review: I honestly don't know how to rate this book. I was hooked on reading it since the very first few pages, but the more I read, the more I thought it was really disturbing. It is not the kind of book I usually like to read, but a relative recommended it, and so I was doomed to read it. When reading a book, I usually associate myself with the main characters, however, I couldn't possibly do this with this book's characters, especially Teddy and Harriet's step-mom. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone except for those who like suspense books.
Rating: 
Summary: A contrived freakshow : disappointing !
Review: I love Ruth rendall's writing, so I'm already partial but despite glowing reviews from both critics and readers, I found "A Sight For Sore Eyes (ASFSE)" to be a major disappointment. ASFSE isn't a conventional murder mystery but that's not the problem. It's about damaged people and how tragedy is unavoidable if their paths cross and they're left to their own devises. The story is so full of weirdos or people of stunted development you wonder it isn't set in an insane asylum. Francine's stepmother, Julia, is so hysterical and over-the-top the whole thing feels like a circus. Somehow, there's an air of artificiality about ASFSE, from its storyline to its characters, from Rendall's prose to her method of telling. Because it's contrived, the reader is also distanced and cannot believe what he's reading, let alone feel for the characters. Kate Grenville's "Dark Places" had the same effect on me. Even the clever ending - a stroke of inspiration on Rendall's part - couldn't stop the novel from degenerating into a freak show. The reader is ultimately cheated of a genuine sense of horror because the story unfolds like a bad joke. Sorry, I beg to disagree but ASFSE falls far short of Rendall's usual high standards. A major disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Her best book in years.
Review: I ordered this book from England, being too impatient to wait for the U.S. edition. Reading this book is like biting into a piece of ripe fruit. Ruth Rendell's books are great partly because of their lucid complexity; she weaves two or three (or five or six) plots together. The books are best when she sticks to two or three. Rendell fans will be delighted with A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES; she avoids the mistakes of the last few years, in which she sometimes bit off more than she could chew. This book is one of her studies of the psychopathic mind. It is also beautifully atmospheric, which is one of Rendell's trademarks. It has symbolism, red herrings, and dead bodies ashed away in unlikely places. I wish I had not read it so fast. I wish I were still reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best new novel I've read in a long time.
Review: I read this book because a friend practically forced me to read it. At first I was skeptical, but it took me only about twenty pages to get hooked. It is an artfully constructed narrative, complex yet never making a show of its complexity, full of dramatic irony and deadpan humor. I was surprised to find that one reviewer took this book to task for not having a good plot; on the contrary, it is one of most skillfully executed plots I've read in a long time. Rather than just give us the sketch of a plot - as so many writers do - Rendell seems to lavish infinite care on each turn of the narrative. I doubt there's a wasted word in the book. I swear I didn't know how it would end until the last twenty pages. Be warned, however, this isn't a mystery of the whodunit variety - it's almost a sort of tragedy, a study of the stifled lives of its two main protagonists. Rendell's vision of humanity in this book isn't reassuring: most of her characters aren't terribly sympathetic, and yet I couldn't help feeling a horrified pity for Teddy Brex. In many ways, this book is more horrific than most horror novels I've read. I've heard some people say this isn't her best - well, if that's so, I can't wait to read her other novels.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, one of Rendell's best
Review: I recently discovered Ruth Rendell and I am enjoying reading all of her books. While I like the Inspector Wexford series, her best books are the her straight psychological mysteries, especially those written under the name Barbara Vine. This book is amazing in its plot development and its well drawn characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't spend your money - check it out from the library
Review: I've never read Ruth Rendell, but bought it because a)there were positive reviews from customers and b)it was 50% off. Well, unfortunately, I was not impressed at all with the "story" (if you can call it one). Nothing about the characters interested or endeared me to them and made me care what happened. I ended up skimming over much of the latter third of the book. Unfortunately for me, this was my first and possibly last Ruth Rendell book. Nothing about it makes me curious to read any other of her books.
Rating:
Summary: Sight for Sore Eyes
Review: I've read several of Ruth Rendell's books and this is probably my favorite. Her ability to describe unsavory characters--and to make the reader unwittingly root for them--is unmatched.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: If this book is the best Ruth Rendell has to offer, then I think I'll pass on the rest. The book was very descriptive, but was lacking a real plot. The characters had a lot of potential, but never followed through. To me, the time spent reading this book was wasted.
Rating:
Summary: A hero for whom only Ruth Rendell could make you empathize
Review: If your only know Ruth Rendell though TV versions of her twisted tales you have been cheated. The best part of her books is the interior mindscape of her characters - especially the criminal ones. The perfectly delicious A Sight for Sore Eyes gradually threads together three different stories, each with their own domestic horrors. A young girl who probably would have long since recovered from a childhood trauma if it wasn't for the 'help' of a failed child psychologist (unfortunately her stepmother), seeking freedom from her dull life. An emotionally vacant young man with a nasty secret in the boot of his car, seeking beauty for his drab world. A slightly raddled former rock groupie, with an elderly husband and a lovely house, seeking youth in the arms of young men. This author really knows how to twist a plot till it squirms, sqeals and shrieks. I way prefer this kind of Ruth Rendell creation to the slightly over-done Inspector Wexford series.
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