Rating: 
Summary: This is a dark, misanthropic psychological thriller.
Review: Not all of Rendell's novels are great. "Simisola" was very good and "Road Rage" was weak. "Sight for Sore Eyes" falls in between. It is a savage novel that casts a bright light on the dark recesses of some extremely pathological characters. Although Rendell is skilled at depicting such characters and her writing flows, the question remains: Do we want to know these people? She populates her novel with abusive parents, sociopathic men, and married couples who despise one another. This novels has more than its share of both physical and emotional brutality. I admire Rendell, but I find her point of view horrifying. What makes her so depressingly pessimistic about the human condition? Novel after novel, she seems to see the worst in people, almost as if she were writing a case study about psychotic characters. Her humor is sardonic and almost cruel. For instance, this novel has a stepmother named Julia who had been a "psychotherapist" of some sort, and she becomes psychotic herself. She binges on food, has paranoid fantasies, and behaves more and more bizarrely as the novel goes on. Instead of depicting this pathetic person with some measure of sympathy, Rendell makes her a darkly comic character. I fail to see humor in madness. Rendell is a great writer, but her view of humanity is a sad one, indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: Breathtaking, insidious suspense masterfully administered
Review: Once again Grand Master Rendell astonishes the reader with her unsurpassed talent for extraordinary characters colliding in genuinely surprising ways. As one enters the psyches of the participants in this odyssey; the aberrant paths they often travel, although often appalling, make an odd kind of sense, given each characters individual history. Ms. Rendell's use of symbolic objects as illuminations of this novel's characters has been little mentioned in reviews I've thus far perused; but the mirror, butterfly, crocheted wearables, jewelry, boa, dog, money, Edsel etc., subtly but significantly, add to the reader's comprehension of these, mostly deeply troubled, persons. Weaving the various tales together is done provocatively and meticulously and the result is both amazing and satisfying.
Rating: 
Summary: Who cares about the characters? The author-perhaps too much
Review: Please Note: This "review" contains spoilers. First, a disclaimer. I didn't really read this book - I listened to its Recorded Books version, narrated by perhaps the best reader I've heard. Her assumption of the persona of each character purely by change in tone and inflection was astonishing; although Rendell's great talent is primarily responsible for drawing such complete and disturbing portraits of those who populated her novel, my view of it was shaded by the voice of another besides that of the author. Perhaps only P.D. James rivals Rendell in the ability to use words to create atmosphere that draws the reader into so real a world one closes the book (or stops the tape, as it were), dazed as if emerging from a dark tunnel and needing some time to adjust one's eyes to the light. Upon finishing A Sight for Sore Eyes I did indeed feel dazed - and somewhat surprised to realize that I missed Teddy Brex! Like him - no, love him - no one could, not even Francine, in the end. But somehow Rendell managed to make him so real that when my life went on without him, it felt emptier with his absence. That's the true horror for me of this book - that I missed him when he was gone; in a way that neither Keith, nor Harriet, nor Julia were missed by anyone - not friends, not family, and certainly not the reader. To feel sorrow at the death of a fictional psychopath is the highest compliment to Rendell's artistry that could be paid. Unfortunately for the power of the novel, I'm afraid Rendell got a bit too caught up in Teddy's spell, along with Francine's (a character I enjoyed rooting for in her battles with Julia yet whose story paled next to Teddy's in emotional impact). Neither Teddy nor the reader ever experiences the full horror of his deserved though awful fate - the author permits him to fall quickly comatose, thereby avoiding the terror of slow but certain death along-side the corpses he alone is responsible for creating. While irony would be wasted on Teddy, its lack wastes the opportunity the author had to provide the reader with a climactic emotional peak of appalled clarity. As for Francine - does she realize with horrified disbelief that Teddy has killed Julia, setting her free from tyranny yet ever imprisoned by guilt? No! She never connects the dots, nor wonders why Teddy never tries to contact her again. If Julia's death hadn't been suspicious perhaps this sloppy plotting could have been overlooked, but to throw in a red herring suspect, then drop this altogether without it ever even occurring to Francine to wonder about what happened when Teddy picked her up - one wonders how both the author and her editor could have blown this so badly. And therein lies the only explanation I can muster - Rendell couldn't punish her characters any more than she had already. She became too fond of them - she let them off easy. As a reader who bcame attached to them as well, I sympathize, but by doing so, she blunted the impact of what could have been phenomenally powerful to become merely haunting. However, Rendell's "not quite best" work is still leagues past almost anyone else. This novel still haunts me, perhaps all the more so because it's forever associated for me with the smell of mulch, since I listened to it during the summer while I was outside planting flowers. Each time I walk in my yard, the scent brings back the story. I guess it always will.
Rating:
Summary: Who cares about the characters? The author-perhaps too much
Review: Please Note: This "review" contains spoilers. First, a disclaimer. I didn't really read this book - I listened to its Recorded Books version, narrated by perhaps the best reader I've heard. Her assumption of the persona of each character purely by change in tone and inflection was astonishing; although Rendell's great talent is primarily responsible for drawing such complete and disturbing portraits of those who populated her novel, my view of it was shaded by the voice of another besides that of the author. Perhaps only P.D. James rivals Rendell in the ability to use words to create atmosphere that draws the reader into so real a world one closes the book (or stops the tape, as it were), dazed as if emerging from a dark tunnel and needing some time to adjust one's eyes to the light. Upon finishing A Sight for Sore Eyes I did indeed feel dazed - and somewhat surprised to realize that I missed Teddy Brex! Like him - no, love him - no one could, not even Francine, in the end. But somehow Rendell managed to make him so real that when my life went on without him, it felt emptier with his absence. That's the true horror for me of this book - that I missed him when he was gone; in a way that neither Keith, nor Harriet, nor Julia were missed by anyone - not friends, not family, and certainly not the reader. To feel sorrow at the death of a fictional psychopath is the highest compliment to Rendell's artistry that could be paid. Unfortunately for the power of the novel, I'm afraid Rendell got a bit too caught up in Teddy's spell, along with Francine's (a character I enjoyed rooting for in her battles with Julia yet whose story paled next to Teddy's in emotional impact). Neither Teddy nor the reader ever experiences the full horror of his deserved though awful fate - the author permits him to fall quickly comatose, thereby avoiding the terror of slow but certain death along-side the corpses he alone is responsible for creating. While irony would be wasted on Teddy, its lack wastes the opportunity the author had to provide the reader with a climactic emotional peak of appalled clarity. As for Francine - does she realize with horrified disbelief that Teddy has killed Julia, setting her free from tyranny yet ever imprisoned by guilt? No! She never connects the dots, nor wonders why Teddy never tries to contact her again. If Julia's death hadn't been suspicious perhaps this sloppy plotting could have been overlooked, but to throw in a red herring suspect, then drop this altogether without it ever even occurring to Francine to wonder about what happened when Teddy picked her up - one wonders how both the author and her editor could have blown this so badly. And therein lies the only explanation I can muster - Rendell couldn't punish her characters any more than she had already. She became too fond of them - she let them off easy. As a reader who bcame attached to them as well, I sympathize, but by doing so, she blunted the impact of what could have been phenomenally powerful to become merely haunting. However, Rendell's "not quite best" work is still leagues past almost anyone else. This novel still haunts me, perhaps all the more so because it's forever associated for me with the smell of mulch, since I listened to it during the summer while I was outside planting flowers. Each time I walk in my yard, the scent brings back the story. I guess it always will.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, Rendell proves she's still Top of the Class
Review: Reading Rendell is Pure Enjoyment each time she writes a book i'm totally captavated, i can't wait for the next.
Rating:
Summary: She's Done It Again
Review: Rendell takes on the difficult task of trying to let the reader understand the workings of a cold, twisted, and almost inhuman mind--and she does it brilliantly. Teddy Brex is not a likeable character, but he's a bit like Patricia Highsmith's Talented Mr. Ripley--I found myself empathizing, if not exactly sympathizing with him. It's an extraordinary portrait of a character, and an unexpected bonus is that for suspense, it has some mordantly funny parts--when Teddy, trying to be inconspicuous, finds himself burdened with a corpse in a yellow Edsel, it's a uniquely Rendell situation. All the characters are intriguing, but it's Teddy who's haunting.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent to listen to
Review: Ruth Rendell has kept up her immense writing skills with this great but extremely wrenching account of the tragic life of Teddy Brex and all who cross his dangerous path. The writing is so excellent that I was continuosuly amazed at Ruth's skill in drawing one into the life of deprivation and shabbiness that Teddy experienced. Yes, I also felt some sympathy for him because of his pathetic neediness which only Francine could fulfill, despite his monstrous deeds. If you would like to read something really different, with a very satisfying ending just preceded by an ingenious twist try "A Sight for Sore Eyes". You might end up with sore eyes reading this through the night.
Rating: 
Summary: It all adds up to nothing
Review: The strength of this book is the characterizations, and all of the characters are unlikeable. I couldn't find myself caring about what happened to them. Usually Rendell is good at making unbelievable situations believable, but the plot in this novel was that of a second-rate potboiler. At the end of the book, I had the feeling, 'is that it?', which is not my usual reaction to Rendell's works. A real disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: You won't be able to put it down
Review: This book is disturbing, so be prepared. Not as disturbing as A Demon In My View (if you haven't read that one, think about it, as Rendell at her very best), I don't think a book could be more disturbing than that one, but both take you inside the world of psychopaths and those whose lives they cross (and the why and how they cross is fascinating.) I've had this book on hand for a while, and just started to read it this weekend. It's been in my hands for most of the weekend, as I couldn't put it down. I reached page 346, close to the end and could barely keep my eyes open but had to know what happened, when I found the pages abrubtly ended midsentence! The end was missing. Well, you can imagine how unsatisfied this reader is! How does it end? I have to wait to see. Check your pages when you get the book (and others by this publisher) to make sure they are all there. I'm ordering copy #2, but the waiting to see how this one ends won't be easy.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent psychological thriller
Review: This is a characteristic (meaning very high quality) novel of psychological suspense from Ruth Rendell. It reminds me in many ways of her "Keys to the Street." Three different stories -- of different people from very different social classes who have never met -- are brought together in a believable and intriguing way. The characters are convincingly and imaginatively drawn and the conclusion is surprising yet successful. Rendell is simply the best thriller/mystery writer ever (I'm confident of this assessment) and this is a must read for any thriller fan.
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