Rating: 
Summary: Strange, Absorbing, Fascinating.
Review: ...........~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ Ruth Rendell is a master, when she takes extremely strange situations, and examines them from the point of view of the people inside them, and we suddenly find ourselves starting to find the strangeness, familiar! In this book, a young girl has been brought up in almost total isolation. She must flee, as her mother, who has cared for her all her life, is about to be arrested.
The tale is about the girl's first glimpse at life outside her own little "castle", but even more about the life she grew up in. She has seen a young man around the estate she grew up on, and she flees with him, living in his motor home. The fascinating part of the story is her recounting of her truly fantastically strange life with her mother, which she tells in very "matter of fact" way.
The ending is just nerve-wrackingly suspenseful enough, and provides a sense of closure I give this book 4 **** stars, as an extremely absorbing mysterious story. It's definitely not your ordinary who-dun-it!
Rating: 
Summary: Mersmerizing. Captivating. The best!
Review: Along with Tree of Hands, this is my favorite work by Ruth Rendell. She is such a gifted novelist and talented writer. The first time through this book, I was totally captivated by the artistry of her presentation and the intriguing-ness of the plot. I can't believe that one professional reviewer found it slow. I was totally gripped as the story progeressed and totally unsure about what would happen. I feared the worst and thought the whole thing had been set up brilliantly. Everything about this was great in my opinion: the mystery, the characterizations, the captivating setting. I've reread it just to see the artistry. There's much here of the passion of physical love and how parents can hurt their children and the resilience of a gifted human spirit. I loved it.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull and implausible
Review: Am I the only one who finds most of Rendell's books dull, silly and implausible? This one was particularly bad. The central idea was laboured and highly unlikely and rammed home to the reader by countless reiterations of the same theme. Dickens, indeed! I've rarely come across such unbelievable characters or such poor dialogue. And how anyone can compare Rendell's writng to that of P.D. James amazes me. Baroness James couldn't write this badly if she tried.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly her best book
Review: Because I am lazy, by way of a synopsis I am just going to copy from this book's blurb: Liza and her mother have led a strange, enclosed life in their remote home, the gatehouse of a country mansion. But now all this must end. Eve has told Liza she must leave. Because Eve has killed a man. And he is not the first. At seventeen years of age, with £100 in cash, Liza is cast adrift into a terrifying world she has never known. But she is not alone. For there is one secret that she has kept from her mother - her love-affair with Sean, the young man from the big house. With him, Liza gradually learns about the world, about herself, and must come to terms with the possibility that the murderous violence of her mother may also be present in her. The Crocodile Bird (I love that title) is one of those very curious Rendell titles: one that is more literature than a crime novel, and one that is also very close to the style of the books published under her Barbara Vine name, in that it deals heavily with ideas about the effect of hidden crimes from the past coming to haunt the present. Indeed, this should probably have been published under that other name, so similar is it in style. If I were forced to pick a favourite title by Rendell...no, strike that. I couldn't possibly choose a favourite. If I were forced to pick a top five, this would unquestionably be in there somewhere. Thinking about it, though, I am finding it hard to elucidate upon exactly why, apart from saying something like, It's brilliant. It is, that is true, but there is far more that can be said about it. Everything about it is fascinating: How Liza copes as she is forced to venture out alone into the world and "discover" everything her mother has kept hidden from her; the relationship between Liza and her mother: the developing relationship between Liza and Shaun, as she gradually grows more dependent, away from her "protector"; the gradual unfolding of the events from the past, and the tale of Liza's upbringing, isolated in the gatehouse. Its atmosphere grows incrementally more sinister as Rendell sticks each needle into the doll with relish. It's not as crime-ey as her other books; there's little mystery, only carefully explored tension. It is delicate and graceful, and the ending is a delight. It is entirely different in tone from the norm of Rendell finales: it is less catastrophic, and unlike many of her books little of the restrained brutality manages to seep out into the conclusion. Instead, we have an ending that tells us that sometimes, things may not turn out as badly as we expect. They may not turn out as we would wish, but people can overcome hurdles and the damage of their lives and have functional, normal lives. We are not necessarily confined by our upbringing. It's a fascinating, compelling and powerful book. Observing Liza as she finds her way in the world is a priceless experience. Rendell shows us the quirks of our world, and she makes the mundane aspects of it which we are all so familiar with seem magical and remarkable, when seen from the eyes of one who has never known it before. This, in all justice, should have been Booker-winning stuff.
Rating:
Summary: My First Rendell
Review: But not my last. I am a mystery reader - my wife gave me this one for Christmas. I am now definitely a Rendell fan. And this is definitely not your typical mystery. First off, within the first few pages you know who did it. But if you hang in there, a truly unusual tale unfolds, told in a nicely managed combination of flashback and present day. I thought I saw the ending written on the wall about half way through the book - and she keeps piling it on all the time - Rendell kept me riveted all the way to the very last page. I read the last hundred pages at one sitting because I couldn't stand it any longer. Looks like my Wish List is going to grow by several more titles. . .
Rating:
Summary: My First Rendell
Review: But not my last. I am a mystery reader - my wife gave me this one for Christmas. I am now definitely a Rendell fan. And this is definitely not your typical mystery. First off, within the first few pages you know who did it. But if you hang in there, a truly unusual tale unfolds, told in a nicely managed combination of flashback and present day. I thought I saw the ending written on the wall about half way through the book - and she keeps piling it on all the time - Rendell kept me riveted all the way to the very last page. I read the last hundred pages at one sitting because I couldn't stand it any longer. Looks like my Wish List is going to grow by several more titles. . .
Rating: 
Summary: Into a strange mind and history
Review: I couldn't wait to put this one down! I had heard great things about Rendell so I expected at the very least an interesting story. When I got halfway through the book & still nothing had happened - no suspense, no mature dialogue, no realistic storyline - I gave up and stopped reading. If you're looking for suspense, mystery, atmosphere, etc. - you won't find it here!
Rating:
Summary: Slow, Tedious & Boring
Review: I couldn't wait to put this one down! I had heard great things about Rendell so I expected at the very least an interesting story. When I got halfway through the book & still nothing had happened - no suspense, no mature dialogue, no realistic storyline - I gave up and stopped reading. If you're looking for suspense, mystery, atmosphere, etc. - you won't find it here!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding novel from an outstanding writer
Review: I totally agree with the previous reviewer! Why indeed is Rendell not more popular? It is mystifying to see people go hog wild over Mary Higgins Clark who is obviously inferior to Rendell . This book is absolutely absorbing!
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding
Review: I was intrigued by the title because I knew what a crocodile bird is/was. I did not know how the term would be worked into a mystery story. I soon learned much to my enjoyment. I did not feel sorry for Lisa and the way she was over-protected by her mother. That was her life and the only one she knew. I thought that soon something would happen and she would be able to become a part of the real world. I thought the way the author handled the things that Lisa gradually found out about was done very well. Never going to school or having friends her age, etc. must have been difficult, but then she did not know anything else. I was pleased with the ending. You just know that Lisa went on and made a success of her life. Not the usual Rendell ending which usually is in chaos with the police car at the door.
| 
