Wolf to the Slaughter

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely stunning
Review: Anita Margolis, young, beautiful, carefree, has vanished into thin air. She left her home to attend a party one wet evening, but has not been seen since. She is reported missing soon after by her brother, whom she shared a flat with, the acclaimed but eccentric artist Rupert Margolis. Inspector Burden quickly forms an impression of a wanton young girl simply gone off somewhere with a boyfriend having neglected to let anyone know. After all, she was that sort of woman, in Burden's opinion. However, Wexford has his doubts, and those doubts will soon be confirmed, and they will soon find themselves enmeshed in a case that will throw every assumption they make into doubt.

This is an early Wexford book, and it is brilliant. A simple notion, but true. One of the best of the entire series, actually, the fact of its quality equally matches that of the novels she is still producing and marks her out clearly as possibly the most reliable and captivating novelist of her generation, such is her constant unfailing ability. She writes absolutely brilliantly, with an emotional detachedness that makes it so much more powerful when she decides that now is the time to probe in the darkness of a particular characters mind and motivations. And those characters are unendingly fascinating, completely human yet with a shadowy darkness to them, and flawlessly depicted.

But it is not just her characters that mark her books out as special. Setting and story meld in equally with character in the most successful books to create a compelling whole, and Rendell accomplishes this with ease. The fictional Kingsmarkham is almost as tangible and atmospheric as the London she uses as the setting for some of her other non-Wexford novels. The reader feels they could easily be supplanted into the story, onto the streets of this fictional town, and yet already know its environs intimately.

And then, of course, the story too is near-perfect. It is dark, it is clever, it is affecting, it is psychologically acute, it is realistic (despite the false idea that these kind of traditional procedural novels tend not to be), it is engrossing, as well as being a plethora of other laudable adjectives as well. It shifts and moves and surprises and has excellent pace, carrying the reader through on a breathless ride - secured in by the mesmeric hand-at-your-throat grip of the prose - until a tension-filled conclusion, which leaves more than one character irredeemably altered for life.

Wolf to the Slaughter is simply yet another excellent novel from the woman who is, in my mind, the best writer in the world today. And that is all there is to it.

Rating:
Summary: An Early Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery
Review: Fans of Ruth Rendell who await each new Chief Inspector Wexford mystery from Ruth Rendell may wish to go back to her early works. Wolf to the Slaughter was her second Wexford mystery, written 33 years ago but with no loss of appeal for today's readers. Unworldly artist Rupert Margolis goes to the Kingsmarkham police, not to report that his younger sister Ann is missing, but to seek help finding someone to manage his household since Ann hasn't come home for several days. At the same time, Wexford receives an anonymous note reporting that a young woman named Ann was murdered by a small dark young man named Geoff Smith.

The book has the elements we have come to appreciate in Ruth Rendell mysteries, including the slow steady unraveling of the mystery by Wexford and his chief assistant Mike Burden, methodically tracking down the few leads, when they don't even have the victim's body; and an array of real human characters, such as the aging Ruby Branch, who supports the man she loves, Monkey Matthews, an ex-con well known to the Kingsmarkham police, by renting out a room for the evening no questions asked; Noreen Anstey, abandoned by her second husband, now regretting the wrong she did to her first, living alone and having to sell off her remaining valuables; and Mark Drayton, the young police officer who never lets himself get seriously involved with any young women while he works hard to advance in the police force. It's Wexford's and Burden's keen understanding of human nature that helps put the pieces of this mystery together and leads them to the victim and the killer. The two play off each other well: Burden coming up with an important insight into the identity of the predator in the case, and Wexford pulling the sequence of events all together in a surprise finish.

Rating:
Summary: Affecting and tautly-plotted mystery
Review: Ruth Rendell is a talented writer, but I often have problems with elements of her plots being a little bit predictable-- this is definitely not the case with _Wolf to the Slaughter_. The book constantly suprises and manages to do so without any deus ex machina tricks that might make it unconvincing.

A mysterious note that claims someone was murdered, a stain on a carpet that may or may not be blood, and a gold lighter with a leading inscription-- these are the only clues that Wexford and his crew have to what might not even be a crime. Mix in a slightly mad painter, three women who gave their hearts unwisely, and a young policeman in love for the first time and you've got a compelling mystery novel which is one of the best Rendells I've read to date.

Rating:
Summary: Rendell cements her reputation with this one!
Review: Ruth Rendell's Chief Inspector Wexford mysteries are important entries to the police procedural genre. This, the second of the series, is probably the book that cemented Rendell's decision to continue. The daughter of local artist Rupert Margolis hasn't been home in a few days, but her father isn't reporting her disappearance. No, instead, he is filling out inquirings for someone to help him manage his household in his daughter's stead! And then Wexford receives a note that says daughter Ann has been murdered, and the suspects name given. With his ever-present second in command Mike Burden, Wexford begins his investigation, characterized by methodical thinking and well-paced moving! The plot becomes ever so convoluted--but don't give up. Rendell is in complete charge (it's one of her longer Wexfords) and by the conclusion her logial thinking, clever plot execution, and expert character development have won the day.

"Wolf to the Slaughter" is also perhaps one of Rendell's most suspense-filled books (of the Wexford series). A local hotel has been letting one of its rooms as a love nest, but when a man with a knife one evening gets through with it, it is a room of blood, violence, and death. But whose? There's no corpse to be found! Wexford and Burden take over and the pages turn automatically after this, as Rendell's heros leave no stone unturned--nor sheet unfurled! Rendell has published many other books that are not in the series (she also writes under the name of Barbara Vine) and, with each, she clearly knows what she's writing about--she's a master here. And the surprise ending is handled masterly, too! ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Rendell cements her reputation with this one!
Review: Ruth Rendell's Chief Inspector Wexford mysteries are important entries to the police procedural genre. This, the second of the series, is probably the book that cemented Rendell's decision to continue. The daughter of local artist Rupert Margolis hasn't been home in a few days, but her father isn't reporting her disappearance. No, instead, he is filling out inquirings for someone to help him manage his household in his daughter's stead! And then Wexford receives a note that says daughter Ann has been murdered, and the suspects name given. With his ever-present second in command Mike Burden, Wexford begins his investigation, characterized by methodical thinking and well-paced moving! The plot becomes ever so convoluted--but don't give up. Rendell is in complete charge (it's one of her longer Wexfords) and by the conclusion her logial thinking, clever plot execution, and expert character development have won the day.

"Wolf to the Slaughter" is also perhaps one of Rendell's most suspense-filled books (of the Wexford series). A local hotel has been letting one of its rooms as a love nest, but when a man with a knife one evening gets through with it, it is a room of blood, violence, and death. But whose? There's no corpse to be found! Wexford and Burden take over and the pages turn automatically after this, as Rendell's heros leave no stone unturned--nor sheet unfurled! Rendell has published many other books that are not in the series (she also writes under the name of Barbara Vine) and, with each, she clearly knows what she's writing about--she's a master here. And the surprise ending is handled masterly, too! ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: "The dead have no regrets."
Review: When eccentric local artist Rupert Margolis wanders into the Kingsmarkham police station and asks Sergeant Camb "how one goes about finding a charwoman" he also casually announces that his beautiful sister Ann has gone missing. Ann, famous for expertly juggling several men at once, was scheduled to attend a boring dinner party some days earlier at the home of Mr. And Mrs. Cawthorne. When Chief Inspector Wexford receives an anonymous note saying that a girl named Ann has been murdered, he discovers that Ann Margolis is not only missing, but also that she never attended the party as planned.

Wexford traces the anonymous letter to a peculiar character known as Ruby Branch. Ruby rents out a room in her house for secret liaisons, and when detectives discover that Ruby scrubbed bloodstains from the carpet, it seems that they've discovered the location of the crime ...

As a fan of Ruth Rendall mystery films, I was drawn to the novel "Wolf to the Slaughter", and I must say that I was terribly impressed with both the intricate plot and the fascinating characters. The story is the tale of a beautiful, wealthy woman who has no shortage of lovers--and this list includes married men. Ann Margolis is a flighty creature who leaves broken hearts behind in her pursuit of new victims, and her love life is both active and secret. This makes some of the detective work a bit more difficult for Inspector Wexford and his men, and solid detective work is emphasized in these pages. The characters created by Rendall make this book a fascinating read, and as the investigation intensifies, assorted characters come out of the woodwork. There's Mr. Kirkpatrick, Ann's married lover who's terrified of his wife. Kirkpatrick is a rather sad and pathetic creature who can't grasp the idea that Ann is way out of his league, and he's desperate to hang onto her. There's Linda Grover--her father owns the disreputable grubby newsagent shop, and Detective Drayton is helplessly attracted to her beauty while "he despised her for her origins, her poverty of conversation, the pitiful smallness of her world." There's Knobby Clark, the ingratiating, shady fence who would "sell his grandmother for cat's meat," and the delightful jeweler Mr. Scratcherd who resembles "a very old and amiable parrot." Fans of detective novels should find "Wolf to the Slaughter" a riveting, consuming, and satisfying read--displacedhuman