Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not brilliant
Review: 'Harm Done' is the latest in the Inspector Wexford series from Ruth Rendell, and isn't a bad addition to the pile. Firstly, it's good points. It is complex, joining together several different mysteries (which are in fact not at all related, at least not directly) and is well written. It also picks up pace at the end of the book and keeps the reader guessing. Even better, it is socially applicable as Rendell strides into a commentary relevant to modern day society over paedophilia and domestic abuse.On the downside, the book loses paces towards the middle, when it is less exciting. It also always feels like each conclusion is rather rushed and does not really have any evidence to back it up - Wexford seems to simply somehow get it right and - magic - he gets a confession. There is good characterisation and I will certainly give Rendell the fact that the book is complex and intriguing in this respect, but she has done better.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the Best, but not Bad!
Review: A friend who glanced at this book sniffed, "I don't know how you can read those English who-killed-the-vicar-in-the-library things, I don't have the patience", and I had to laugh because this is just about as opposite a novel as you can get. This book has three themes, the disappearance of two young women; an elderly pedophile released from prison; and a severely abused housewife. Ms. Rendell writes so well, detailing the hellish life of the housewife in stomach-roiling detail. She also includes some of her deliciously psychotic character studies, and of course all this is seen through the eyes of dear familiar Insp. Wexford. There is a trace of humor in this book involving the inhabitants of a lowish class housing development picketing the old reprobate's apartment, singing "Stand By Your Kids" to the tune of "Stand By Your Man", and similar silliness that would make Jerry Springer feel right at home! Sally Jesse, Maury Povich, and Jenny Jones would fit right into this modern day England, and not a vicar in sight! I am only giving it 4 stars because the stories do not tie together and they meander somewhat, this is not Ms. Rendell's usual top=notch work. Also, Ms. Rendell and Insp. Wexford are both getting up there in years, and I hope she goes on writing forever, but there are hints the refined and compassionate policeman may be getting weary of the crazy modern day world that is not only lived in England, but all over. I hope Ms. Rendell has many, many more novels in her yet and we will see her policeman back on top of the game. When she is great, words cannot express the deep emotional impact her novels have on my psyche. When she is merely good, as in "Harm Done", she is still sublime. Rather than 4 stars, let me give this a "9" on a one to ten scale. I look forward to her next books, both Wexford and non-Wexford.
Rating:
Summary: Not the Best, but not Bad!
Review: A friend who glanced at this book sniffed, "I don't know how you can read those English who-killed-the-vicar-in-the-library things, I don't have the patience", and I had to laugh because this is just about as opposite a novel as you can get. This book has three themes, the disappearance of two young women; an elderly pedophile released from prison; and a severely abused housewife. Ms. Rendell writes so well, detailing the hellish life of the housewife in stomach-roiling detail. She also includes some of her deliciously psychotic character studies, and of course all this is seen through the eyes of dear familiar Insp. Wexford. There is a trace of humor in this book involving the inhabitants of a lowish class housing development picketing the old reprobate's apartment, singing "Stand By Your Kids" to the tune of "Stand By Your Man", and similar silliness that would make Jerry Springer feel right at home! Sally Jesse, Maury Povich, and Jenny Jones would fit right into this modern day England, and not a vicar in sight! I am only giving it 4 stars because the stories do not tie together and they meander somewhat, this is not Ms. Rendell's usual top=notch work. Also, Ms. Rendell and Insp. Wexford are both getting up there in years, and I hope she goes on writing forever, but there are hints the refined and compassionate policeman may be getting weary of the crazy modern day world that is not only lived in England, but all over. I hope Ms. Rendell has many, many more novels in her yet and we will see her policeman back on top of the game. When she is great, words cannot express the deep emotional impact her novels have on my psyche. When she is merely good, as in "Harm Done", she is still sublime. Rather than 4 stars, let me give this a "9" on a one to ten scale. I look forward to her next books, both Wexford and non-Wexford.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't add up
Review: An imperfect Rendell novel is still better than 99% of the crime fiction available. That said, this one isn't perfect. It definitely pales in comparison with *Simisola*, which dealt with similar issues in a tighter and more devastating way. I would have expected Rendell to weave together the 3 sub-plots (the abducted girls, the pedophile, and the kidnapped toddler) in a shocking, revelatory way, but she doesn't. The book feels more like 2 novellas and a short story, with Wexford as the common thread. I appreciate the feminist consciousness that Rendell's been weaving into the Wexford novels; it makes a great counterpoint to her visions of female evil and criminality. However, I found the presentation of the battered-woman plot strangely cold. Even the sympathetic "good man" Wexford remains an outside observer, unable to comprehend the horrible events he discovers, and so the reader does too. *Harm Done* falls short of the tragic power and immediacy of Roddy Doyle's *The Woman who Walked into Doors*.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not her best!
Review: As usual Ruth Rendall does a wonderful job of combining social commentary and mystery without getting on a soapbox. However, this latest installment of the Inspector Wexford series offers little excitement or suspense. It also seems bogged down by useless detail. I felt the book would have been greatly improved if it had been cut by about a hundred pages. Rendall will always have a fan in me. But I look forward to her return to form.
Rating:
Summary: Rendell does it yet again
Review: Her previous Wexford novel 'Road Rage' was always going to be hard to follow, but once again Ruth Rendell has demonstrated why she has been dubbed the modern 'Queen of Crime'. 'Harm Done' broaches the subjects of paedophilia, domestic violence and abduction, managing to be as addictive as it is disturbing. In the end is left to the reader to decide whether the end result of the major crime is justified by the means - and the novel is as suspenseful as ever. Wexford continues to delight, and it is difficult to imagine Rendell ever writing a less than superb thriller. Right out of the top drawer - in other words, a normal day at the office for Ruth Rendell.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: I had never read one of Ruth Rendell's works before, and based on this one, I probably never will again. I thought her book was infinitely boring, the plot developed so slowly it was like watching paint dry. In addition the characters were two-dimensional, and Rendell's (too) many plot lines were disjointed, the abduction of the two girls having absolutely nothing to do with her main theme of domestic abuse. The only reason I kept reading was that I expected it, or hoped that it would get better. Needless to say I was sorely disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Another masterpiece by Ruth Rendell.
Review: I have been reading Ruth Rendell since I was in high school, 30 years ago. I thought when I read "Judgement in Stone" then that mystery writing could not get any better than that. How wrong I was. At a rate of two or three books per year, Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine has honed her craft to a point where, I believe, no other mystery writer before or since has ever achieved such heights of excellence in brilliant prose, high-tension plotting, fascinating character study, as well as thought-provoking social commentary. Her body of work stands as a shining example of a writer's growth. I used to think heaven would be a warehouse full of undiscovered Dorothy Sayers manuscripts. Now I think heaven would be if Ruth Rendell goes on writing forever and that one can read her in the after-life.
Rating:
Summary: No Harm Done Here
Review: I have just stumbled upon some of the great books by Ruth Rendell, the first being "A Sight for Sore Eyes" which I absolutely loved. "Harm Done" was the 2nd book I read (actually listened to on audiobook) and liked it too, but not as well as the first. I was really getting into the story line about the girls who mysteriously disappeared, then returned in a few days unwilling or unable to tell police what had happened to them. I was sure the pedophile brought into the story was the culprit, but the two things had nothing to do with the other. I was a bit disappointed when the explanation came out midway through the book and it wasn't anything to get too worked up about. Then the author went on a completely different track with the abused woman plot. I guess they did all tie in together as the abused woman's baby had turned up missing too. I liked the book and will be reading more of Ruth Rendell's work, but I prefer the books that are more suspense and less Inspector Wexford.
Rating:
Summary: No Harm Done Here
Review: I have just stumbled upon some of the great books by Ruth Rendell, the first being "A Sight for Sore Eyes" which I absolutely loved. "Harm Done" was the 2nd book I read (actually listened to on audiobook) and liked it too, but not as well as the first. I was really getting into the story line about the girls who mysteriously disappeared, then returned in a few days unwilling or unable to tell police what had happened to them. I was sure the pedophile brought into the story was the culprit, but the two things had nothing to do with the other. I was a bit disappointed when the explanation came out midway through the book and it wasn't anything to get too worked up about. Then the author went on a completely different track with the abused woman plot. I guess they did all tie in together as the abused woman's baby had turned up missing too. I liked the book and will be reading more of Ruth Rendell's work, but I prefer the books that are more suspense and less Inspector Wexford.
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