Rating: 
Summary: My continual rantings about Rendell must be getting tiresome
Review: As I'm lazy, I'm just going to copy out the official blurb (plus, I can't say it any better):Jack Pertwee was getting married in the morning. Charlie Hatton drove his lorry eleven hours down from Leeds just to be there. Charlie was Jack's best friend and he would be his best man. When the two parted at the Kingsbrook bridge, jack felt as though his life was just beginning. But for Charlie Hatton, life was about to end. Detective Chief Inspector Wexford wondered why the fatal Fanshawe car accident kept upsetting his concentration on the Hatton murder. There couldn't be a connection. Fanshawe had been a wealthy stockbroker, Charlie Hatton a cocky little lorry driver with some illegal dealing. But was it just a coincidence that Hatton had been killed on the day following that of Mrs Fanshawe's regaining consciousness? On first read, several years ago when I was about 12, this book didn't strike me as one of the greatest Wexford's. On re-reading it, my estimation is much, much improved. The Best Man to Die is another excellent Wexford novel from Rendell's early period. It doesn't have the wonderful, vicious darkness of Wolf to the Slaughter or the unique quality of Some Lie or Some Die, but it remains a very very excellent and clever mystery that will likely confound even the most practiced of crime-fiction readers. It did me, even though I had read it before! I could remember, just about, who, but for the life of me I had no idea why, until Rendell revealed all in one of those excellent last-revelation chapters that she does so so well. At this point in the series, neither Wexford nor Burden had begun to fully develop quite yet; primarily these early books are plot novels and character foible novels. Still, Wexford is certainly beginning to show hints of how interesting he is, and his family life begins to take on the wonderful life it does later in the series. Here, actually, Wexford seems slightly out-of-character; he's less patient, possibly. Less tolerant perhaps? Certainly, he wasn't quite as warm as in many of the other books, but his skills as a detective are borne out wonderfully in an excellent mystery. The Best Man to Die (again, one of Rendell's treasures that have been left out of print. I doubt you'll be able to get this anywhere except second-hand) is a great, impeccably written mystery. Rendell dissects her characters motivations marvellously. I would recommend this, of course, very highly indeed, but I don't think it's really the place to begin reading Wexford.
Rating: 
Summary: No Characters To Grab You
Review: I disliked this book. The crime and its solution are run-of-the-mill, nothing particularly interesting or special about them. But my real gripe is the characters - virtually every character in the story, including the detective, are sour, unpleasant people. Certainly, there are unpleasant people in real life, and there is no reason an author should shy away from them. However, in a novel, there needs to be someone in whom you can be interested. In this novel, there is no character that grabs you and makes you want to read the book. The detective is crabby, his assistant is crabby, the victim was a jerk, the victim's best friend and best friend's wife are both whiney, and on and on. Just not written very well at all.
Rating:
Summary: Twists of plot all over the place - excellent!
Review: Not your usual predictable murder mystery. I usually don't like the Inspector Wexford stuff, but this one was outstanding, read it!
Rating:
Summary: Twists of plot all over the place - excellent!
Review: Not your usual predictable murder mystery. I usually don't like the Inspector Wexford stuff, but this one was outstanding, read it!
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Inspector Wexford Mystery
Review: This is an early Ruth Rendell but she is an amazing author who hit her stride from the start. This particular book is loveable for its credible character development and Rendell's unique ability to convey life in the English countryside. If, like me, you have followed every detail in the life of Wexford and his sidekick Burden you will not want to miss this one. (If you are new to Rendell, I envy you the pleasures that await you). The plot is classic Rendell: believable complexity and writing as smooth as silk. She's so easy to read you may overlook her expert use of language; although she technically writes "mysteries" she is far above the madding crowd in writing skill. In my opinion she is one of the best authors alive today and thank heavens she is so prolific!
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Inspector Wexford Mystery
Review: This is an early Ruth Rendell but she is an amazing author who hit her stride from the start. This particular book is loveable for its credible character development and Rendell's unique ability to convey life in the English countryside. If, like me, you have followed every detail in the life of Wexford and his sidekick Burden you will not want to miss this one. (If you are new to Rendell, I envy you the pleasures that await you). The plot is classic Rendell: believable complexity and writing as smooth as silk. She's so easy to read you may overlook her expert use of language; although she technically writes "mysteries" she is far above the madding crowd in writing skill. In my opinion she is one of the best authors alive today and thank heavens she is so prolific!
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Inspector Wexfield
Review: This particular Rendell mystery is loveable for its credible character development and Rendell's unique ability to convey life in the English countryside. If, like me, you have followed every detail in the life of Wexford and his sidekick Burden you shouldn't miss this one. The plot is classic Rendell: complexity with credibility and writing as smooth as silk. She's so easy to read you may overlook her expertise. One of the best living authors and thankfully prolific!
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Inspector Wexfield
Review: This particular Rendell mystery is loveable for its credible character development and Rendell's unique ability to convey life in the English countryside. If, like me, you have followed every detail in the life of Wexford and his sidekick Burden you shouldn't miss this one. The plot is classic Rendell: complexity with credibility and writing as smooth as silk. She's so easy to read you may overlook her expertise. One of the best living authors and thankfully prolific!
Rating: 
Summary: A standard detective crime story with a forseeable ending
Review: This was the fourth or fifth Wexford book that I have read and it certainly lived up to expectations - nothing too thought provoking but a typical well-crafted Ruth Rendall detective story. The characterization was again standard fare with characatures rather than substance but there is only so much one can cram into 150-odd pages. However, the plot moves along with some pace and unless one thinks too hard about "who did it", in which case like me you'll probably guess who did do it, the book is a great way to while away two or three spare hours.
Rating: 
Summary: A reprint of a 1969 Inspector Wexford Novel
Review: While the Inspector Wexford novels are generally good, this one is a little dated. The references to money, with an indication that 120 pounds sterling was a large amount that made a man flush, needs to be taken in the context of the time and the country, i.e., the UK where pay scales may have been a quarter the amount in the US. The amount noted, at that time a little under $300 in US funds, would not have been exceptionally high by US standards even in 1969. I also had a bit of a problem with the writing style as the author tends to jump from one character and scene to another while going from one written sentence to the next. It would be nice to have a break indicating a change of scene, even a blank line on the page. This is an editorial problem which I blame on the publisher. The plot is complex, and initially starts out with a number of seemingly unrelated events. It involves marriages, mistresses, children, a dog, some amount of crime, of course a couple murders, people not cooperating with the police, and class distinctions with some working class people just trying to keep their heads above water. When the police investigate a man's murder, the investigation opens up various cans of worms. There are people making a little money on the side, women looking for rich men, men looking for rich women, married men chasing around, and the police trying to tie everything together. Overall an interesting plot of 201 pages in this edition.
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