Tree of Hands

Rating:
Summary: more first-class fiction
Review: Benet Archdale's selfish mother Margaret ("Mopsa") was mad. She once tried to stab her 14 year old daughter with a carving knife as they travelled in a train together. Now, after many years Mopsa is supposedly recovered, living with her husband in Spain, while Benet, now a writer, remains alone in England with her young son James.

But now Mopsa has to return to England, to undergo some final assessments at the hospital where she was treated, and she is going to stay with her daughter, who constantly has to remind herself not to hate her mother who was, after all, mentally ill. This, then, is the set-up for Rendell's CWA Dagger-winning novel. And it is a set-up that leads to a violent chain of assault, deception, the kidnap of a child, and, finally, murder.

I normally end up saying mostly the same things about Rendell's brilliant books. Brilliant character, deadly psychology, complex, skilful plotting, fearful atmosphere, etc etc etc. This, I suppose, may give the impression that Rendell's books are all rather similar, but that is not so at all. They are all, every one of them, different and original and exquisite pieces of fiction. However, it is those factors (darkness, psychological brilliance, piercing character and social insight, seamless plotting) which unite her works undoubtedly. Each novel brings a different twist to the "formula" (I use quotation marks because there is actually no real formula for anything Rendell does), though, and each one sparkles.

The Tree of Hands is another excellent book from Rendell. It seems often that she can do no wrong, and I get sick of saying "another brilliant book by Rendell", but there is little else one CAN say when all an author's books are uniformly excellent. This book is unpredictable, shocking, horrifyingly compelling. The chain of events (Rendell has always been a first-class examiner of notions of cause-and-effect) unfolds with dreadful reality, horrific certainty and strength. It is rather saddening how Rendell shows us the numerous chances people may have to escape their fate, but don't take it. The course of destruction moves relentless on in Rendell's work. It is not cheerful fiction, not for those who like an up-lifting story. Instead, it is a dark work of dreadful consequence of the most innocent of actions, where normal people's lives become at risk through the influence of those who exist on some kind of edge of normalcy. The Tree of Hands is a brilliant, intelligent, shocking, haunting and eerie work that deserves fully its accolades.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful writing (if a bit bleak)
Review: This book started out a bit of a "duty" read. After all, how could I call myself a dedicated mystery reader having read only one Vine/Rendell. This book won a Dagger which seemed reason enough to chose it over others by Rendell. My recollection of my earlier read (as well as the reviews of her books in general) was that her stories tend to be a bit on the bleak side. In many ways, "The Tree of Hands" is a dark and sad story.

Still, the bleakness of the story is a small price for the chance to read this intriguing tale of three lives that are at once spiraling out of control and towards each other. Most interesting is the story of Benet. When Benet's toddler son dies of illness, Benet's mentally ill mother brings home another boy of the same age. Benet is aghast but doesn't want her mother (or herself) to be arrested for kidnapping. Then she discovers the child has been abused. At the same time, the boyfriend of the biological mother is falsely accused of the boy's murder and we watch his world unravel. A third plot is added latter which is more tangentially related.

Rendell spins this tale in a way that captured even me, a reluctant reader. In one sense it was a depressing read but at the same time I was captivated and eager to read another chapter. "The Tree of Hands" is hardly a conventional murder mystery but it is an excellant example of pyschological suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Like mother, like daughter
Review: Wow, what a book!I laughed, cried, got angry and was totally shocked at this book!The characters are so believable.Here you have this sweet, lonely woman who is trying to balance a writing carrer and raising a child on her own.Her mother: Bitter, confused and lonely herself believes that if you lose something....that's okay..."I'll get you another one."The story takes off like a roller coaster ride and ends leaving the reader totally shocked.This book would make a great motion picture!Gary