Trying to catch up on my reading posts, as I have read about a book a day, lately.
Going backwards might be easier...
1)Road Rage - by Ruth Rendell, an Inspector Wexford mystery
Many of Rendell's mysteries feature a personal backstory impatiently tugging at the Inspector as he attempts to solve his case- in this volume, the mystery and the personal story are intertwined as Wexford's wife Dora is among those kidnapped by an eco-terrorist organization. For me the quality of the mystery centers on whether I can guess the culprits and the degree to which I can deduce their means and modus operandi. I did guess most of it in this case, thought not all and as this usually happens with Rendell this is why I keep reading and keep respecting her- though I become ever more skilled at deducing her with each mystery. In some cases, as with
2)Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (1992) I had her made throughout the book, yet her characterization of upper crust English nobility country living were still interesting enough to keep me reading. Also it was a Wexford, and one does follow the events in the character's lives through the series- this one didn't have much on the personal side, either. This novel concludes so abruptly I was convinced I'd lost a few pages-not at all her usual style. A visit to the library (where they dredged the book up from storage) confirmed that the book had, in fact, ended. I was disappointed in her for not giving a bit more denoument, however she seems to like to experiment ( witness the many novels outside the Wexford series) and that is to her credit.
Also this week,
3)End in Tears (2006)
A jump into the novelist's future. Why didn't I like this one? Hmm, it started promisingly with a boy dropping a brick from a highway overpass ( something I investigated many a time)...and hinged on the love of a small child, but the various subplot angles - child porn, surrogacy,call girl,drugs- mostly came to dead ends and the surrogacy angle was not wholly believable, nor was a midwife character who kept feet in both camps. The device of the uber-rich bad white guy was employed ( ugh, Bond), also not creditable. A subplot regarding a young woman investigator and her interest in an Indian colleague was well executed; the age disparity between Wexford and this junior investigator was adroitly and wryly handled - far better than his irritation with his eldest daughter, which becomes tiresome as the reasons for it never seem to jell.
Prior to that there was a non-Wexford,
4) A Sight for Sore Eyes (1999)
worth reading because freed from the constraints of having to follow her character's formulaic lives, Rendell proved startlingly apt at re-creating the detached unsympathetic psychopathic eye of Teddy Brex, raised in an atmosphere of emotional/familial neglect ( however, fed and clothed) and a bit less accomplished at providing a full bodied characterization for Francine, his female counterpart. Closer to the horror spectrum than I care to read, however, too many bodies, no police presence, too macabre for me.
Then we had
5) Simisola (1997)
more recent as evidenced by mounting references to the London/Kingsmarkham area's increasingly multicultural hues. This one was a mystery delight in that she bested me ( I went for he false villain, there always is one, a "counter-suspect" if you will) and the detail with which the plot is crafted was admirable- it hung on so many tiny, tiny factors, that it left the reader deducing and following all the way to the end. She left the clues out for one to follow, but tracking the many narrative threads ( how about the fact that there are scenes where the reader follows Burden, in others Wexford) was a formidable task - this was well crafted and complex, I give it high marks for being one of her best. That the final plot twist hinged on an incest angle was a bit over the top, in my opinion.
6)Harm Done (2000)
Also didn't care for (now, bear in mind I say that but would listen to/read any Wexford mystery to keep up), listened to as an audio book, some tiresome social issues and the female investigator stupidly managed to get herself locked in the bad guy's upstairs bedroom - in America should would have been shot dead, mind you, too risky to have her around unraveling the scheme- the contingent plot lines of a murdered policeman, waves of press inquiry, missing children...I agree with the reviewers, too much, too heavy.
7) Unkindness of Ravens (1985)
I may have already written of this in another blog, but in hindsight it reminds me strongly of End in Tears. What's good about is it the tensions between family life and police life and the development of Burden and Wexford as characters. This earlier effort is more reminiscent of Dorothy Simpson in its stiffer, less intimate prose and reliance on the "cozy" form.
8)No More Dying Then (1999)
One of her best- she truly gets inside Burden's head, he is miserable with the death of his wife and reaches out for comfort to the scintillating complainant with a kidnapped son. I did entirely guess the mystery (though not the means), but the character development was so strong, I didn't care. Again she did a great job piling on tiny details as breadcrumbs for the reader. One caveat- the kidnapper was so far offstage that we knew nothing of her motives, thus they did not transmit as credible as all motives were relayed in exposition by Wexford/Burden, details the reader wasn't privy to in some instances.
There, I believe I got them all down,as so far read, however haven't made a dent in the Dorothy Simpsons which I've been reading also.... more next time.
