I have written before
in this blog of my huge admiration for Ruth Rendell. At one time, I had read
every novel and short story she'd published, both under her own name and as
Barbara Vine. In the past 10 years or so, however, I've missed a few titles,
and I've rather felt that (with a few notable exceptions) her most recent books
have not quite reached the remarkable standards of excellence that she set in
the past. But she remains a gifted writer, and I'm keen to fill in the gaps.
I decided that I'd try
an audio book version of one of her Wexford stories, and was tempted by End in
Tears, especially as it was read by Christopher Ravenscroft, who was so good on
television in the role of Detective Inspector Mike Burden. I really like the
Wexford series, and I also admired the performance of the late George Baker as
a very believable television Wexford.
Again,
however, I have felt that there has been something of a falling-off in the more
recent Wexford books. For my taste, Rendell became a little too anxious to
shove some social comment into the stories, and in such a long-established
series, this occasionally seems a bit awkward and unconvincing. But I make this
observation simply because I think Ruth Rendell is such a fine writer that she
ought to be judged by the most demanding standards (most of the rest of us need
justice to be tempered with a liberal dose of mercy!)
End
in Tears is a well-constructed mystery, although not ideally suited to audio
book abridgement, which led to a slightly fragmentary narrative and perhaps too
many characters. The social comment element here is about surrogacy, and I
found this fairly interesting. But the actual murder motive was, to my mind, genuinely
fascinating, and neatly concealed. This book may not rank with the best of
Wexford, but it is still enjoyable and I'm glad I've caught up with it at last.
6 comments:
Martin - Thoughtful and interesting review - thanks! I'm glad that you thought the murder part of this interesting even if the social commentary is a bit much...
I also have lost track a bit with Ruth Rendell but I enjoyed her latest 'The Vault'very much. Wexford really is a wonderful creation.
Even second best for Rendell is pretty darn great.
A fine and very fair post about Ruth Rendell. And as Patti says, even her second best is great. She and P.D. James were among my first British role models.
Thoughtful and interesting.....thanks...
Many thanks for your comments - and Patti, I certainly agree.
Post a Comment