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meganraison's review against another edition
Pretty typical Barbara Vining but an entertaining story. I figured out the general outcome but it was fun to take the twists and turns to get there.
jamieh2024's review
3.0
hmmm...according to the quote from the Chicago Tribune this is her best book ever...an amazing accomplishment. Actually, it's not. Her Inspector Wexford mysteries(as Ruth Rendell) are much better and while our protagonist, the superstitious Jenny, is engaging this just drug on and on for me. A bit better than average because the characters are finely drawn but when the denoument arrives it just fell flat for me.
maureenr's review
4.0
I always enjoy Ruth Rendell - i like the psychological buildup of her stories, and the lack of the conventional murder mystery structure.
dcsilbertrust's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
gifflesnooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jch2022's review against another edition
3.0
hmmm...according to the quote from the Chicago Tribune this is her best book ever...an amazing accomplishment. Actually, it's not. Her Inspector Wexford mysteries(as Ruth Rendell) are much better and while our protagonist, the superstitious Jenny, is engaging this just drug on and on for me. A bit better than average because the characters are finely drawn but when the denoument arrives it just fell flat for me.
nocto's review
3.0
This is probably the least mysterious and least psychological story I've read from Vine/Rendell. The action takes place in a small Norfolk village where Jenny Warner is caring for Stella Newlands who is dying of lung cancer in a residential home. It's the kind of gradually unfolding story that Vine is good at where you aren't quite sure what the real mystery is going to turn out to be. Only in this case I didn't think that there was really anything discovered that was worth the build up.
I enjoyed the book but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for mystery, thrills or suspense. What we have here is a really interesting story that might have worked well in a general fiction book but didn't really fit into the genre it was billed as.
The only thing that was really wrong with this book for me was that I read an edition that had been butchered from its original British English into American English for what seemed to be no particularly good reason. I can't believe that any vaguely literate American would have trouble figuring out that "ladybirds" were "ladybugs" or that a "plough" is a "plow" seeing as these words are all used in context. These changes dragged me out of the setting. I suppose I deserve that for reading an edition that wasn't aimed at me but it has left me wondering what else gets changed between the author and the reader and what on earth publishers must think of their reader's intelligence.
I enjoyed the book but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for mystery, thrills or suspense. What we have here is a really interesting story that might have worked well in a general fiction book but didn't really fit into the genre it was billed as.
The only thing that was really wrong with this book for me was that I read an edition that had been butchered from its original British English into American English for what seemed to be no particularly good reason. I can't believe that any vaguely literate American would have trouble figuring out that "ladybirds" were "ladybugs" or that a "plough" is a "plow" seeing as these words are all used in context. These changes dragged me out of the setting. I suppose I deserve that for reading an edition that wasn't aimed at me but it has left me wondering what else gets changed between the author and the reader and what on earth publishers must think of their reader's intelligence.
avisreadsandreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0