A review by karenchase
The Child's Child by Barbara Vine

4.0

As usual, Barbara Vine aka Ruth Rendell delivers. I'm not much of a mystery reader, but when I do, I read Ruth Rendell. However, I think I'm almost a bigger fan of her Barbara Vine novels, which are more like psychological thrillers, without the tension and anxiety of like a horror novel or whatever. There often is a bit of a mystery component to these books, but it's not the main focus. This novel is actually a "novel within a novel," with about half the book taken up by the story contained in a manuscript that figures prominently in the "main" story. The theme of the novel is the issues surrounding single mothers and gay men, and some intersection between those two groups, as they have occurred in different eras. It is an interesting study, and the story almost gets overwhelmed by the "study" aspect. It is a page-turner though, a briskly paced narrative in both stories, that made me want to keep reading. Barbara Vine's characters are always so vibrant and believable, you almost expect to run into them on the street. Any weaknesses in the story (and there are few here) are made up by the strength of those character profiles.