Hailed by Patricia Cornwell as "unequivocally the most brilliant mystery writer of our time, " Ruth Rendell now delivers an all-new collection of long- and short-story mysteries. As always with Rendell, these stories of mystery and wrongdoing shine their light into the dark places of the human psyche.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This riveting group of stories puts the reader into familiar Rendell territory; not just the burgeoning villages of Kingsmarkham and Stowerton that Chief Constable Wexford and his assistant, Mike Burden, call their own, but the territory of the mind. Psychological twists evolve from characters who range from the mildly eccentric ("In All Honesty") to the truly mad ("Shreds and Slivers"). Rendell's deft touch and keen insight (and sometimes wry wit) can wring abject horror from even the smallest vignette. The compulsive shopper of "Clothes" experiences a total emotional collapse. In "Unacceptable Levels," is the caring young woman really trying to kill her lover? The longer title story brings back the uxorious Wexford and the grimly judgmental Burden who solve a bludgeoning death in their usual manner: dogged police work rewarded with a flash of insight. The true gem of the collection is "The Strawberry Tree," a chilling tale filled with foreboding and graced by a final, unexpected redemption. These finely constructed and intense stories will serve Rendell's fans, accustomed to her substantial volumes like last year's Simisola, as a tasty appetizer, heightening their anticipation of the heartier fare to come in her next novel.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Inside or outside the mystery genre, Rendell is one of the finest writers of our time. Her piercing insights into the darkest reaches of the human psyche, her revealing descriptions of human emotions, and her delicate but unrestrained probing into the depths of the human soul elevate her to the very top of her field. In this collection of short stories, Rendell is at her best, using her own quixotic brand of dark humor and an often heartwrenching poignancy to produce 11 minimasterpieces. Whether she's exploring a young woman's deep-rooted need for love and friendship ("The Strawberry Tree" ), the anger brought on when an insecure ego is wounded and exposed ("The Man Who Was the God of Love" ), or the dark shame of unreasonable obsession ("Clothes" ), Rendell is able to expose the humanity (or in some cases, the inhumanity) beneath the everyday facade, allowing her readers to feel not only an empathetic sense of recognition but also a small shock of horror at the thin line that separates "us" from "them." Rendell's prose is simple and straightforward, as devoid of artifice as a woman without makeup. But the effect of her writing is as disturbing and provocative as seeing the modest, rather dull woman next door suddenly appear in tart's clothing, heavily rouged and with blood-red lips. A must-have collection by one of the world's most talented authors. Emily Melton
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Short stories that don't feel like a compromise.,
This review is from: Blood Lines: Long and Short Stories (Hardcover)
Whether in a novel or a short story, Ruth Rendell's storytelling is just captivating. Her style is consistently haunting, there is depth to her characters, and there's the twist which will come at you out of nowhere. Whether you're a dedicated mystery fan or simply enjoy reading extremely skillfully put together prose, regardless of genre, Ruth Rendell is irresistible (and very addictive!).
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A collection of 11 stories,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Blood Lines: Long and Short Stories (Hardcover)
The two longest stories in this collection are the first story, "Blood Lines," an Inspector Wexford tale of 40 pages, and the last story, "The Strawberry Tree," a somewhat strange tale which is 85 pages long. In between are 9 short stories, some of which are only 6 pages. As usual with collections, some stories are better than others. All the stories involve murder, attempted murder, or accidental death, with the exception of "Clothes," which is about a compulsive shopper. As in other English mysteries, guns do not come into play. Murders tend to be by poison or bludgeon. The author has an inventive mind when it comes to eliminating people (I would be afraid to get on her wrong side).While some stories are very good, I had trouble getting interested in the long novelette, "The Strawberry Tree," which is written in a narrative form with only a little dialogue. The narrative starts on the island of Majorca with no real indication of why the narrator is there, then skips back 40 years to give an account of past events on Majorca, her life in between, and finally her arrival on Majorca where the story started. A mystery is introduced along the way, and a solution is finally presented. This story, like the others, was written in the 1990's, but the Spanish apparently didn't use DNA analysis.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rendell's Masterpiece,
By
This review is from: Blood Lines: Long and Short Stories (Hardcover)
The novelette included in this collection, "The Strawberry Tree," may well be Rendell's masterpiece, the single work that stands above all her other many fine novels and stories. It's a work of exquisite craftsmanship and deep psychological depth. I gasped at one point, laughed at another, and ended in tears. A British television adaptation (with the same title; you can find details at imbd.com) is also excellent.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
