Customer Reviews

To Fear A Painted Devil

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This mystery by Ruth Rendell is one of her earlier efforts. It offers none of the well-drawn psychological portraits for which she would later become known. Instead, she offers the reader a somewhat traditional whodunit sort of mystery with a tightly woven plot that has a few twists and turns. It makes for a quick, easy read.

The plot is simple and direct. It centers around an unhappily married, wealthy couple, the dictatorial Patrick and the put upon Tamsin, who live in a well to do community. When they have an ill-advised celebration in their home to celebrate Tamsin's birthday, Patrick becomes ill after an accident involving some wasps. Lucky for him, there was a doctor in the house. So, Patrick takes to his bed, none the worse for wear, only to never wake up again. His death is later deemed to be of natural causes.

It turns out, however, that many people had reason to dislike Patrick and wish that he were out of the way: his own wife, her lover, the twin brother of his mistress, and a local business man that he was in the process of ruining. When gossip begins to churn in their close knit community, rumor has it that Patrick's death was anything but natural. Who could have done it?

That is for the reader to discover. If one is a fan of mysteries and of Ruth Rendell, one will, undoubtedly, enjoy this breezy little mystery and delight in trying to figure out who might be the killer. If one is not, one should probably deduct a star from my rating.