Customer Reviews

Harm Done: A New Inspector Wexford Mystery

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A friend who glanced at this book sniffed, "I don't know how you can read those English who-killed-the-vicar-in-the-library things, I don't have the patience", and I had to laugh because this is just about as opposite a novel as you can get. This book has three themes, the disappearance of two young women; an elderly pedophile released from prison; and a severely abused housewife. Ms. Rendell writes so well, detailing the hellish life of the housewife in stomach-roiling detail. She also includes some of her deliciously psychotic character studies, and of course all this is seen through the eyes of dear familiar Insp. Wexford. There is a trace of humor in this book involving the inhabitants of a lowish class housing development picketing the old reprobate's apartment, singing "Stand By Your Kids" to the tune of "Stand By Your Man", and similar silliness that would make Jerry Springer feel right at home! Sally Jesse, Maury Povich, and Jenny Jones would fit right into this modern day England, and not a vicar in sight! I am only giving it 4 stars because the stories do not tie together and they meander somewhat, this is not Ms. Rendell's usual top=notch work. Also, Ms. Rendell and Insp. Wexford are both getting up there in years, and I hope she goes on writing forever, but there are hints the refined and compassionate policeman may be getting weary of the crazy modern day world that is not only lived in England, but all over. I hope Ms. Rendell has many, many more novels in her yet and we will see her policeman back on top of the game. When she is great, words cannot express the deep emotional impact her novels have on my psyche. When she is merely good, as in "Harm Done", she is still sublime. Rather than 4 stars, let me give this a "9" on a one to ten scale. I look forward to her next books, both Wexford and non-Wexford.

I have been reading Ruth Rendell since I was in high school, 30 years ago. I thought when I read "Judgement in Stone" then that mystery writing could not get any better than that. How wrong I was. At a rate of two or three books per year, Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine has honed her craft to a point where, I believe, no other mystery writer before or since has ever achieved such heights of excellence in brilliant prose, high-tension plotting, fascinating character study, as well as thought-provoking social commentary. Her body of work stands as a shining example of a writer's growth. I used to think heaven would be a warehouse full of undiscovered Dorothy Sayers manuscripts. Now I think heaven would be if Ruth Rendell goes on writing forever and that one can read her in the after-life.

Her previous Wexford novel 'Road Rage' was always going to be hard to follow, but once again Ruth Rendell has demonstrated why she has been dubbed the modern 'Queen of Crime'. 'Harm Done' broaches the subjects of paedophilia, domestic violence and abduction, managing to be as addictive as it is disturbing. In the end is left to the reader to decide whether the end result of the major crime is justified by the means - and the novel is as suspenseful as ever. Wexford continues to delight, and it is difficult to imagine Rendell ever writing a less than superb thriller. Right out of the top drawer - in other words, a normal day at the office for Ruth Rendell.

I have just stumbled upon some of the great books by Ruth Rendell, the first being "A Sight for Sore Eyes" which I absolutely loved. "Harm Done" was the 2nd book I read (actually listened to on audiobook) and liked it too, but not as well as the first. I was really getting into the story line about the girls who mysteriously disappeared, then returned in a few days unwilling or unable to tell police what had happened to them. I was sure the pedophile brought into the story was the culprit, but the two things had nothing to do with the other. I was a bit disappointed when the explanation came out midway through the book and it wasn't anything to get too worked up about. Then the author went on a completely different track with the abused woman plot. I guess they did all tie in together as the abused woman's baby had turned up missing too. I liked the book and will be reading more of Ruth Rendell's work, but I prefer the books that are more suspense and less Inspector Wexford.

This Inspector Wexford mystery is definitely not Rendell's best. I have read most of her novels and there are only a few that are not absolute masterpieces. This one had too much social commmentary for me and a "red herring" that took up 3/4 of the book made me feel deflated. And why was there a pedophile theme in the middle that had nothing to do with the plot? If this book is your first encounter with Wexford, please don't give up on Rendell. She's an author well worth reading. This just isn't one of her best books. Harm Done just didn't contain many of the elements fans read the Wexford series for.

Rendell's Inspector Wexford is a wonderful character. He is not flashy, but he is thoughtful, witty and insightful. I always enjoy reading about him and his cases. This book deals with the abduction of two women and one little girl. It also explores the issues of domestic violence and its ramifications, and the problem of the mob mentality and its destructiveness. As you can see, the book is too busy. It has too many themes and they don't mesh well. The middle of the book flags, although it picks up some steam at the end. To Rendell's credit, she doesn't attempt to tie up every loose end, and she fleshes out most of the characters. She would do well to make the plot more focused, as it was in her last novel, "A Sight for Sore Eyes," a truly horrifying thriller.

An imperfect Rendell novel is still better than 99% of the crime fiction available. That said, this one isn't perfect. It definitely pales in comparison with *Simisola*, which dealt with similar issues in a tighter and more devastating way.

I would have expected Rendell to weave together the 3 sub-plots (the abducted girls, the pedophile, and the kidnapped toddler) in a shocking, revelatory way, but she doesn't. The book feels more like 2 novellas and a short story, with Wexford as the common thread.

I appreciate the feminist consciousness that Rendell's been weaving into the Wexford novels; it makes a great counterpoint to her visions of female evil and criminality.

However, I found the presentation of the battered-woman plot strangely cold. Even the sympathetic "good man" Wexford remains an outside observer, unable to comprehend the horrible events he discovers, and so the reader does too. *Harm Done* falls short of the tragic power and immediacy of Roddy Doyle's *The Woman who Walked into Doors*.

Ruth Rendell is surely the best writer I have ever read. She is a magician a psychologist and a suspense master all rolled into one. Her insight and her spellbinding tales are second to none. This is another great Rendell foray into the inner life(s) of her fellow man and woman. Shes just spectacular. Read all her books, especially the middle ones from the 1970's. The next book you read after hers will seem tepid and shallow. I promise!

This murder mystery was captivating, dark and insightful. I would recomend this book even for people who are not fans of the genre. The writing is simply brilliant and thats all there is to say about Ruth Rendell.

My first Ruth Rendell novel, listened to on CD. The reading is very good, but the novel is longwinded and relatively boring. Between spousal abuse, bigotry, low life prejudice and multiple police cases, Rendell has taken on way too much here and done a satisfactory job of little. What stands out and suprised me most, tho, is her portrait of the British provincial police as small-minded and not particularly bright. A strange sort of detective fiction that left me wondering if she is really mocking the police. Part of what makes for the longwindedness is how many obviously false leads the police conjur up in long discussions, that then have to be played out in visits to imagined suspects.

One thing about some of the reviews. It strikes me that those who complain about her "political correctness" ought to quit whining and just come out and say they think spousal abuse, lynch mobs bigotry, etc., are unworthy subjects for policiers (and other types of fiction?).