Customer Reviews

Some Lie and Some Die

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Some Lie and Some Die" is a superbly crafted mystery novel. It's short--in pages, and in time-line, and it's not overly burdened with plotting or diverting details. It is, in a word, elegant. The events (a murder, a missing girl, a palette of suspects) are set against the backdrop of a rock concert, complete with egotistical stars and fawning sycophants, spoiled fans and irate neighbors. But underlying it all are the basic human failings of self-absorption and greed and it is these motivations which lead to the horror and the desperation of the characters and their actions. Rendell is, as usual, an incisive observer of the dark side of humanity, and a writer who can portray the consequences with the short, deft strokes of a master craftsman.

...and possibly her worst. I've read two other SUPERB books, A judgement in Stone and The Babes in the Wood, and Rendell is equally adept at characterizing people and atmosphere. Her books are not very long, and I sometimes wish they were longer, that she would dwell more on her strengths like PD James does, but this one lacked almost everything--characterization, atmosphere, and length.

Added to which the plot was quite unbelievable--I was hit on the head constantly with Zeno's power over his fellow human beings, but in the end I did not quite think enough had been done to make me believe this to be true. And the professor in the second house was not developed enough either, especially since he plays a decently strong role in the ending (Bit of a spoiler)--the girl's reasons for meeting the professor were shabby, to the point of being ridiculous (Rendell does try to set it up earlier by introducing this obsession on the part of someone else...but that was not good enough and stuck out very obviously like a plant just to make this shabby ending work.)

I think this book lacks attention--it seems to have been put together hastily and without much thought, perhaps to meet a deadline?

There are better and really much much better and superb Rendell mysteries--read them, read this for comparision, but not much else.

Never before has a Rendell novel left me so cold. Totally untypical of its brilliant author, "Some Lie and Some Die" is dull and unsatisfying, and offers little to reward the reader for enduring such tedium. The characters--with a few exceptions--are uninteresting; detection is slow and scarce, and the motive for the murder turns out to be highly improbable. It's as if Rendell wrote a mystery starting with the body but forgot to include a plausible reason for it. Where is the seamless manipulation, the ingenuity, the stunning surprise twists interlaced with brilliant psychological insight, that are the hallmarks of Rendell's work? Not here. The few bright spots are the scenes between Inspector Burden and his son, which show us a humor, an energy missing from the rest of this dead, bleak novel. Let's just toss this one along with "Simisola" into Rendell's "Forget about it" pile.

During the brilliantly depicted rock festival in the grounds of Sundays House - the atmosphere of this is brilliant, and is part of the reason why this book, like all her best, sparkles with an individuality that makes the experience of reading it so special - the bands play, the weather is fine, and a good time is had by all except one or two disgruntled locals. Oh, and the sometimes-grouchy Inspector Burden of course, but even he lightens up to the idea eventually. However, as the festival begins to wind itself down, two precocious lovers discover a battered body in a nearby quarry, and Inspector Wexford finds himself investigating murder rather than his earlier duty of making sure everything runs smoothly, and law-abidingly, at the festival. The body is identified as that of Dawn Stonor, a local girl who had moved to London, returning only on occasional trips to see her mother. As with all Rendell mysteries, the plot soon thickens considerably and little is as it seems...

Some Lie and Some Die ranks among Rendell's finest Wexford mysteries. It's one of my favourites, along with Wolf to the Slaughter, The Speaker of Mandarin, The Veiled One and Harm Done. It's a short little mystery, but Rendell packs such a lot in here, a lot of plot that it's an incredibly satisfying, fulfilling novel. Once again, it is a completely unique work (all of her best are; the ones which are slightly formulaic, or lack that special sparkle, like Put on by Cunning of A New Lease of Death, aren't quite so wonderful) and an excellent mystery.

It's absolutely fascinating to read; every word is palced perfectly, every shift in the story times impeccably. There is something so unique and special about reading Ruth Rendell, but it's something which is impossible to elaborate much on. It's just this little thrill; a little thrill you get at every perfect sentence combining into a perfect whole. It's also an incredibly powerful book, with an absolutely wonderful ending. I loved it.

As this book is certainly short, the characters aren't exactly incredibly well-rounded, as they are in some of her alter, longer books, but they are still sharp and pricked out with incredibly insight, almost shivering acuity. Wexford and Burden are great once more, but that goes without saying. This is another marvellous little book from Rendell - a fascinating, absorbing, special little read.

Rendell portrays her own era and environment with subtle language use and style. This book is a description of a Woodstock-type gathering that uncovers a murder mystery. Rendell somehow remains non-judgmental while giving an accurate portrait of much that went on during the "hippie" decades. The plot is great and any Rendell is worth a read, in my opinion.

Completely ridiculous plot with unbelievable relationships between the characters. Even the sidekick's relationship to his kids was silly and the attempts at writing lyrics and hip argot were quite bad. I thought Rendell was one of the better authors but this must have been written on a bad day. Did British senior inspectors in small towns really have chauffeurs back in the 70's?

Maybe not Ruth Rendell's best, perhaps, but a middle-of-the-road entry is so much better than most. I have only read a half-dozen of Rendell's (or so) but when I saw this title at a library book sale, for cheap, I grabbed it and immediately fell under her powerful spell. Rendell balances atmosphere, character and plot like few others. In other words, well. The Inspector Wexford stories I've read are solid and sturdy mysteries and start with analysis and deduction, of course, rather than action. It's the interior of Wexford's point of view that keeps a smile on your face as Wexford watches the world change, marvels at well-known truths being debunked and admires the audacity of regular people who try to lie in his presence. Few other detectives can work on a case--and simultaneously not work on a case--as Wexford, letting the facts germinate and resolve themselves in his subconscious. Refreshing and engaging.