Customer Reviews

Wolf to the Slaughter

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Fans of Ruth Rendell who await each new Chief Inspector Wexford mystery from Ruth Rendell may wish to go back to her early works. Wolf to the Slaughter was her second Wexford mystery, written 33 years ago but with no loss of appeal for today's readers. Unworldly artist Rupert Margolis goes to the Kingsmarkham police, not to report that his younger sister Ann is missing, but to seek help finding someone to manage his household since Ann hasn't come home for several days. At the same time, Wexford receives an anonymous note reporting that a young woman named Ann was murdered by a small dark young man named Geoff Smith.

The book has the elements we have come to appreciate in Ruth Rendell mysteries, including the slow steady unraveling of the mystery by Wexford and his chief assistant Mike Burden, methodically tracking down the few leads, when they don't even have the victim's body; and an array of real human characters, such as the aging Ruby Branch, who supports the man she loves, Monkey Matthews, an ex-con well known to the Kingsmarkham police, by renting out a room for the evening no questions asked; Noreen Anstey, abandoned by her second husband, now regretting the wrong she did to her first, living alone and having to sell off her remaining valuables; and Mark Drayton, the young police officer who never lets himself get seriously involved with any young women while he works hard to advance in the police force. It's Wexford's and Burden's keen understanding of human nature that helps put the pieces of this mystery together and leads them to the victim and the killer. The two play off each other well: Burden coming up with an important insight into the identity of the predator in the case, and Wexford pulling the sequence of events all together in a surprise finish.

Ruth Rendell is a talented writer, but I often have problems with elements of her plots being a little bit predictable-- this is definitely not the case with _Wolf to the Slaughter_. The book constantly suprises and manages to do so without any deus ex machina tricks that might make it unconvincing.

A mysterious note that claims someone was murdered, a stain on a carpet that may or may not be blood, and a gold lighter with a leading inscription-- these are the only clues that Wexford and his crew have to what might not even be a crime. Mix in a slightly mad painter, three women who gave their hearts unwisely, and a young policeman in love for the first time and you've got a compelling mystery novel which is one of the best Rendells I've read to date.

Ruth Rendell's Chief Inspector Wexford mysteries are important entries to the police procedural genre. This, the second of the series, is probably the book that cemented Rendell's decision to continue. The daughter of local artist Rupert Margolis hasn't been home in a few days, but her father isn't reporting her disappearance. No, instead, he is filling out inquirings for someone to help him manage his household in his daughter's stead! And then Wexford receives a note that says daughter Ann has been murdered, and the suspects name given. With his ever-present second in command Mike Burden, Wexford begins his investigation, characterized by methodical thinking and well-paced moving! The plot becomes ever so convoluted--but don't give up. Rendell is in complete charge (it's one of her longer Wexfords) and by the conclusion her logial thinking, clever plot execution, and expert character development have won the day.

"Wolf to the Slaughter" is also perhaps one of Rendell's most suspense-filled books (of the Wexford series). A local hotel has been letting one of its rooms as a love nest, but when a man with a knife one evening gets through with it, it is a room of blood, violence, and death. But whose? There's no corpse to be found! Wexford and Burden take over and the pages turn automatically after this, as Rendell's heros leave no stone unturned--nor sheet unfurled! Rendell has published many other books that are not in the series (she also writes under the name of Barbara Vine) and, with each, she clearly knows what she's writing about--she's a master here. And the surprise ending is handled masterly, too! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

Anita Margolis, young, beautiful, carefree, has vanished into thin air. She left her home to attend a party one wet evening, but has not been seen since. She is reported missing soon after by her brother, whom she shared a flat with, the acclaimed but eccentric artist Rupert Margolis. Inspector Burden quickly forms an impression of a wanton young girl simply gone off somewhere with a boyfriend having neglected to let anyone know. After all, she was that sort of woman, in Burden's opinion. However, Wexford has his doubts, and those doubts will soon be confirmed, and they will soon find themselves enmeshed in a case that will throw every assumption they make into doubt.

This is an early Wexford book, and it is brilliant. A simple notion, but true. One of the best of the entire series, actually, the fact of its quality equally matches that of the novels she is still producing and marks her out clearly as possibly the most reliable and captivating novelist of her generation, such is her constant unfailing ability. She writes absolutely brilliantly, with an emotional detachedness that makes it so much more powerful when she decides that now is the time to probe in the darkness of a particular characters mind and motivations. And those characters are unendingly fascinating, completely human yet with a shadowy darkness to them, and flawlessly depicted.

But it is not just her characters that mark her books out as special. Setting and story meld in equally with character in the most successful books to create a compelling whole, and Rendell accomplishes this with ease. The fictional Kingsmarkham is almost as tangible and atmospheric as the London she uses as the setting for some of her other non-Wexford novels. The reader feels they could easily be supplanted into the story, onto the streets of this fictional town, and yet already know its environs intimately.

And then, of course, the story too is near-perfect. It is dark, it is clever, it is affecting, it is psychologically acute, it is realistic (despite the false idea that these kind of traditional procedural novels tend not to be), it is engrossing, as well as being a plethora of other laudable adjectives as well. It shifts and moves and surprises and has excellent pace, carrying the reader through on a breathless ride - secured in by the mesmeric hand-at-your-throat grip of the prose - until a tension-filled conclusion, which leaves more than one character irredeemably altered for life.

Wolf to the Slaughter is simply yet another excellent novel from the woman who is, in my mind, the best writer in the world today. And that is all there is to it.

As a Ruth Rendell fan, I can say that you can't go wrong with adding this to your RR mystery collection. It appears to be a reprint, and is an interesting experience to find the focus not on Wexford, but on Burden. The plot is wonderful and intricate.

Today Ruth Rendell is well known as a writer of thrillers with a fair amount of psychological tension in them. Wolf to the Slaughter is one of her earlier Inspector Wexford novels, and, while she's a competent writer and Wolf is worth reading, it lacks the edge that characterizes most of her later works. Wolf is police procedural focusing on a suspected murder, but with no body, Wexford and Burden are forced to start with no hard evidence, relying on their intuitions. A wealthy young woman fails to return home one night, and although her brother isn't worried, the police are. What follows is a manhunt for a fellow using the name Smith, who rented a "by the evening" room from a local woman who is, in effect, running a flophouse. It's interesting to watch the inspectors ferret out information, gleaning tiny nuggets of clues from various sources and trying to fit them into a coherent picture. Characters are one of Rendell's strengths, and this book is populated with quirky and lively ones. Much zigging and zagging finally leads to a truly surprising ending. Exciting it's not, but it is fascinating.

I'm a huge fan of Ruth Rendell no matter what she writes, so I am catching up with some Chief Inspector Wexford books that I have missed. This is an early one in the sereies, but it's a good one. No one does studies in human psychology like Ms. Rendell, and this book delves into the mind of a young and up and coming police officer, and the demons he fights when love interferes with an investigation. A girl has disappeared and Wexford, Burden and Drayton are trying to determine whether or not a murder has been committed even though there's no body. What they do uncover is a household full of some secrets and we know these secrets inexorably will affect young Drayton before the case is solved. Excellent story as well as a mystery.

Writing: Exquisite

Plot: Nifty

Suspense Factor: Solid

Entertainment Value: Good if you like procedurals

Despite the tough-sounding title, "Wolf To The Slaughter" is a thoughtful, smart and fairly bloodless police procedural. First published in 1967, this early Rendell is a palate-cleanser to the many overwrought, all-plot-no-character "thrillers" of today.

"Wolf To The Slaughter" is the second in the series featuring Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford. He is canny, cunning and determined. Here, the pursuit of the bad guy is mostly smart tracking of scant leads. There's a missing woman (but no body) to start things off and the plot, as it blooms, presents different challenges for Wexford and his second-in-command, Mike Burden. There's a missing car, a certain lighter, and plenty of mental puzzles along the way. The ending packs a nifty punch.

Along the way, the writing is as good as it gets in the genre. The settings are rich, the minor characters emerge from the landscape in sharp relief. One style element I enjoy is Rendell's series of plain, unassuming sentences capped by a stunning bit of color or just the right detail, relayed with poetic imagery.

I could easily fill a few pages listing favorite passages. Here's one description out of many.

"The furniture was much too small and much too new, to achieve harmony between furniture and noble décor. The elegant gleaming windows towered and shone between skimped bits of flowered cotton like society women fallen on evil days."

It's pretty hard to fool a veteran mystery reader, but this one by Ruth Rendell has one of the most ingenuous and unexpected endings I've come across, and yet it's a supremely logical and believable conclusion.But that's just the tip of the iceburg. Rendell as usual presents living and breathing characters that one cares about. If you haven't encountered Rendell and Inspector Wexford, this is a very good one to start with. And if you're already into the series, don't you dare skip this early one.

"Wolf to the Slaughter" is another in a long line of most excellent mysteries by the greatest living mystery author, Ruth Rendell. Her Inspector Wexler mysteries are not as "dark" as some of her other works, but all of them are absolutely can't-put-down-until-finished stories!! Her psychological twists and turns keep one glued to the story, and sorry when it ends -- as it always does -- with exactly the right/believable solution. I can't get enough of her books and having read most of them, sincerely hope she is busily writing a new one!!!