Harm Done: A New Inspector Wexford Mystery (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Harm Done, Rendell has added a remarkable strand of acute social commentary to a book that still functions as an utterly compelling piece of detective fiction. In exploring the controversial subject of pedophilia, she takes the mainstay of her work--the problems of modern life--to a level of passion and commitment that gives the book a truly powerful underpinning.

Back in the familiar Sussex town of Kingsmarkham, Rendell's dogged sleuth Wexford is investigating the strange abductions of two young girls: Rachel, a bright middle-class student, and Lizzie, a mentally disabled 16-year-old living with her unsympathetic parents on a grim council estate. When both girls return home, apparently unharmed, Wexford is faced with a curious mystery: what really happened to them? As Wexford begins to uncover the disturbing truth, the dark psychological world that Rendell is so adroit at exploring suddenly comes into focus. And her gift for sharp but concise characterization remains untouchable, as in the case of a reluctant witness: '''We don't talk about that sort of thing.' She very nearly but not quite tossed her head." --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In her latest Inspector Wexford mystery (following Road Rage), the prolific Rendell shows that, like Wexford, she too is a master of indirection. Like a stout, aging British Columbo, Wexford hides his intuition and keen powers of observation behind a rumpled, grandfatherly facade. Three of the cases that he unravels in this satisfyingly complex work have to do with the abuse of women or children. The crimes range from the ridiculous (a petulant university girl and a mentally challenged girl from a low-income housing project are each kidnapped to do housework and returned for ineptitude) to the monstrous (Wexford and his men must protect a child molester who was released from prison while a rich man tortures his wife in the comfort of his spacious home). Rendell is too realistic a writer to link her crimes together in a sensational way. Instead, each offense galvanizes a slew of colorful characters of all classes who live in the suburban community of Kingsmarkham. Wexford's daughter Sylvia, a strident volunteer for a battered women's shelter, fills in her father on the signs of abuse and abusers, and it is a measure of Rendell's subtle skill that she manages to address a social blight without ever losing track of her plot or flattening her characterizations. Thanks to Rendell's steadfast devotion to what is real over what is mere theory, what comes through in her 47th book is the unique human mystery at the heart of a crime.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (October 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375724842
• ISBN-13: 978-0375724848
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #134,380 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 19 in The Chief Inspector Wexford Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the Best, but not Bad!, January 3, 2000

By	sally barry (Liverpool, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harm Done (Chief Inspector Wexford Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another masterpiece by Ruth Rendell., October 27, 1999

By	"amrdmr" (Arlington, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harm Done (Chief Inspector Wexford Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rendell does it yet again, October 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Harm Done (Chief Inspector Wexford Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.