While I did get into Morse in my late teens, I actually never got around to trying Rendell either in print or in the televised adaptations.

When Rendell is on her game, she is one of the best, so I'm glad to have this series on my to-read list. The psychological profile of the various characters emerges through the interviews and descriptions of present and past facts, but without anyone standing out above the others, at least until the last chapters, where the truth is revealed with a final twist. I also remember Hardiman as the Demon Headmaster though my strongest association for him was a guest spot he did on Doctor Who.I have mentioned that at times I have found not having the appropriate context or period knowledge to be a barrier in solving an older crime novel but here I feel that not belonging to the mindset of that period makes it easier to predict where it was headed and lessens the power of the ending. In this opening mystery Inspector Wexford investigates the disappearance of Margaret Parsons, a housewife who goes missing and is later found dead in the nearby woods. It will be interesting to see Rendell's style develop as I continue with the series as part of a group read.

I got into the habit of binge reading or re-reading classic mystery authors during the pandemic and I now find it to be a continuing habit. In fact, I never thought of myself as Wexford when I was writing, although I don’t suppose anyone is as well qualified as me—apart from Ruth herself—to know how Wexford thinks by now. My feeling, however, was that I should wait to see how she resolved it before reaching a conclusion. It is not a case of intuition, it is the answer to the mystery in so many words, in a conversation between the detective and another party, to which the reader is not privy to. Review of the Arrow Books 50th Anniversary Kindle* eBook edition (2014), with a Foreword by Ian Rankin and an Afterword by Ruth Rendell, of the original John Long Ltd.I feel this just goes to show that all of us have past indiscretions that we have papered over and attempted to forget. How is it possible that a woman who had led such a quiet, respectable, unspectacular life could have met such a death of passion and violence?

The Kindle editions of this book appear to be completely muddled on GR, so I've used the 50th Anniversary paperback as a proxy. This is a reread for me in preparation for our first Ruth Rendell buddy read in the English Mysteries book club starting May 1. I've just reread this novel again after six years, and while I wouldn't change my rating, I will say that it was definitely a pleasure to have taken it up again. I know nothing much about Inspector Wexford or Mike Burden (who actually does decent work and doesn't go around contradicting or second-guessing his boss), just that they are the law. And you know the author who did it when it was Shocking was a product of her time, and common wisdom was different then, but still you just feel awkward for her.Although the identity of the victim's lover "Doon" would not be much of a surprise to the 21st century reader, at the time of its release it was considered ground-breaking and daring, and this novel immediately garnered Rendell international critical attention. Inspector Wexford, the formidable chief of police, feels baffled -- until he discovers Margaret's dark secret: a trove of rare books, each volume breathlessly inscribed by a passionate lover identified only as Doon.