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From Doon With Death: A Wexford Case - 50th Anniversary Edition (Wexford, 1)

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My feeling, however, was that I should wait to see how she resolved it before reaching a conclusion.

Update, May 6, 2015: I am undertaking a Ruth Rendell "key" works project -- the books The Guardian recently noted as such the day of Ruth Rendell's death. Wexford doesn't really make a strong impression as a leading character (in fact quite a good amount of the investigating falls to his partner, the aptly named Inspector Burden), but he shows much potential, intellectual and emotional astuteness and solid detecting skills. Registered office: WSM Services Limited, Connect House, 133-137 Alexandra Road, Wimbledon, LONDON SW19 7JY.Religious, old-fashioned, and respectable, her life had been as spotless and ordinary as her home, as unexciting and dependable as her marriage. From long experience Burden knew that whatever may happen in detective fiction, coincidence is more common than conspiracy in real life. One of the hosts, Meredith, is a huge Louise Penny fan, as I was for the first eight novels of her series. 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.

When someone frames it as being of wider sociological interest to do the exact thing I already love, you know I cannot resist.

As it becomes clear that there is indeed foul play, of course we find that this ordinary housewife had a more interesting history than initially suspected. I am reading some contemporary detective series, but i am getting tired of the alternate timelines and multiple POVs. Although it lacks the polish of later volumes in the series, and Wexford especially hasn't yet assumed final form, it is a very capable first outing. First edition, first impression, of the author's first book, and the first of the Inspector Wexford thrillers. Chilling, richly characterized, and ingeniously constructed, this is psychological suspense at its very finest.

However, I am very pleased to say that at the 50% mark this changed and I became nicely engaged in the story. The story is decent as mentioned, it definitely has some intriguing moments, but overall it's a little bit flat and dull. In From Doon with Death, Ruth Rendell instantly mastered the form that would become synonymous with her name. It will be interesting to see Rendell's style develop as I continue with the series as part of a group read. But good awkward because the book is a snapshot of its time and it’s nice to see how society has changed.From Doon with Death was Ruth Rendell’s debut novel and concerns the disappearance of a fairly modest, conservative housewife and the subsequent discovery of her body in a wood, strangled to death. That presents no memorable personality and in this case, I was glad Reginald was not in the story until later; that Mike is an equal protagonist. The home life is completely absent and the character is not given to quoting Shakespeare or other classics. I surmise Ruth intentionally conveyed a depressed husband and household but that persisted too long, before the appearance of a clue brought any action at all. Ruth Rendell’s references to Victorian poetry of love’s longing plays well considering the grief-stricken husband who’s lost his wife.

Rendell hangs a lot of the narrative on the question of Doon’s identity, revealing something of that person’s personality to the reader in the form of short excerpts from letters that they had written to Minna as caps to the chapters. I have watched many shows on Acorn TV of British detectives and Wexford reminds me of many that I appreciate not only for the exploration of the criminal mind but also of human psychology all against the backdrop of diverse socioeconomic topics so if opportunity presents I know that I will continue reading this series or watch some of the stories that were adapted for TV. Whether the reader is surprised by where the novel goes, I think the appeal of the book is in the very competent execution of those ideas.The ending was good but all the events leading to it never reached a level of suspense where it was hard to put down. The plot is a decent one, it's intriguing enough, but I have issue with the characterisation of people, I know it's the early nineties, but I have no recollection of people being to purist and straight laced. Seemingly a classic British murder mystery, much like Christie, whom Rendell apparently disliked and strived to get away from comparisons to, and yet in retrospect very different. 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. I thought that there was a fair number of clues for the reader which allowed you to make the leap to the solution somewhat ahead of Wexford and Burden.

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