From Doon with Death
Books | Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General
3.9
Ruth Rendell
Dazzling psychological suspense. Razor-sharp dialogue. Plots that catch and hold like a noose. These are the hallmarks of crime legend Ruth Rendell, “the best mystery writer in the English-speaking world” (Time magazine). From Doon with Death, now in a striking new paperback edition, is her classic debut novel—and the book that introduced one of the most popular sleuths of the twentieth century.There is nothing extraordinary about Margaret Parsons, a timid housewife in the quiet town of Kingsmarkham, a woman devoted to her garden, her kitchen, her husband. Except that Margaret Parsons is dead, brutally strangled, her body abandoned in the nearby woods. Who would kill someone with nothing to hide? 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. As Wexford delves deeper into both Mrs. Parsons’ past and the wary community circling round her memory like wolves, the case builds with relentless momentum to a surprise finale as clever as it is blindsiding. In From Doon with Death, Ruth Rendell instantly mastered the form that would become synonymous with her name. Chilling, richly characterized, and ingeniously constructed, this is psychological suspense at its very finest.Praise for From Doon with Death “One of the most remarkable novelists of her generation.”—People “She has transcended her genre by her remarkable imaginative power to explore and illuminate the dark corners of the human psyche.”—P.D. James
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More Details:
Author
Ruth Rendell
Pages
208
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Published Date
2012-11-21
ISBN
0307829553 9780307829559
Community ReviewsSee all
"I was not familiar with Ruth Rendell until I learned of her recent passing. I really wanted to like this book because I like the murder mystery/police procedural genre and love a good series that lets me get to know the characters over the course of many books. I just didn't like this one. The writing was so old fashioned (I know it was first published in the mid-60s) and character development felt non-existent to me. OH well, at least it was short and I was able to get through it quickly."
L
Lauren