The Babes in the Wood (Wexford)

Rendell, Ruth

ISBN 10: 0754087514 ISBN 13: 9780754087519

Publisher: Chivers Audio Books, 2003

Synopsis

There hadn't been anything like this kind of rain in living memory. The River Brede had burst its banks, and not a single house in the valley had escaped flooding. Even where Wexford lived, higher up in Kingsmarkham, the waters had nearly reached the mulberry tree in his once immaculate garden...The Subaqua Task Force could find no trace of Giles and Sophie Dade, let alone the woman who was keeping them company, Joanna Troy. But Mrs Dade was still convinced her children were dead. This was an investigation which would call into question many of Wexford's assumptions about the way people behaved, including his own family...

About this title

Review:

Kingsmarkham is wet. Very wet and flooding when the call comes in that two teenage children and their carer are missing. Wexford and Burden are faced with the thought that all three have drowned in the high water but when the Kingsbrook subsides no bodies are found. Complicated by the bizarre personalities of the children's parents, the case drags on for several months before all the pieces fit together in Wexford's methodical mind, the pieces being drawn together from random sentences gleaned from police interviews. Ruth Rendell spins the story out cleverly, delving into her characters psyche and exploring their hidden thoughts and fears. The end, when it comes, is an unexpected result, seen in retrospect, revealing Rendell's intuitive quest for suspense and surprise. A first-rate read to be enjoyed, if possible, in one sitting. - Lucy Watson

Review:

'Chief Inspector Wexford is Rendell's most enduring and best creation.' (The Daily Telegraph)

'As usual, Rendell mirrors aspects of the case in the leading characters' personal lives and her cleverly understated writing bathes them and their actions in a glow of reality that sets her writing above that of her many imitators.' (Time Out)

'As always with Ruth Rendell's intricately thought-out novels, nothing is as simple as it seems.' (The Sunday Express)

'Superb plotting and psychological insight make this another Rendell gripper.' (Woman & Home)

'Utterly absorbing.' (The Sunday Telegraph)

About this edition

• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0754087514
• ISBN 13: 9780754087519
• Binding: Audio CD