A spectacularly compelling story of blackmail, murders both accidental and opportunistic, and of one life's fateful unraveling from Ruth Rendell--"one of the most remarkable novelists of her generation" (
People)--writing at her most acute and mesmerizing.
When his father dies, Carl Martin inherits a house in an increasingly rich and trendy London neighborhood. Carl needs cash, however, so he rents the upstairs room and kitchen to the first person he interviews, Dermot McKinnon. That was colossal mistake number one. Mistake number two was keeping his father's bizarre collection of homeopathic "cures" that he found in the medicine cabinet, including a stash of controversial diet pills. Mistake number three was selling fifty of those diet pills to a friend, who is then found dead.
Dermot seizes a nefarious opportunity and begins to blackmail Carl, refusing to pay rent, and creepily invading Carl's space. Ingeniously weaving together two storylines that finally merge in one shocking turn, Ruth Rendell describes one man's spiral into darkness--and murder--as he falls victim to a diabolical foe he cannot escape.
This is masterful storytelling that gets under your skin, brilliant psychological suspense from Ruth Rendell. "No one surpasses Ruth Rendell when it comes to stories of obsession, instability, and malignant coincidence" (Stephen King).
"No one surpasses Ruth Rendell when it comes to stories of obsession, istability, and malignant coincidence."--Stephen King
"Unequivocally the most brilliant mystery writer of our time.--Patricia Cornwell
"Ruth Rendell is my dream writer. Her prose style...has the disquieting intimacy of an alien touch in the dark."--Marilyn Stasio "The New York Times Book Review "
Praise for Ruth Rendell "If you're unfamiliar with Ruth Rendell, if you've somehow managed to miss her sixty or so books ... then, congratulations: Your reading life is about to get infinitely richer."--Jonathan Shapiro "Los Angeles Times "
Praise for Dark Corners "Every aspect of Ruth Rendell's dark art is splendidly showcased in
Dark Corners. One can't say she saved the best for last, because a great many books by Ms. Rendell and her alter ego Barbara Vine are so splendid, but it's among the best. You won't put it down. I loved it."--Stephen King
"Rendell has for years, along with her friend P.D. James, been bringing new sophistication and psychological depth to the traditional English mystery."--Washington Post
"A worthy addition to the canon... Rendell once again exhumes the depths of obsession and traces each step in a sympathetic character's downward spiral. It has both a mythic element--all the trouble starts with a box that shouldn't have been opened--and a Victorian bent, in that it features an inheritance that dooms the recipient... This is stunningly suspenseful and often downright creepy."--Booklist, starred review
"A spectacularly creepy and macabre tale from Rendell."--Entertainment Weekly
"DARK CORNERS, Ruth Rendell's final mystery novel, ranks among her best... Including those she published as Barbara Vine, DARK CORNERS is Ruth Rendell's 66th novel -- and her last. Rendell, who was made a life peer as Baroness Rendell of Babergh in 1997, died in May of this year at the age of 85.Throughout her prolific output, she maintained high standards, winning three American Edgars and multiple British awards for best mystery novel. One of her Inspector Wexford novels,
A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970), was long-listed for the Lost Man Booker Prize. As a longtime fan of Rendell's, I naturally wanted to give DARK CORNERS a positive review, and luckily itdeserves one...Let me finish by saluting the late Baroness Rendell in the proper British fashion: Well done, my lady."--Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post
"Ruth Rendell's final novel, DARK CORNERS, is a deliciouslydiabolical tale on a favorite theme: one person's devouring of a weakerperson's identity...Carl may be sitting pretty, but he's just the sort ofweak-willed milquetoast Rendell enjoys tearing into little bits."--Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
