Item: Some Lie And Some Die
Rating: 4.00
Author: camerontrost

by Ruth Rendell

Fans of PD James, Ann Cleeves and Donna Leon will devour this captivating and compelling thriller from multi-million copy and SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author Ruth Rendell. Mesmerically gripping, it highlights that fame can come at a price - and that that price can be lethal.

'The most brilliant mystery novelist of our time' -- Patricia Cornwell
'[Wexford] has become an old friend who gets better with age' -- Herald
'Had me gripped from the start' -- ***** Reader review
'Brilliant' -- ***** Reader review
'Rendell is a master of psychological suspense' -- ***** Reader review

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When the body of a brutally beaten girl is found in a quarry during a hedonistic hippy festival near Kingsmarkham, Wexford is first on the scene. The victim's face has been pulped by the back-end of a bottle, but who, in this atmosphere of peace and love, could be capable of such violence?

The body is that of local girl turned stripper Dawn Stonor, but it is the unlikely link between this ill-fated girl and the mysterious folk-singer Zeno Vedast that piques Wexford's interest.

Through an intricate web of lies and deceit, Wexford uncovers a history of love and hate that began years earlier. In all his years of police work, he has never been faced with a crime of such desperate passion...

I've long been a huge fan of Ruth Rendell's psychological suspense novels but found it more difficult to appreciate her Wexford novels. Why? Well, because her detective novels still end up being suspense rather than a traditional mystery, and when there's a detective, I want a puzzle. This is probably my favourite Wexford novel so far and even though it's very much psychological suspense, the mystery element holds strong. Technically, it is a "whodunnit?", but the armchair detective will work out who's behind whatever happened fairly easily. The key is really the "whatever happened?", and this is where Ruth Rendell shines. The real mystery in "Some Lie and Some Time" is that of what happened to Dawn Stonor? Even when you know who is behind it, you still need to what out how and why. Suffice to say it's sordid and perhaps a little hard to believe, but stranger things happen all the time. Put your bell-bottoms on and enjoy this '70s-era detective story... it's raving, man! ;)

Some Lie And Some Die (Inspector Wexford, #8)

by Ruth Rendell

Reviewed by Cameron Trost on Oct 28, 2023

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