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Piranha to Scurfy: And Other Stories
Nine deliciously frightening and exquisitely crafted tales of psychological terror from Ruth Rendell.
A self-appointed critic reads books only to catch out their errors of fact and usage, which he points out to their authors in vicious Then one day he comes upon a book that attacks him . An elderly woman finally avenges herself on the man who raped her sixty years before. An idyllic village in the English countryside offers newcomers its own peculiar kind of hospitality and exacts a terrible price on those who reject it. Delivering high-voltage shocks with the elegance of a Henry James, Piranha to Scurfy is further evidence of Ruth Rendell’s mastery of any form she puts her hand to.
A self-appointed critic reads books only to catch out their errors of fact and usage, which he points out to their authors in vicious Then one day he comes upon a book that attacks him . An elderly woman finally avenges herself on the man who raped her sixty years before. An idyllic village in the English countryside offers newcomers its own peculiar kind of hospitality and exacts a terrible price on those who reject it. Delivering high-voltage shocks with the elegance of a Henry James, Piranha to Scurfy is further evidence of Ruth Rendell’s mastery of any form she puts her hand to.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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282 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Rendell
447 books1,615 followersA.K.A. Barbara Vine
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford.
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
September 18, 2017
I noticed that other reviews of this book rate it poorly for various reasons that amount to "it isn't like her novels." That strikes me as silly, as the unspoken assertion is that Rendell should stick to murder mysteries and psychological suspense, and not branch out to anything else at all.
Some of these stories do have mystery/suspense elements--the title story, for instance, is a miniature version of Rendell's several superb sociopath/psychopath studies, with a clear nod to Poe's "The Telltale Heart." Another, "The Astronomical Scarf," links a series of people by following the titular garment, a creative downsizing of her Adam and Eve and Pinch Me, in which a series of people are unknowingly linked by their relationships with a roving moocher aptly named Leach. Other stories in the volume are more subtle, reading perhaps like playful exercises or tests of some particular kind of unexpected twist, or explorations of some aspect of human nature by magnifying it in an otherwise "normal" setting. The anchor story reads like an homage to Shirley Jackson.
I enjoyed all of the stories--partly for themselves as well-crafted stories and sketches, and partly as zoomed-in looks at the kinds of building blocks Rendell used in creating her dozens of novels. I look forward to reading more of her story collections.
Some of these stories do have mystery/suspense elements--the title story, for instance, is a miniature version of Rendell's several superb sociopath/psychopath studies, with a clear nod to Poe's "The Telltale Heart." Another, "The Astronomical Scarf," links a series of people by following the titular garment, a creative downsizing of her Adam and Eve and Pinch Me, in which a series of people are unknowingly linked by their relationships with a roving moocher aptly named Leach. Other stories in the volume are more subtle, reading perhaps like playful exercises or tests of some particular kind of unexpected twist, or explorations of some aspect of human nature by magnifying it in an otherwise "normal" setting. The anchor story reads like an homage to Shirley Jackson.
I enjoyed all of the stories--partly for themselves as well-crafted stories and sketches, and partly as zoomed-in looks at the kinds of building blocks Rendell used in creating her dozens of novels. I look forward to reading more of her story collections.
October 22, 2019
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, a book of Ruth Rendell’s short stories is like a box of chocolates —delicious!
The first story is the title of the book and is the best of the bunch. It is about a fussy, self-appointed book editor who lives off the royalties his mother receives from her dead husband’s textbooks. Ambrose Ribbon spends his days reading, carefully jotting editorial errors into a notebook and then writing to the authors of their mistakes.
One of Ambrose’s least favourite authors, Kingston Marle, writes of supernatural beings. After sending a scathing letter to Marle, Ambrose’s copy of Marle’s book seems to move from inside a drawer to a coffee table. After this happens multiple times Ambrose buries the book in the back yard, but eventually digs it up and sets fire to it. The fire becomes Ambrose’s undoing in a scene reminiscent of an episode of the “Twilight Zone”.
Do not get me wrong, each story in this collection is equal to Ms. Rendell’s standard of greatness. I think I just found such a blithely obtuse character as Ambrose Ribbon amusing and interesting in his obtuseness, and unfortunately, ultimately pitiable.
The first story is the title of the book and is the best of the bunch. It is about a fussy, self-appointed book editor who lives off the royalties his mother receives from her dead husband’s textbooks. Ambrose Ribbon spends his days reading, carefully jotting editorial errors into a notebook and then writing to the authors of their mistakes.
One of Ambrose’s least favourite authors, Kingston Marle, writes of supernatural beings. After sending a scathing letter to Marle, Ambrose’s copy of Marle’s book seems to move from inside a drawer to a coffee table. After this happens multiple times Ambrose buries the book in the back yard, but eventually digs it up and sets fire to it. The fire becomes Ambrose’s undoing in a scene reminiscent of an episode of the “Twilight Zone”.
Do not get me wrong, each story in this collection is equal to Ms. Rendell’s standard of greatness. I think I just found such a blithely obtuse character as Ambrose Ribbon amusing and interesting in his obtuseness, and unfortunately, ultimately pitiable.
January 24, 2021
I was not expecting this at all!! Normally with anthologies like this I only like half the stories but honestly I enjoyed every single one, I admit there a couple that could’ve been a little better but I still thoroughly enjoyed them!!
The first novella, Piranha to Scurfy was like a modern day version of Edgar Allen Poe’s Telltale Heart but if the heart was a scary book!!
The story of The Astronomical Scarf was beautiful and came full circle and I loved it.
Beach Butler was so random but I totally loved the end, felt like it was a bit different to the others in the book.
The last Novella was WEIRDDDD and kind of scary. A village of strange tight-knit people that ‘test’ newcomers to see if they have the right ‘criteria’ to meet their village requirements. Such an uneasy feeling and as you start to unravel why you feel uneasy it just keeps getting more threatening.
I’m yet to read any of Ruth Rendell’s novels but if she’s as good at writing mystery novels as she is at short stories I’m sure I’ll love them!
The first novella, Piranha to Scurfy was like a modern day version of Edgar Allen Poe’s Telltale Heart but if the heart was a scary book!!
The story of The Astronomical Scarf was beautiful and came full circle and I loved it.
Beach Butler was so random but I totally loved the end, felt like it was a bit different to the others in the book.
The last Novella was WEIRDDDD and kind of scary. A village of strange tight-knit people that ‘test’ newcomers to see if they have the right ‘criteria’ to meet their village requirements. Such an uneasy feeling and as you start to unravel why you feel uneasy it just keeps getting more threatening.
I’m yet to read any of Ruth Rendell’s novels but if she’s as good at writing mystery novels as she is at short stories I’m sure I’ll love them!
December 6, 2023
A collection of 9 short witty somewhat horrifying thought-provoking mystery stories make up this book. This was my first taste of author Ruth Rendell’s writing and I am intrigued enough to want to watch for more of her books. If you’re looking for exotic love stories and lessons on human nature then this just might be a book for you. Interestingly enjoyable in a quirky way.
March 19, 2012
The best thing about this book is the last story, "High Mysterious Union", which is really more of a novella and is very reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and just as compelling.By the way, and without giving anything away, the book title refers to an encyclopedia volume.
May 23, 2024
This is a great collection and I loved most of the stories. Unfortunately, the story I liked least was the longest, so this spoilt it a little.
September 1, 2021
Ruth Rendell wrote over 50 crime novels and seven collections of short stories before dying of a stroke at the age of 84. Piranha to Scurfy is one of her short story collections.
Each story in this collection is quite different. Often there is an element of the fantastic or the occult, such as 'the Astronomical Scarf' and 'High Mysterious Union'.
The two most subtle stories are 'Walter's Leg' about an aging man who confronts a childhood foe, and 'The Professional', about a reluctant witness to a murder. I found these two particularly disturbing, because of the way evil and violence occurred in ordinary settings.
My favorite character in this collection is Ambrose Ribbon, the demented protagonist of Piranha to Scurfy. Ribbon is a Norman Bates type who lives on royalties from his daddy's textbooks and reveres his recently departed mummy. He preserves her bedroom as a shrine, laundering her satiny nightdresses on a bi-weekly schedule and hanging them up as if she was still wearing them.
Ribbon fancies himself as a copy-editor, despite the fact he has never been employed by any publishing house, or indeed, employed at all. The rooms of his mother's house are fixed with shelves, from floor to ceiling, and over time Ribbon has filled the shelves with books he has reviewed to the point where Ribbon is now bricked in by encyclopedias and novels.
Whenever a publisher releases a new bestseller from one of 'his' authors, Ambrose hastens to one of his favoured bookstores to purchase it. He then proceeds to scour it for errors of fact or grammar, upon which he writes to the author and publisher to report these "howlers" and demand correction prior to its release in paperback.
Eventually, Ribbon becomes obsessed and haunted by one the novels he skewers -- a sensationalist occult tome titled 'Demogorgon'. As he spirals into insanity, he feels the scaly claws of the demogorgan under his bed when he reaches for his slippers, and imagines the shrubberies in his garden are advancing towards him. He buries the book in the flowerbeds, but it is too late.
One of the things I like best about Rendell is how she inhabits a character so completely, inventing unique mannerisms, vocabulary and temperament for them. In PIRANHA to SCURFY, I had to continually google words to decode the main character's indignant outbursts, such as "farrago of nonsense".
Rendell is a great read for people who like quirky characters, twist endings and fantastic use of language, like this paragraph from the Astronomical Scarf:
Elaine's sister wore the scarf to a lecture at the Royal Society of Lepidopterists, of which she was a fellow. Cloakroom arrangements in the premises of learned societies are often somewhat slapdash, and here, in a Georgian house in Bloomsbury Square, fellows, members, and their guests were expected to hang up their coats themselves on a row of hooks in a dark corner of the hall. When all the hooks were in use, coats had to be either placed over those already there, or hung up on the floor. Elaine's sister, arriving rather late, took off her coat, threaded the astronomical scarf through one sleeve, in at the shoulder and out at the cuff, and draped the coat over someone's very old ocelot.
I've re-read this paragraph a few times, and savoured "Lepidopterists" and "old ocelot". Priceless. Will definitely be reading more Rendells!
Each story in this collection is quite different. Often there is an element of the fantastic or the occult, such as 'the Astronomical Scarf' and 'High Mysterious Union'.
The two most subtle stories are 'Walter's Leg' about an aging man who confronts a childhood foe, and 'The Professional', about a reluctant witness to a murder. I found these two particularly disturbing, because of the way evil and violence occurred in ordinary settings.
My favorite character in this collection is Ambrose Ribbon, the demented protagonist of Piranha to Scurfy. Ribbon is a Norman Bates type who lives on royalties from his daddy's textbooks and reveres his recently departed mummy. He preserves her bedroom as a shrine, laundering her satiny nightdresses on a bi-weekly schedule and hanging them up as if she was still wearing them.
Ribbon fancies himself as a copy-editor, despite the fact he has never been employed by any publishing house, or indeed, employed at all. The rooms of his mother's house are fixed with shelves, from floor to ceiling, and over time Ribbon has filled the shelves with books he has reviewed to the point where Ribbon is now bricked in by encyclopedias and novels.
Whenever a publisher releases a new bestseller from one of 'his' authors, Ambrose hastens to one of his favoured bookstores to purchase it. He then proceeds to scour it for errors of fact or grammar, upon which he writes to the author and publisher to report these "howlers" and demand correction prior to its release in paperback.
Eventually, Ribbon becomes obsessed and haunted by one the novels he skewers -- a sensationalist occult tome titled 'Demogorgon'. As he spirals into insanity, he feels the scaly claws of the demogorgan under his bed when he reaches for his slippers, and imagines the shrubberies in his garden are advancing towards him. He buries the book in the flowerbeds, but it is too late.
One of the things I like best about Rendell is how she inhabits a character so completely, inventing unique mannerisms, vocabulary and temperament for them. In PIRANHA to SCURFY, I had to continually google words to decode the main character's indignant outbursts, such as "farrago of nonsense".
Rendell is a great read for people who like quirky characters, twist endings and fantastic use of language, like this paragraph from the Astronomical Scarf:
Elaine's sister wore the scarf to a lecture at the Royal Society of Lepidopterists, of which she was a fellow. Cloakroom arrangements in the premises of learned societies are often somewhat slapdash, and here, in a Georgian house in Bloomsbury Square, fellows, members, and their guests were expected to hang up their coats themselves on a row of hooks in a dark corner of the hall. When all the hooks were in use, coats had to be either placed over those already there, or hung up on the floor. Elaine's sister, arriving rather late, took off her coat, threaded the astronomical scarf through one sleeve, in at the shoulder and out at the cuff, and draped the coat over someone's very old ocelot.
I've re-read this paragraph a few times, and savoured "Lepidopterists" and "old ocelot". Priceless. Will definitely be reading more Rendells!
April 4, 2022
Kiek kitoks apsakymų rinkinys negu kiti skaityti Ruth Rendell: gal kiek švelnesnis, mažiau koncentruojamasi į nusikaltimą ir dar daugiau – į psichologiją, žmonių santykius. Patiko pirma apysaka, o paskutinė tęsėsi, tęsėsi ir išsitęsė į tokį silpnoką Midsommar. Nėra mano mėgstamiausia šios autorės knyga, bet nepaneigsi, kad gerai padaryta.
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June 20, 2025Entertaining though, perhaps not always satisfying. I found the story about the town that is absolutely free from sexual jealousy to be more disturbing than I expected it to be. There are some nice reversals. There's a story about an object passing from one person to the next until it more or less winds up where it started, though not in an unaltered state. That one's kind of fun as a picture of how so many things in this life are connected, whether directly or extremely tenuously.
June 23, 2025
Worth it just for the two novellas. Rendell is a master of the short story. Never gratuitous or grotesque but deliciously macabre, chilling and disturbing.
February 9, 2019
I don’t often read Ruth Rendell. Occasionally her books rub me the wrong way, though a few of them are totally brilliant.
This collection of short stories is canted toward brilliance, and I recommend it strongly to those who enjoy short stories that make their flesh creep.
They’re not “horror” stories in the conventional sense, just little bits of suspense or gothic narrative, fresh variations on old themes that will make you think twice about sets of encyclopedias, silk scarves, and dear little old ladies in nursing homes.
Sip it, don’t gulp it, though. Don’t make this your only book but use it to refresh yourself when your other reading becomes mawkish or tedious. It cuts through the cobwebs nicely.
This collection of short stories is canted toward brilliance, and I recommend it strongly to those who enjoy short stories that make their flesh creep.
They’re not “horror” stories in the conventional sense, just little bits of suspense or gothic narrative, fresh variations on old themes that will make you think twice about sets of encyclopedias, silk scarves, and dear little old ladies in nursing homes.
Sip it, don’t gulp it, though. Don’t make this your only book but use it to refresh yourself when your other reading becomes mawkish or tedious. It cuts through the cobwebs nicely.
May 13, 2011
I'm on the fence between Liking and Really Liking this. On the one hand, Rendell is an excellent writer, clearly a lover of words and well-crafted sentences, not just the intrigue and suspense of the mystery genre. Actually, this hardly seems like genre fiction at all: Some of the stories hinge on a big reveal, but getting there doesn't come at the expense of character development or anything like that.
Still, I guess I like writing that is a little more original than this. Even though they're not clichéd or brainless, the stories still seem traditional, in a way.
Still, I guess I like writing that is a little more original than this. Even though they're not clichéd or brainless, the stories still seem traditional, in a way.
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May 18, 2023Having devoured some 20 odd RR/BV novels in the last 5 months, I am rapidly becoming an avid fan, but I wasn’t exactly blown away by this collection, mainly because the last story, High Mysterious Union, is probably my least favorite work of all the RR I've read so far. IMH but not very popular O it is very boring and WAY too long. I guess I’m way over the whole Wicker Man/Midsomar/Eye of the Devil trope.
The first story, Piranha to Scurfy, is probably the best (but not my favorite).
My favorites are The Professional and The Beach Butler. I’m always a sucker for a Disgruntled Employee with an Asshole Boss at a Shit Job story, and I love the idea of a vacationer finding herself actually in a beach read instead of just lying around reading them. I’ll read any other RR short story collections I come across down the road but for now I’m happy to stick with the novels.
The first story, Piranha to Scurfy, is probably the best (but not my favorite).
My favorites are The Professional and The Beach Butler. I’m always a sucker for a Disgruntled Employee with an Asshole Boss at a Shit Job story, and I love the idea of a vacationer finding herself actually in a beach read instead of just lying around reading them. I’ll read any other RR short story collections I come across down the road but for now I’m happy to stick with the novels.
June 11, 2023
I generally find that in books of short stories there's some I like, some I don't & some I just don't get! So "Piranha to Scurfy" is a bit of an oddity for me in that there were some I really liked, some I liked & NONE that I didn't like!
Now don't go into this expecting a set of Rendell crime/psychological tales, these are..mmmm.... I'd liken them to being sort of "Tales of the Unexpected"ish but much better! Rendell is adept at building a sense of unease in so few pages with some tales having a touch of the gothic & supernatural thrown in & all with a little twist - some of which you may suspect, others you may not.
Overall a book of short stories where I enjoyed - & understood!! - them all (which must be a first for me)
Now don't go into this expecting a set of Rendell crime/psychological tales, these are..mmmm.... I'd liken them to being sort of "Tales of the Unexpected"ish but much better! Rendell is adept at building a sense of unease in so few pages with some tales having a touch of the gothic & supernatural thrown in & all with a little twist - some of which you may suspect, others you may not.
Overall a book of short stories where I enjoyed - & understood!! - them all (which must be a first for me)
June 29, 2025
"They stood there until he was seated at the table and unfolding the white napkin (...) Sandy opened the bottle of wine, which Ben saw to his dismay, was a supermarket Riesling. The horror was compounded by Sandy's pouring an inch of it into Ben's wine-glass and watching while Ben tasted it."
This surprisingly consistent and entertaining collection primarily features Rendell's take on folk horror ("High Mysterious Union"). The jacket of my edition truthfully calls this story "a dark, relentless tale of erotic obsession and bloodless violence in remote, rural England." It is bloodless but will surely still generate chills for most mature adults. Almost all these stories have to do with this intersection of ego and desire, sexual or otherwise. My favorite here was "The Beach Butler".
This surprisingly consistent and entertaining collection primarily features Rendell's take on folk horror ("High Mysterious Union"). The jacket of my edition truthfully calls this story "a dark, relentless tale of erotic obsession and bloodless violence in remote, rural England." It is bloodless but will surely still generate chills for most mature adults. Almost all these stories have to do with this intersection of ego and desire, sexual or otherwise. My favorite here was "The Beach Butler".
February 24, 2024
This collection of short tales is quite different from Rendell's novels and yet they are still well written and constructed and a joy to read. The title story tells of a odd loner who gains your sympathy to start but then shows there's quite a bit more to him than meets the eye. The same can be said about the final story where a translator rents a house from a friend that is in a seemingly lovely English village, but the friend won't stay there any more and Rendell slowly reveals that all is not what it seems as the village holds a dark yet widespread secret.
August 6, 2018
I'll always love Ruth Rendell, and this is no exception. I find so many of these stories exceptionally interesting. The last one was a bit long winded but I still enjoy the intrigue; I just think it could have wrapped up a lot faster. The first story was amazing; I hated the main character (but you were supposed to anyway) and I loved trying to figure out what was going on. A good twist is hard to find but Rendell always delivers.
September 20, 2017
FunAndQuirky
I adore Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine novels, and was thrilled to discover a number of short story collections by her. This collection does not disappoint. It has all the earmarks of the author at her finest: the ability to provide subtle thrills and chills, literate prose and plots that are at once surreal and believable. This was a winner.
I adore Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine novels, and was thrilled to discover a number of short story collections by her. This collection does not disappoint. It has all the earmarks of the author at her finest: the ability to provide subtle thrills and chills, literate prose and plots that are at once surreal and believable. This was a winner.
June 12, 2018
Rendell does short stories. The two slightly longer stories that bookend the rest are excellent. High Mysterious Union, was particularly disturbing, and the book jacket's description of bloodless violence is perfect. However my favourite story was Catamount, about an English woman's time in the Rocky Mountains, a place she returns to for many years. Recommended.
August 10, 2021
I love Rendell’s short story collections and this one is a fine example.
In my opinion, the best stories in this collection are the eponymous one, about a quintessential Rendell anti-hero (an obsessive, reclusive sociopath with mother issues and a weird pastime), and the exceedingly creepy ‘High Mysterious Union.’ Spellbinding.
In my opinion, the best stories in this collection are the eponymous one, about a quintessential Rendell anti-hero (an obsessive, reclusive sociopath with mother issues and a weird pastime), and the exceedingly creepy ‘High Mysterious Union.’ Spellbinding.
February 24, 2017
Another hit and miss collection of short stories by Ruth Rendell. I am a big fan of the Wexford series but in all honesty I couldn't recommend this collection as there are so many good backs out there providing much greater entertainment.
June 6, 2023
Not generally a big fan of short stories: these ones I loved. Ruth Rendell can do no wrong, however. A mixed bag; some London-centric, which is what she usually does, and others not so. The second longer tale, set in some unnamed rural location (which could be Norfolk) is the best, I think.
April 30, 2025
I enjoyed each of these short stories and the novellas. There were some I like more than others but overall her writing style and ability to bring about the creepy and uneasy feeling that the stories possessed was well done. My personal favorite was the professional.
August 24, 2025
I have never been so engrossed by short stories in my life! Specially the last big one, was truly something, quite unnerving to say the least! I wish the book had finished with that one because I want to that story to end the tone of the book, but overall I'm quite impressed by this book.
August 16, 2017
Some very disturbing stories
November 14, 2017
Ruth Rendell is one of my very favorites. These short stories are spookier than her other mysteries and delicious.
December 20, 2019
Overall I really enjoyed this - witty and dark. The last story was extra creepy (made me think of Shirley Jackson) but it did drag on unnecessarily, I thought compared to the other works.
April 14, 2020
Enjoyable read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2020
Nine short stories that demonstrate the versatility of Ruth Rendell.
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December 30, 2020Ningún cuento es mejor que el primero, "Piranha to Scuffy", una encantadora venganza literaria.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews