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Master of the Moor
Stephen Whalby loves to walk the moor. He considers it his, although he and his young wife Lyn are merely tenants in a flat nearby. But the senseless and frightening murder of a young woman invades Stephen's sense of privacy and pollutes his beloved moor with suspicion and dread. And then a second murder captures his imagination in an unpredictable and fascinating way . . .
244 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
63 people are currently reading
654 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Rendell
457 books1,626 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 - 29 of 132 reviews
January 16, 2022
Stephen Walby is a disturbed young man who is obsessed with Vangmoor. He is in a loveless marriage and has a tyrannical father he calls Dadda at the age of 30. When young long haired blonde women start to be murdered and he finds the first body he also becomes a prime suspect with the police.
His wife Lyn is more a mother to him than wife. His discovery in a mine the murderers hideout sends him down a dark road. He then believes a childhood friend is the murderer and is sent over the edge when he discovers the acorn does not fall far from the tree.
The description of the moor, weather and mine is very atmospheric but the novel does not pack the same punch as some of her earlier ones.
His wife Lyn is more a mother to him than wife. His discovery in a mine the murderers hideout sends him down a dark road. He then believes a childhood friend is the murderer and is sent over the edge when he discovers the acorn does not fall far from the tree.
The description of the moor, weather and mine is very atmospheric but the novel does not pack the same punch as some of her earlier ones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2017
Goodreads tells me this is my 10th Ruth Rendell (plus 3 Barbara Vine), so you can see that I’m a fan. But this one disappointed me. Unlucky 13, maybe?
A common feature of the Baroness’s suspense novels is a mundane urban backdrop that endows the plot with a gritty authenticity. As the title suggests, Master of the Moor is set in hill country. I should have taken heed of the amateurish sketch map at the beginning.
Okay, anorkay – I admit – I spend too much time puffing up the Lakeland fells, but this novel’s fictitious landscape and invented nomenclature just don’t hang together. Too often ‘the moor’ is a hazy backdrop; devoid of delineation, its physical demands lack tangible presence; in turn the characters’ interactions with it lack credibility.
There is some debate over whether writers should stick to what they know. An eminent speaker at a literary conference I recently attended insisted this would make the world a most boring place. But I think in this instance the author missed a trick: I’d bet a screenplay would swap abandoned mines for city sewers.
The plot? Well – keeps you guessing – kept me guessing, anyway – and a certain sustained suspense pervaded by a rather unnerving question mark over the protagonist’s sanity. It’s something of a murder mystery, really.
So... it was okay (hence 2 stars, for me).
A common feature of the Baroness’s suspense novels is a mundane urban backdrop that endows the plot with a gritty authenticity. As the title suggests, Master of the Moor is set in hill country. I should have taken heed of the amateurish sketch map at the beginning.
Okay, anorkay – I admit – I spend too much time puffing up the Lakeland fells, but this novel’s fictitious landscape and invented nomenclature just don’t hang together. Too often ‘the moor’ is a hazy backdrop; devoid of delineation, its physical demands lack tangible presence; in turn the characters’ interactions with it lack credibility.
There is some debate over whether writers should stick to what they know. An eminent speaker at a literary conference I recently attended insisted this would make the world a most boring place. But I think in this instance the author missed a trick: I’d bet a screenplay would swap abandoned mines for city sewers.
The plot? Well – keeps you guessing – kept me guessing, anyway – and a certain sustained suspense pervaded by a rather unnerving question mark over the protagonist’s sanity. It’s something of a murder mystery, really.
So... it was okay (hence 2 stars, for me).
December 26, 2023
Creepy story. Ghoulish in places, though not supernatural. Location: a rather desolate moor in England, and for most, not the most picturesque of places. However, the MC, a young man who walks it almost daily and writes about for a local paper, it's the most delightful place on Earth.
It's also the site of two murdered women, indications of a possible serial killer. When he finds one of the bodies and reports it to the police, he's almost sorry he's done so. There's a lot of atmosphere here, and difficult-to-like characters galore - keep a cue card - as the MC tries to go about his normal life...
A life which is rather cringy, TBH. Oh, he's married - but is he really married? His wife doesn't think so. His father is horrid. His family - a bunch of weirdos. No one seems to like anyone very much - lots of carping and haranguing going on throughout.
I'd try to be more articulate on this one, but if you're looking for something bleak, gloom-laden and (sometimes) confusing as we wander from moors to ancient mine tunnels to rather dismal houses and flats, try reading this. (And especially if you're a fan of the moors, like a 'Wuthering Heights' type of environment. It's obvious from reading that Ms Rendell knew them well.)
Three cringy stars.
It's also the site of two murdered women, indications of a possible serial killer. When he finds one of the bodies and reports it to the police, he's almost sorry he's done so. There's a lot of atmosphere here, and difficult-to-like characters galore - keep a cue card - as the MC tries to go about his normal life...
A life which is rather cringy, TBH. Oh, he's married - but is he really married? His wife doesn't think so. His father is horrid. His family - a bunch of weirdos. No one seems to like anyone very much - lots of carping and haranguing going on throughout.
I'd try to be more articulate on this one, but if you're looking for something bleak, gloom-laden and (sometimes) confusing as we wander from moors to ancient mine tunnels to rather dismal houses and flats, try reading this. (And especially if you're a fan of the moors, like a 'Wuthering Heights' type of environment. It's obvious from reading that Ms Rendell knew them well.)
Three cringy stars.
October 14, 2012
A Problem With Genre
As crime fiction goes, The Master of The Moor by Ruth Rendell is perhaps one of the more subtle examples. The action is set in a moorland community, presumably somewhere like North Yorkshire, though the book’s place names are pure invention and geography is not defined. There has been a murder, a fairly vicious affair where the young female victim – perhaps a cliché in itself – has not only been stabbed but scalped as well. The body has been discovered by Stephen, a large man, passionate enough about moorland rambling to write a regular column on the subject for a local newspaper, and thus is probably not unknown in the community. The plot will not be spoiled if it is revealed that, primarily because of his intimate knowledge of the moor, coupled with his solitary nature, Stephen becomes suspect number one. There is another murder and yet another in this small, apparently tightly-knit place.
Stephen is apparently happily married in an unhappy marriage. We learn of his sexual dysfunction, as if it is advertised, while he questions his own birthright. He has a confused elderly relative who lives in a care home. There’s a famous local novelist, now dead, famous for his moorland romances, a writer with whom Stephen feels a strong and special association.
There is Dadda, meaning Stephen’s father, a giant of a man who runs a furniture restoration business. His son is an employee. There is Nick, the man Stephen’s wife is seeing. And then, inevitably, there are policemen involved. There has, after all, been a murder.
Ruth Rendell’s descriptive writing captures the landscape well and also communicates Stephen’s life-long love of the place, its history, its flora and fauna, and its uniqueness. The plot eventually works its way through its own machinations and there is something of a surprise towards the end. So why, then, is such a competently written, engaging and enjoyable book eventually such a disappointment? The answer, surely, is that demands of the genre dominate and diminish the writer’s ability to communicate. And here are four ways in which this happens.
Firstly, there is the all-seeing person at the heart of the process – the writer. As previously stated, Ruth Rendell’s book is very well written and is certainly much more than competent when compared to almost any other form. But the writer here is clearly not to be trusted. There are ideas, facts and facets relating to almost all of these characters that the writer deliberately hides from the reader, merely so that they can be revealed when the plot demands. This happens despite the God-like, all-seeing standpoint that the non-participant narrator adopts and the shifting point-of-view where, apparently, we can be inside the thoughts of any of the characters at whim. And still we do not know what they think! In The Master Of The Moor, for example, Stephen apparently changes colour when he gets angry. We only learn this some way through the tale. Do we assume that this is a new phenomenon? Has he never before been angry? Has no-one ever noticed this tendency, or remarked upon it in this small, tightly-knit community? Perhaps it is merely a convenient vehicle for the story-teller, introduced with little warning to create a spicy moment. Perhaps, then, it is disingenuousness of this type that prompts someone like Alan Bennett to confess that writers generally are not very nice people.
Secondly, there is the function of the characters in relation to the plot. Throughout, the reader senses that the only reasons for identifying aspects of character is to link them to a linear plot that will eventually be resolved, with revealed detail functioning as either evidence or motive. As the process unfolds, such details are revealed sequentially as clues to notice, like scraps of paper strewn on a forest floor to dictate the route to follow. We know that these people only exist as mere vehicles, functionaries whose existence is to serve the illusion. And the journey feels ever more like being led by the nose.
Thirdly, and by no means any less importantly, is the requirement that all belief be suspended, even within a setting that seems to rely upon establishing a sense of realism. Genre fiction seems to be, in relation to this demand upon the reader, to be more demanding than fantasy, horror or even opera. In Master Of The Moor, for instance, we have a total of three bizarre murders in a small, rural community. Not only are these crimes committed in a very short space of time, they are also in the public domain. Meanwhile people in these small towns seem to go on with their lives without those recent events dominating their thoughts, conversations or actions. There have been three murders, and yet it is the local police who are still doing the investigating. Three murders, and still there is neither a plethora of imported reinforcements from even nearby forces, nor is there any invasion by researchers, presenters, technicians or temporary twenty-four hour studios of national and international news gathering organisations. Life, and death, it seems, just goes on. There have been three murders, and apparently not even journalists from local or regional media are on the streets of this small place drubbing out a story. There have been three murders, and yet people still do not have them at the forefront of their gossip. There is no finger pointing. There are no tearful press conferences, and little speculation. And people still discuss furniture restoration, moorland grasses, old mines and out-of-date books before any of the three murders. Reality, the currency of the genre, seems to be strangely absent.
Fourthly, and perhaps most important of all, is the sense that everything presented is formulaic. The victims are all young and female, of course, and men with sexual problems behave strangely. Most people conform to social class stereotypes and anyone with an interest worthy of remark is a suspect.
Master Of The Moor is a good read. It is an enjoyable book. But, via its form, prescriptions and preconceptions, it presents an at best two-dimensional world. Its plot and characters are truly one-dimensional within that frame, mere lines that join up pre-placed dots. There is nothing wrong with the book, but, like its characters, it is imprisoned by the confines of genre and cannot transcend the imposed framework. The experience it offers the reader is therefore limited. Imagination, somehow, seem to be lacking.
As crime fiction goes, The Master of The Moor by Ruth Rendell is perhaps one of the more subtle examples. The action is set in a moorland community, presumably somewhere like North Yorkshire, though the book’s place names are pure invention and geography is not defined. There has been a murder, a fairly vicious affair where the young female victim – perhaps a cliché in itself – has not only been stabbed but scalped as well. The body has been discovered by Stephen, a large man, passionate enough about moorland rambling to write a regular column on the subject for a local newspaper, and thus is probably not unknown in the community. The plot will not be spoiled if it is revealed that, primarily because of his intimate knowledge of the moor, coupled with his solitary nature, Stephen becomes suspect number one. There is another murder and yet another in this small, apparently tightly-knit place.
Stephen is apparently happily married in an unhappy marriage. We learn of his sexual dysfunction, as if it is advertised, while he questions his own birthright. He has a confused elderly relative who lives in a care home. There’s a famous local novelist, now dead, famous for his moorland romances, a writer with whom Stephen feels a strong and special association.
There is Dadda, meaning Stephen’s father, a giant of a man who runs a furniture restoration business. His son is an employee. There is Nick, the man Stephen’s wife is seeing. And then, inevitably, there are policemen involved. There has, after all, been a murder.
Ruth Rendell’s descriptive writing captures the landscape well and also communicates Stephen’s life-long love of the place, its history, its flora and fauna, and its uniqueness. The plot eventually works its way through its own machinations and there is something of a surprise towards the end. So why, then, is such a competently written, engaging and enjoyable book eventually such a disappointment? The answer, surely, is that demands of the genre dominate and diminish the writer’s ability to communicate. And here are four ways in which this happens.
Firstly, there is the all-seeing person at the heart of the process – the writer. As previously stated, Ruth Rendell’s book is very well written and is certainly much more than competent when compared to almost any other form. But the writer here is clearly not to be trusted. There are ideas, facts and facets relating to almost all of these characters that the writer deliberately hides from the reader, merely so that they can be revealed when the plot demands. This happens despite the God-like, all-seeing standpoint that the non-participant narrator adopts and the shifting point-of-view where, apparently, we can be inside the thoughts of any of the characters at whim. And still we do not know what they think! In The Master Of The Moor, for example, Stephen apparently changes colour when he gets angry. We only learn this some way through the tale. Do we assume that this is a new phenomenon? Has he never before been angry? Has no-one ever noticed this tendency, or remarked upon it in this small, tightly-knit community? Perhaps it is merely a convenient vehicle for the story-teller, introduced with little warning to create a spicy moment. Perhaps, then, it is disingenuousness of this type that prompts someone like Alan Bennett to confess that writers generally are not very nice people.
Secondly, there is the function of the characters in relation to the plot. Throughout, the reader senses that the only reasons for identifying aspects of character is to link them to a linear plot that will eventually be resolved, with revealed detail functioning as either evidence or motive. As the process unfolds, such details are revealed sequentially as clues to notice, like scraps of paper strewn on a forest floor to dictate the route to follow. We know that these people only exist as mere vehicles, functionaries whose existence is to serve the illusion. And the journey feels ever more like being led by the nose.
Thirdly, and by no means any less importantly, is the requirement that all belief be suspended, even within a setting that seems to rely upon establishing a sense of realism. Genre fiction seems to be, in relation to this demand upon the reader, to be more demanding than fantasy, horror or even opera. In Master Of The Moor, for instance, we have a total of three bizarre murders in a small, rural community. Not only are these crimes committed in a very short space of time, they are also in the public domain. Meanwhile people in these small towns seem to go on with their lives without those recent events dominating their thoughts, conversations or actions. There have been three murders, and yet it is the local police who are still doing the investigating. Three murders, and still there is neither a plethora of imported reinforcements from even nearby forces, nor is there any invasion by researchers, presenters, technicians or temporary twenty-four hour studios of national and international news gathering organisations. Life, and death, it seems, just goes on. There have been three murders, and apparently not even journalists from local or regional media are on the streets of this small place drubbing out a story. There have been three murders, and yet people still do not have them at the forefront of their gossip. There is no finger pointing. There are no tearful press conferences, and little speculation. And people still discuss furniture restoration, moorland grasses, old mines and out-of-date books before any of the three murders. Reality, the currency of the genre, seems to be strangely absent.
Fourthly, and perhaps most important of all, is the sense that everything presented is formulaic. The victims are all young and female, of course, and men with sexual problems behave strangely. Most people conform to social class stereotypes and anyone with an interest worthy of remark is a suspect.
Master Of The Moor is a good read. It is an enjoyable book. But, via its form, prescriptions and preconceptions, it presents an at best two-dimensional world. Its plot and characters are truly one-dimensional within that frame, mere lines that join up pre-placed dots. There is nothing wrong with the book, but, like its characters, it is imprisoned by the confines of genre and cannot transcend the imposed framework. The experience it offers the reader is therefore limited. Imagination, somehow, seem to be lacking.
October 9, 2021
This is the second stand-alone novel I've read by Rendell, best-known for the Inspector Wexford series. I chose it after viewing the 1994 British TV adaptation starring Colin Firth as the protagonist, Stephen Whalby. While I enjoyed that adaptation and would still recommend it, it truly pales in comparison to this novel. While the basic plot is intact, it took some liberties in the end that are not as interesting as the original. But the real problem is that film cannot take you inside a character's mind in the same fashion as good writer can in a novel (for all Colin Firth's valiant effort). The entire novel is from the perspective of the character referenced in the title, Stephen Whalby. Rendell lures you in expertly, with Whalby at first seeming merely a bit quirky, bit of a loner perhaps, but as his character unfolds, it becomes apparent how anti-social and, in the end, truly disturbed and misogynistic Whalby really is, with the story taking multiple twists in the third act. This type of psychological character-study cum thriller is what Rendell does best, I believe. And the superb atmospheric descriptions of the moor don't hurt either. Highly reccomended, 4 of 5 stars.
July 13, 2014
Even when Rendell’s books don’t grab me by the throat, they are still. Wuthering Heights, for instance, did a better job of conjuring a moor in my eye (so does Kate Bush’s song based on Bronte’s novel). Yet, the twist is properly lied out, and still surprises the reader. Nice way to spend a couple hours.
Crossposted at Booklikes.
Crossposted at Booklikes.
December 22, 2015
Another excellent story from the master of the twisted mind! I love how Ruth Rendell conjures up these totally believable sociopaths!! I love how she keeps you guessing right to the end, and then, when you do finish, you think, "Ah! Of course!!".
September 10, 2021
This remains one of the best mysteries I have ever read. It was also one of the creepiest. I am writing this after reading it more than 20 years ago, and having read many more mysteries since that time.
June 12, 2021
This book reminds me of the last Rendell I didn't like (A Judgement in Stone), however, even people who admire the latter book seem to acknowledge Master of the Moor isn't very good. The stories are not similar but they are both "dark, psychological thrillers" and character studies of disturbed people rather than a more conventional detective/mystery, such as the Wexford series.
This book focuses on a moor walker, who seems quite normal when we first meet him as he stumbled upon the victim of a murder. He reports it to the police and becomes a suspect. A second murder occurs. Circumstances indicate he could be involved with this one too. The police are clumsy and unpleasant but he is soon proven to be innocent.
The reader gradually learns that he has unsatisfactory relationships with anything and anyone except the moor itself. His relationships deteriorate. He kills someone he thinks is his wife and hides her body to make it look as if it's a victim of the same murderer but it's not his wife and he seems to exist in a world in which he can't tell reality from imagination.
Rendell's descriptions of the moor, its weather, its moods, its abandoned mines are wonderful and skillful but her characters -- their thoughts and their actions are annoying, boring, dreary and unrelatable. Why? That's what I wonder. What is behind her obsession with distant, disturbed, empty people that most of us would avoid at all costs? Unless you're a sucker for this kind of story, avoid wasting time with this book.
This book focuses on a moor walker, who seems quite normal when we first meet him as he stumbled upon the victim of a murder. He reports it to the police and becomes a suspect. A second murder occurs. Circumstances indicate he could be involved with this one too. The police are clumsy and unpleasant but he is soon proven to be innocent.
The reader gradually learns that he has unsatisfactory relationships with anything and anyone except the moor itself. His relationships deteriorate. He kills someone he thinks is his wife and hides her body to make it look as if it's a victim of the same murderer but it's not his wife and he seems to exist in a world in which he can't tell reality from imagination.
Rendell's descriptions of the moor, its weather, its moods, its abandoned mines are wonderful and skillful but her characters -- their thoughts and their actions are annoying, boring, dreary and unrelatable. Why? That's what I wonder. What is behind her obsession with distant, disturbed, empty people that most of us would avoid at all costs? Unless you're a sucker for this kind of story, avoid wasting time with this book.
November 4, 2014
My opinion on my blog: http://flamesmr.blogspot.pt/2010/06/l...
Título: O Senhor da Charneca
Autor: Ruth Rendell
Páginas: 194
Género: Policial
Os policiais são dos nosso estilos favoritos! Ouvimos dizer maravilhas da autora Ruth Rendell, mas talvez tenhamos feito mal em começar por este livro: demasiado descritivo o que o torna muito maçudo. Depois de lermos este livros só nos dá vontade de comparar Ruth Rendell ao Eça de Queirós (pelas descrição infinitas).
História: Na bellissima Charneca, que muitos desprezam ,fora encontrada uma vítima jovem, loura...o rosto encontrava-se desfigurado e o cabelo rapado. Aquela Charneca, que é a verdadeira paixão da personagem principal, transforma-se então num local onde todos centram a sua atenção... muitos são os que a visitam agora em busca de algum indício que ajude a resolver este crime ou então, simplesmente, por curiosidade. Mas será aquela jovem vítima apenas a primeira de uma série de homicídios? Porquê matá-la, e porquê na Charneca? É uma história interessante, talvez não dos melhores policiais que existem, mas sem dúvida com um final surpreendente.
Nota: alguns livros desta autora encontram-se sob o pseudónimo de Barbara Vine.
Também este livro foi adaptado para o cinema assim como outros Romances Policias de Ruth Rendell
Título: O Senhor da Charneca
Autor: Ruth Rendell
Páginas: 194
Género: Policial
Os policiais são dos nosso estilos favoritos! Ouvimos dizer maravilhas da autora Ruth Rendell, mas talvez tenhamos feito mal em começar por este livro: demasiado descritivo o que o torna muito maçudo. Depois de lermos este livros só nos dá vontade de comparar Ruth Rendell ao Eça de Queirós (pelas descrição infinitas).
História: Na bellissima Charneca, que muitos desprezam ,fora encontrada uma vítima jovem, loura...o rosto encontrava-se desfigurado e o cabelo rapado. Aquela Charneca, que é a verdadeira paixão da personagem principal, transforma-se então num local onde todos centram a sua atenção... muitos são os que a visitam agora em busca de algum indício que ajude a resolver este crime ou então, simplesmente, por curiosidade. Mas será aquela jovem vítima apenas a primeira de uma série de homicídios? Porquê matá-la, e porquê na Charneca? É uma história interessante, talvez não dos melhores policiais que existem, mas sem dúvida com um final surpreendente.
Nota: alguns livros desta autora encontram-se sob o pseudónimo de Barbara Vine.
Também este livro foi adaptado para o cinema assim como outros Romances Policias de Ruth Rendell
September 12, 2015
I felt like a fish hooked by a master angler as I really can't say I enjoyed the story but I just could not put it down. Gloomy but mesmerizing and not so much a mystery to be solved by the traditional unearthing and interpreting of clues but more a matter of trying to figure out what actions,facts or believed facts led to the development of the disturbing characters and which of them did what.
June 21, 2019
Ruth Rendell is one of my most favorite authors. Her stories are dark and intriguing- she's an excellent developer of characters. Also, her characters aren't very endearing, but never repulsive. She's been described as a modern Agatha Christie and I tend to agree. I really enjoyed the twists of this novel. Atmospheric and a creeping claustrophobia... a good read on rainy evenings.
April 4, 2010
Rendell is a master of the psychological thriller. This is a little gem. Try to guess the ending.
August 15, 2015
Smallish, odd, creepy story. Superbly written as always with Ruth. Yes, read it, but not one of her best.
March 30, 2015
Another well written book by Ruth Rendell. This one was unnerving but what would you expect when the main character is a creepy crackpot?
February 7, 2018
Psychology, adventure, mystery, and suspense on a moor. But if that's not enough, Rendell throws a twist and a surprise into the mix to really take you on a ride, or hike as the case is here.
May 28, 2023
a bit slow in places but 100% worth the 50p charity shop buy with a cool wasp cover. v good ending too
August 7, 2017
Το βιβλίο είναι λίγο άνισο. Η αρχή του είναι αρκετά αργή, με λεπτομερείς περιγραφές των βάλτων, των δρόμων, των φαναριών. Οι χαρακτήρες της πολλά βλέπουν και λίγα λένε. Προς το τέλος του βιβλίου όμως, οι σπόροι που έχει βάλει η συγγραφέρας παίρνουν ζωή και η υπόθεση γίνεται πλέον συναρπαστική! Το βιβλίο είχε έναν από τους πιο ανατριχιαστικούς κακούς που έχω δει. Απλά άργησε λίγο κατά τη γνώμη μου. Και πάλι όμως είναι ευχάριστο ανάγνωσμα, ειδικά αν δεν έχετε τι να κάνετε στο αεροπλάνο.
March 29, 2021
It's Ruth Rendell at her best. The story is full of suspense and twists and turns. You never get the idea of which direction to take, kind of like being lost in a dark underground mine with lost of passages.
September 8, 2019
Acho que nunca tinha lido um livro da Ruth Rendell. Gostei muito da história, das personagens e da descrição da charneca e dos seus mistérios😎
April 14, 2025
You can’t beat a good Rendell Murder mystery & this one was superb.
August 13, 2020
A very enjoyable read, with a good couple of twists at the very end.
November 7, 2019
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** me dio mucha pena la muerte del gato de Lyn , melocotón y las dos chicas Helena y Ann morgan
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2025
It wasn't a bad story - a bit on the weird side but difficult to put down. A few twists and turns which really weren't expected.
October 7, 2019
Demasiado descritivo, não conseguiu me absorver minimamente.
July 25, 2017
Stephen Whalby lives near the moor, loves the moor, and spends as much time as he can walking and exploring the bleak and beautiful Vangmoor with its standing stones, abandoned lead mines, crevices, crags, and peaks. But a woman’s body is found on the moor, then another, and Stephen is suspected. There is a lot going on inside Stephen Whalby. His mother deserted the family when he was young. His maternal grandmother, in whose care he was placed, was emotionally cruel. His father, with whom he lives and works, has been subject to dark depressions for as long as Stephen can remember. Stephen’s wife, Lyn, is very lonely, and longs for a child, though her marriage remains unconsummated – Stephen seems incapable of warmth or affection of any kind. But the menace inside him goes mostly unnoticed, except by the author, who kept me turning pages with mounting anxiety. I liked the book even better than the movie, which I watched a few weeks ago. The plot is significantly richer (and different) in the book, though the movie caught the aching beauty of the moor very well.
September 1, 2012
This is Ruth Rendell really writing at the top of her form. Terrific psychological suspense, with character-driven plot. Main character is Stephen Whalby, who seems like a great, if a little ho-hum, guy: handsome, fit, visits his grandmother, devoted to his wife. But Rendell peels back the layers to show the less savory aspects of his character. Clearly his mother's running out on the family when he was 5 has warped him in a fundamental way. His love of the moors, which seems like an innocent and wholesome enough affection for the land on which he was raised, starts to seem obsessive, a way to escape rather than deal with problems. When Stephen finds a murdered woman while hiking on the moors, it changes everything.
November 28, 2015
As often happens to me when reading Rendell, I was totally in love with her descriptions of places and sensations but not as thrilled with the direction her story went. Still, when listening to it read by John Lee, what's not to like? He is the perfect narrator for a novel such as this. There are some surprises which I didn't see coming and that's a good thing. Most of all, though, I'll always feel I have been to the moor where the novel takes place and that's worth a listen in and of itself.
August 6, 2016
A well-written, suspenseful page-turner with a list of quirky characters. The overall theme of the book was dark, mysterious, and volatile, much like the moor and the man who deemed himself to be its master. I love Rendell, but feel this one fell a little flat at the end. I wanted more details about exactly what happened to the main character. Also, I think the characters could have been better developed, especially the one of Dada.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 132 reviews