The BRIDESMAID/TO FEAR A PAINTED

by Ruth Rendell

The Bridesmaid / To Fear A Painted Devil Ruth Rendell

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery

Paperback

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

A.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.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Rendell novels. I thoroughly enjoyed The Bridesmaid; it was a slow start but had great character development and Rendell built the tension exceptionally well all the way to the end. It was slightly predictable in that I thought I had read the book before (I hadn't!) but it was still a good read. I wouldn't bother with the second novel To Fear A Painted Devil! Maybe it was a little too old for me, or I just didn't 'get' it, but it was a very short and anti-climactic 'who dun it' and not worth my time!

[The Cruciverbalistic Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good Ruth Rendell 2-in-1 but not great, neither are they 2 of her best (perhaps readable/likeable only if one is a fan), although they would have seemed brilliant in the years they were published.

[Hayley Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book one was a bit miserable so I decided not to read the second one.

[Redfox5 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've finished The Bridesmaid and I didn't enjoy it all that much. The book feels dated. It's like a hundred pages in before it even gets to what the book is about. I hated Senta. She was a total nutcase. Philp was so pathetic. He was sooo in love with her after what, two days? I'd have been out of there after she attacked me. And why did she get so upset when he didn't belive that she died her hair? Even tho it was a stupid thing to question since no one's hair is silver. I found myself getting bored, it's one of those books that makes you sleepy. I feel like I've been reading this book forever.
To Fear A Painted Devil was better but not by much. Again it made me feel sleepy and I kept forgetting who everyone was. But it picked up towards the end and it was much shorter! I won't be picking up another Ruth Rendell book again any time soon.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow and predictable.