Kissing the gunner's daughter

Inspector Wexford #15

by Ruth Rendell

Kissing the gunner's daughter

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Detective, British Literature, Thriller, Audiobook

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

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

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the summer I usually go on a bit of a classic British detective binge and who better to go with than Inspector Wexford, the series written by one of the Queens of mystery, Ruth Rendell. The character of Wexford is an uncomplicated, middle aged man, happily married with two daughters, who is satisfied with his work and those who work for him. In other words, the reader has no personality quirks with which to deal and Rendell gets right down to the heart of the cases, which, of course, always have at least one murder. (This book has five!!)

The home of a celebrated author, her husband, daughter and granddaughter is invaded and everyone is murdered at the dining table except the granddaughter who is badly wounded. It appears that jewelry is also stolen and no clues are apparent. Wexford and his crew set up an incident room at the estate and begin the long and arduous investigation. And then two other people connected to the family are also murdered. further complicating the case.

The author really digs deeply into the personalities and lives of the victims which turn out to be a little different than they first appeared and the reader may pick up some clues as to the why and how of the crimes. I half-way guessed part of the answers but was also wrong on others.

This may not be the best of the Wexford series but even the less than best are still great reads.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wexford Proved Wrong?
Review of the Recorded Books audiobook edition (1994) narrated by Davina Porter, of the original hardcover from Hutchinson (UK) (January 1992)

'Kissing the gunner’s daughter is a dangerous business.’
‘That expression,’ Burden said. ‘What does it mean? Someone said it to me the other day, I can’t think who it was . . .’
‘It was me,’ said Vine.
‘What does it mean? It means being flogged. When they were going to flog a man in the Royal Navy they first tied him to a cannon on deck. Kissing the gunner’s daughter was therefore a dangerous enterprise.'

I won't bury the lede here, but will get right to it. At the end of the book Chief Inspector Wexford explains the solution of the main crime to his colleagues DI Mike Burden and Sergeant Vine as they are on their way to apprehend the culprits. Then they walk in on a situation which seems to completely contradict the explanation which Wexford had just provided. And the book stops right there, leaving the reader hanging at the very end. So you have to write your own ending. Was Wexford wrong and the actual culprits are who they walked in on? Or was Wexford correct, but there is an additional twist which he didn't foresee? In any case, an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ tag is required, or at the very least an Ambiguous Ending Alert™.


The front cover of the original Hutchinson (UK) 1992 hardcover. Image sourced from Goodreads.

Up until that conclusion, this had been quite an excellent Wexford mystery. The investigation involved quite a number of suspects and even the subplot with Wexford's daughter Sheila was interesting this time, instead of tedious. Sheila has fallen in love with a pretentious contemporary novelist and is even set to abandon her acting career for him. Wexford is in turns offended and often enraged by the arrogance and antics of the writer and despairs for his future relationship with Sheila. That part of the book did have a satisfactory conclusion at least.

This was Wexford #15 in the series of 24 novels. I had previously skipped over #15 to #18 as they were proving difficult to source. No convenient Kindle eBooks exist and the Toronto Public Library online system was struck down in October 2023 (which is still ongoing) by a ransomware attack (rumoured to be Russian based) which prevents you from locating and placing books on hold throughout the system (short of physically going around Toronto to each branch personally and searching the shelves by hand). I've decided to complete my Wexford/Rendell binge by sourcing the audiobooks which are not ideal as I am also trying to spot Wexford's personal Laws and Rules along the way. Listening on audio might cause me to miss them.

On the Berengaria Ease of Solving Scale® I found this to be a fairly difficult solve, an 8 out of 10, which was further complicated by the ending which undermined the solution. I did suspect one aspect of the solution, but that may have been due to a vague memory from 30 years ago, as I had previously read Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (1993) and that paperback carried over when I rolled my book database into Goodreads back in 2010.

The narration by Davina Porter was excellent in all voices in this edition. I sourced this through the free Audible Plus library. There is an additional audiobook edition Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (Audible Studios 2009) narrated by Robin Bailey which is currently not free.

Wexford's Laws
There were no Wexford's Laws mentioned in this book. Wexford's Laws are quirky thoughts or observations that Wexford makes. The previous book The Veiled One (Wexford #14, 1988) contained Wexford's Third Law.

Trivia and Links
Kissing the Gunner's Daughter was adapted for television as part of the Ruth Rendell / Inspector Wexford Mysteries TV series (1987-2000) as Season 6 Episodes 8 to 11 in 1992 with actor George Baker as Inspector Wexford. You can watch the entire episode on YouTube here. NOTE: The TV adaptation "fixes" the confusing ending of the novel.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read by.................. Robin Bailey
Total Runtime......... 12 Hours 3 Mins

Description: Investigating the murder of a socialite family, Inspector Wexford is forced to face his own deepest feelings. Called "one of Rendell's darkest and most suble character studies" (SF Chronicle).

'Kissing The Gunner's Daughter' is an old Naval expression from the by gone days of sailing ships. Whenever an able bodied seaman violated the Captain's shipboard rules the punishment was cruel and severe. The guilty seaman was bent over a ship's cannon and his legs and hands secured; his blouse was stripped to bare his back to the punishing
lashes of the whip or 'Cat-O'-Nine' tails.

Bombs, petrol fires, a lot of interesting facts about trees and coppicing, and Wexford works through his mid-life crisis. Significantly longer book than the previous books.


3* From Doon With Death (Inspector Wexford, #1)
3* A New Lease of Death (Inspector Wexford, #2)
3* Wolf to the Slaughter (Inspector Wexford, #3)
2* The Best Man to Die (Inspector Wexford, #4)
3* A Guilty Thing Suprised #5
3* No More Dying Then (Inspector Wexford, #6)
3* Murder Being Once Done (Inspector Wexford, #7)
3* Some Lie and Some Die (Inspector Wexford, #8)
3* Shake Hands Forever (Inspector Wexford, #9)
3* A Sleeping Life (Inspector Wexford, #10)
3* Put on by Cunning (Inspector Wexford #11)
1* Speaker of Mandarin (Inspector Wexford, #12)
3* An Unkindness of Ravens (Inspector Wexford, #13)
3* The Veiled One (Inspector Wexford, #14)
3* Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (Inspector Wexford, #15)


3* Not in the Flesh (Inspector Wexford, #21)
2* The Vault (Inspector Wexford, #23)

[Jaksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Inspector Wexford mystery by Ruth Rendell.

In this one three people are killed (slaughtered actually) while eating dinner in a great mansion located in a somewhat secluded, private wooded estate. Yes, they are wealthy. One's a famous author; the other two are her husband and daughter. There is one survivor, a granddaughter, shot in the shoulder and who nearly bleeds to death.

Wexford, with his sidekick, Burden, and various other police aides, officers, and forensics experts set up camp in the converted stable on the estate and set out working on a case with multiple suspects, lots of confusing and conflicting clues, and as usual in a Rendell mystery, many witnesses who know a little and say a lot, or the opposite. (Never have I seen so many truculent and unwilling witnesses and bystanders as in a Rendell mystery. She even comments on it from time to time as how stubborn, indignant and reluctant most English tend to be. We have our issues in the US, but Rendell comments, and often, how different Americans are from the English in that most Americans are willing to help the authorities when it comes to solving a crime, especially murder. Let's hope it stays that way.) Anyhow, it's like pulling teeth when Wexford asks the most innocuous of questions, starting with: 'Where were you last Tuesday night?' or, 'Did you know the victim?'

In this particular case, though, I DID figure out part of who did what to whom and why. On a re-read I think I'd see the 'clues' and leads more clearly. But from the start I thought hmmm, could it be... And I was right! But not about everything, darn it.

Anyhow, an excellent choice for a mystery fan. It's got death, blood, conflicting witness statements, subplots that add to the story and one subplot that's there just to torment poor old 'Reg' Wexford.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reg Wexford (described pompously on the cover of the US edition as "Inspector Reginald Wexford", f'r gawd's sake, as if they were hoping to make you think he was another goddam Brit cop-with-a-knighthood, or at least an "Hon" to put to his name) has to tackle one of the goriest cases of his career, when an internationally renowned local author has her head blown apart by a gunman or gunmen who also slay her husband and daughter; only her granddaughter Daisy survives. Doing his usual bluff best to tread the path of goodness while yet solving the crime as efficiently as possible, and trying to cope at the same time with his increasing estrangement from his daughter over her latest disastrous choice of lovers, Reg Wexford pushes aside countless red herrings until finally the solution becomes obvious. I got there a little ahead of him, in fact, which means either that I am Very Very Clever or that, years ago, I saw the British TV adaptation (with the great George Baker), even though I have no memory of having done so. It's ironic that, Rendell having made her name with the Wexford books, these now seem among the lesser of her books; at the same time, they can sometimes, depending upon my mood, seem more approachable than her psychological thrillers. I enjoyed this one more than the past few Wexfords I've read.

[Overbooked ✎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this police procedural that progresses slowly, it analyses the characters very well, both the police officers and the interviewees; you get the sense of the people involved in the case, their personalities and way of life. The novel is on the longish side, having a number of leads that results in a few dead ends, the conclusion effectively is a quite abrupt revelation (even if not a total surprise).
IMO this novel it’s worth the read by Ruth Rendell writing alone, which it is elegant and richly descriptive. 3.5 stars

Fav quote:

Queenie, the Persian, sat on the coping of the pool, looking into the mirror-like surface of the water. A lifted paw briefly distracted its attention. The cat contemplated the underside of fat grey pads, as if deciding on the paw’s fitness as a fishing implement, then tucked both paws under its chest, folded itself into the sphinx position and resumed its staring at the water and the circling fish.

[Philippa Dowding · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's another book that I inherited from my father. He loved this story and he loved Ruth Rendell, so I thought I'd give it a go before passing it along. It's #15 in a series about Inspector Wexford, an interesting and competent English detective with a group of very smart co-workers. I don't think you have to read the previous 14 books to get his character or understand his relationships with his wife, family and the other detectives since Rendell handles that really well (and it's not easy to bring a reader up to speed without being tiresome).
But I have to say I didn't love this story. Rendell is a great writer I think, I've read a few of her books (Going Wrong stands out), but I felt this story was off-balance somehow. The first quarter of the book describes the murder scene of three rich people at an estate dinner party, and it's like a painting she describes the grisly tableau so shockingly well. But then the rest of the book introduces us to the English countryside (which is pretty) and a huge number of employees on the estate (all very eccentric suspects), and we read about those people for a long, long time as Wexford and his cronies interview the same people again and again and again. THEN in the last 4 pages we find out what happened in a monologue from Wexford that honestly came out of left field. So, a little off-balance for me.
Interesting to read a pre-cellphone technology mystery though, since the book was written in the early 90s, I haven't really noticed the lack of technology in a story before. I guess that's something I'll have to get used to more and more.

[Jim Teggelaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't read one of Ruth Rendell's Wexford novels in a couple years. It felt great to be back in the Olive and Dove with Wexford and Burden again. This one is complex and satisfying, with Rendell's perfect prose and pacing. If you are familiar with the series, you will love it. If you are not, you may not fully understand and enjoy the issues Wexford has with his daughters and family in this one. In that case, one of the earlier books may be a better place to start. Either way, read it now or later, but read it.

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Inspector Wexford - as well as my first Ruth Rendell book. An intriguing plot but was convinced fairly early on of one of the culprits and motive- turned out to be a correct guess. I liked it enough to read more of this series.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've certainly read worse. The mystery itself was quite good although it was strange to me that Wexford did not consider the possibility earlier (there was a credible effort put in to distract him to make it almost plausible).

To me reading 410 pages of a mystery, the last thing I want is so much stuff about his family, his psychological problems and all of that. It seems like at some point someone decided that Agatha Christie's 2 dimensional detectives were flawed writing and we needed the psychological depth but to me that is a completely different sort of a novel. I don't mind Wexford having a wife and adult daughters, but I don't want details of his terrible attempts to relate to them (especially since we only ever get his perspective which is pretty "typical male" and tedious).

It was a very androcentric book in general, I kept staring at the cover to check I hadn't accidentally picked up a book by a male author (I do read male authors but proportionately a lot less). There was maybe a roughly equal number of men and women but the men had most of the active and speaking roles apart from Daisy who was written as a patriarchal construction of a young woman and not at all like a young woman from the perspective of someone who had been a young woman herself (again I googled the author to ensure "Ruth" was still a woman's name). What with Wexford's occasional conservativish observations about things and the constant anti-feminist grumbling by literally any character we saw the perspective of I was irritated throughout the book. Nevertheless it was a reasonably good mystery with some great touches (such as the flowers) and with enough of the suspects doing crazy but credible things to make the unravelling satisfyingly difficult (although I did consider the correct answer I was not sure until close to the end).

I would read more Rendell, because this is my favourite genre for relaxing and because this sucked less than most of them. I am not enthusiastic about aspects of it but it is better than the vast majority of what is out there. My sister pointed out to me that the problem with whodunnits is you get jaded, after a while you have seen every possible variation like with cryptic crosswords but more so. Given how jaded I am, the mystery in this was pretty good.

[Caroline Eising · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose to read Kissing the Gunner's Daughter after reading another author's book that I had disliked, because I wanted to read something dependably entertaining and familiar. I was not disappointed. The observations of small town life and the intricacies surrounding a murder investigation were stock standard for this genre - interesting but rarely hugely surprising. The descriptions of the characters and surroundings are three dimensional without being overwordy. One character in particular I could picture as if I was watching a television drama rather than reading a book.
The plot itself seemed to wander around a bit, and the conclusion seemed a bit hasty and was a little unsatisfactory to me. So many possibilities were presented, but nothing concrete is revealed until the last few pages, and then in the course of a rather ordinary conversation. There was very little drama to the ending for a book so full of murders and mystery figures in the darkness.
All up though, it is a good solid read and a good distraction - well written and a good addition to the 'small town murder mystery' genre.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb Rendell. Begins with a gruesome massacre so if you are squeamish, you might want to skip this one. But then, squeamish folks don't usually read Rendell...
Davina Flory turns out not to have been quite the marvelous character that many think she was, and her controlling nature turns out to have contributed to her demise.
Wexford's daughter Sheila falls in love with an appalling sort of writer, and Wexford's sense of having lost her to this character may have blinded his vision for a time.
Clashes of social class and weird characters are effective and moving in this book, they serve a real function other than entertainment. But then, that's true in most Rendells...

[Amanda Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read all of Chief Inspector Wexford's investigations as penned by Ruth Rendell. I have become acquainted with his wife and daughters. And learned about the sibling rivalry between them.
Wexford is a bit of an old-fashioned plodder. He is not a rogue, rough around the edges detective. If you like old-fashioned police procedurals you will love this series.

[Laila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good - a little long for my taste, but still enjoyable, if only because Reg Wexford is so appealing and human. Plus, I kind of thought I knew who one of the killers was before he figured it out - a first for me!

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Policeman is shot dead while waiting to be served in a local bank, some months later a family is shot dead in their secluded house and a daughter/granddaughter is left seriously injured. Wexford and Burden are perplexed as they, somewhat ponderously put together the clues. There is a strong plot with some red herrings and a lead detective in a traditional mould. Quite entertaining even if I did twice fall asleep, miss the ending and had to recap from the last bookmark. Interesting but predictable ending.

3 stars.

[Kate White · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my #MysteryMonday review:

The plot in a nutshell: Tancred House—a stately manor set in a strange and artificial forest in England—is home to Davina Flory, aging celebrity writer. Until, that is, the night of March twelfth, when person or persons unknown enter the house and brutally slaughter Flory along with husband and daughter, leaving alive only her beautiful granddaughter Daisy, bleeding copiously from a gunshot wound near her heart.
Detective Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford enters into this scene of horror, displaying in the face of massive media attention, the cool headedness and a intuitive brilliance that have marked his long tenure with the Kingsmarkham Police, and will be required to solve this gruesome crime.
_
Why I love it: It’s a suburb police procedural with a totally fantastic twist at the end. This was the late Rendell’s 15th Inspector Wexford mystery, and my personal favorite, though they all have this in common: the reader is never cheated. You are given all the basic clues the Wexford has at his disposal. So see if you can solve the crime!
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My favorite lines: “’They’re all dead.’” The voice was a woman’s and young, very young. She said it again. ‘They’re all dead,’ and then, ‘I’m going to bleed to death.’”
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Fun Fact: There’s an old Law and Order episode that totally hijacks the plot (TBV’s version of fan fiction?) but sets the scene in a Manhattan townhouse.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A police officer takes away a copy of a gun from his son while taking him to work, only to be shot in a bank hold up. Then there is a horrific murder in a country estate leaving only a wounded young woman to tell the tale.

When Chief Inspector Wexford arrives at the estate of celebrity Devina Flory, he has to make sense out of the bloody murder seen, the evidence and the jumbled statements of the lone witness and those who may have seen something ... or not. Statements are not helpful; too many people are covering their own secrets.

A few pieces of jewelry have supposedly been taken but it doesn't sound or feel like robbery, not really. Wexford feels for Daisy, the survivor, but thing aren't adding up and soon there is another body and a missing person that create layers to the confusion of what may have happened.

Could it really be a simple case of robbery? And if so, how did the killers know where to find the jewelry, how to get to the estate and enter the building. Clues lead to a possible insider but ...

When it comes to a multi-layered mystery with believable, three-dimension characters, Ruth Rendell is a master. This was a riveting story from start to finish.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not give this book the attention it deserved -- reading it only in bits and pieces as I was falling asleep each night -- so perhaps my rating is a bit skewed.

I tried to think of who was "too present" in the novel for unknown reasons, and ended up suspecting several minor characters wrongly.

I like Inspector Wexford quite a bit and will continue reading this series.

[Margie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would get two and a half stars. I liked it, but it wasn't her best. The ending left a bit to be desired.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing as I had it figured out right from the beginning.

[Nanosynergy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, just did not like this one. Knew who did it from the first. Wasn't attracted to the characters. Perhaps my failing rather than the book's....

[Ken Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rendell was at the top of her game, and this chapter in the Inspector Wexford series is a marvelous thriller. I enjoyed the whole ride from the grisly opening to the series of startling revelations at the climax, all the way to the fantastic final scene. My favorite part of KISSING THE GUNNER'S DAUGHTER is the way the cast of supporting characters take their turns grating on Wexford's nerves one by one.

[Graham Connors · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted this to be better. This is my 2nd Ruth Rendell, and while this book hasn't put me off, I think I wanted more. The crime is not particularly interesting, and while Chief Inspector Wexford is a key element of the plot, I found him kind of boring. I did enjoy the insight into his family life, but that's about it.

Would I recommend this book? It's purely for Ruth Rendell fans; it's not a gateway book.

[Lana Kamennof-sine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Rendell mystery is usually well written, thoughtful, evocative. Found this work to be all those but confess, because of the constant snow shovelling & wood hauling for storms, I found it challenging to stay as attuned to the nuance as I would normally be. That said, there were plenty of suspects, a few teasers, etc. I was pleased to have suspected one of the "bad guys" early on.

[David]

As Inspector Wexford ages, some of his more deep-seated prejudices begin to emerge with a sad clarity. There is a general sense in this novel of a lament for things lost in the past, coupled with the recognition that we must admit that some of the things no longer common from the past, we are much better without.

[*Stani* · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guessed one of the killers from halfway through the book, the other one was a total shocker.

The ending was so abrupt and sudden, it really took me by surprise.

It was pretty good, not the best Wexford, but good.

[Mariana Pinto · Rating 3 out of 5]

twist épico, mas too many personagens com nomes muito parecidos

[Mirhanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite thus far

[Clare Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

So that was nasty. What did I expect?

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good one, at times a great one. Her writing can transcend the normal parameters of the genre and here she allows the 400 plus pages to make room for some glorious prose. The plot line remains tight to the unravelling of the case in the mind of the best of the modern day detectives. He is such a remarkable character and I don't like to think that the supply of Wexford novels has now become finite. The novel contains more killings than you'd normally find in a Rendell novel. I can say that without risking a spoiler as the author numbers the forthcoming deaths on page two. It's comfort reading. It suits bedtime as much as a nice bath and a mug of cocoa. It's simply very, very good.