Ruth Rendell Omnibus 2

by Ruth Rendell

An omnibus edition of three Ruth Rendell murder mysteries - To Fear a Painted Devil, Vanity Dies Hard and The Secret House of Death.

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

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

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed as usual. Very satisfying when just wanting a murder filled with interesting characters, the socio world they inhabit, buckets of snobbery and lots of little telling details expertly put together. Each story is a reflection of the others, no sudden surprises or efforts to shock or illuminate something clever. Some stories are like snuggling up on a couch with a cat and a cup of tea and an afternoon to wonderfully waste, and the three titles in this collection are like that. Libraries don't always hold her work now, and she's a bit too in the past for op shops, which is a bit sad. However, her appeal is dated, as are many of those of us who enjoy her particular approach to murder mysteries. 5 stars because it worked for me but could be less because of the way it connected superiority or inferiority by class to some characters. Not as bad as other writers do however.

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this if you want to recall 60's-era stereotypical attitudes of women: stories 1 & 2 both turn on women's excessive vanity; the second mystery hinges on the supposed "fact" of pregnancy-induced delusions. I'm not kidding. I couldn't bear to read the third story in the collection.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some Excellent. Some so-so.