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Shake Hands Forever by Ruth Rendell
Inspector Wexford Series Book #9
3 ★'s
What's It About?
The bed was neatly made, and the woman on top neatly strangled.
According to all accounts, Angela Hathall was deeply in love with her husband and far too paranoid to invite an unknown person into their home. So who managed to gain entry and strangle her without a struggle? That is the problem facing Inspector Wexford. Perhaps it was the mystery woman who left her fingerprints on the Hathall's bathtub? Perhaps it was Angela's husband who lied about a stolen library book? And why was the Hathall home, usually so unkempt, exquisitely clean the day of Angela's death? Then a neighbor--friendly, knowing, disarmingly beautiful--offers Wexford her assistance. And what begins as a rather tricky case turns into an obsession that threatens to destroy the Inspector's career--as well as his marriage.
What Did I Think?
This was a bit unusual in that from the beginning we knew who did the dastardly deed...just not HOW they did it. That alone kept this reader turning page after page. Inspector Wexford is his usual complex, flawed and true to life character. Even tho this wasn't the absolutely best Inspector Wexford book I've read I still would say that those who enjoy British village mysteries and police procedural would not only like this book but the entire Wexford series. There are 24 books in the series now. Ruth Rendell died in 2015 and I don't believe anyone else is going to take up the series. Too bad....but they probably wouldn't be the same.
