Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford Monthly Selection - Buddy Readalong with Susan, Barbara, and the "Wexeteers"

[Susan]

I finished it. I was a little slow as we had a power back out due to the big fire in town. I don't know if it was my mood but I don't think we had enough Wexford and Burden. It seemed like we had Wadsworth. It's funny how a line of poetry uttered by Wexford is what upset the apple cart.

[Bionic Jean]

I love the way Mike Burden is portrayed (by Christopher Ravenscroft) in the TV dramatisations. His uptight old-fashioned attitudes really make Reg Wexford's genuine sensitivity stand out in contrast.

[Susan]

I will try to see if I can find an episode to watch. They are hard to find.

[Bionic Jean]

That's a shame :( They are on DVD, so maybe your library could help?

[Susan]

I found Simisola and it was so good. First of all, hats off to casting. Finally a series where the stars look like they are described in the book. The guy playing Wexford was perfect and as you mentioned so was the actor playing Burden.

The story about race is still relevant today unfortunately. When the wife of the Nigerian doctor said she preferred people who called her Ni... to her face, I almost spit my coke out. It has been so long since I have heard the word. Still I have many friends who have expressed her same opinion. It was a great show that I hardily recommend.

[Barbara K]

Our October entry in the Wexford series is No More Dying Then. I wasn't able to find an audio copy from any of my usual sources but I did pick up the ebook from my library. The first few pages seem promising.

And in even better news, I took a chance on googling "No more dying then - audiobook", and found a copy on YouTube! I've never listened to a book that way before, but I will be giving it a try.

[Bionic Jean]

You'll have to let us know how you find it Barbara! Thanks for the advance notice, so we could get our books :)

I hope lots of readers have manged to get this one. The read starts today!

[Susan]

I am waiting for the library to get my copy. I can't wait. I hope everyone joins us in this read.

[Barbara K]

Well, I enjoyed the book, though not the YouTube reading experience. I'll save comments about that for a separate post.

I think it's fair to say that I'm enough of a Wexford enthusiast that with Rendell having sorted out what the series is going to be at this point, it would take a lot for me to actually dislike an entry, and I was in no danger of doing so with this one. I found it a nice blend of a straightforward police procedural with an in depth character study of one of the recurring principals. (view spoiler)[ Readers who have developed a strong dislike for Mike Burden in previous volumes might find that he redeems himself by the end of this book. (hide spoiler)]

For the first time in the series (to my recollection) there are some interesting women in No More Dying Then! Although I found one of them to be somewhat unbelievable, others were fully realized adults. Definitely a move in the right direction.

[Barbara K]

Regarding listening on YouTube: It was a nice option for someone who has little time for reading in print, but not an experience I'm likely to repeat. I think if you subscribe to a premium YouTube service you can download the book and have more control than I did. But I was plagued with having the book restart from an earlier point every time I stopped, and frequently, for reasons I didn't understand, have another YouTube video or audio suddenly start playing.

I have taken the time to map out all of my reading options for the remaining books in the series. I should be able to get them all in audio from one source or another (and I have a number of them in print, should my life return a level of normalcy that allows me to sit and read).

[Susan]

I am so sorry I am late to this discussion. I have been quite ill and just out of the hospital. The weirdest thing happened to me. I was too sick to read! I don't think that has had ever happened to me before and it was quite unsettling. But I finally finished the book which dragged on and on because of my illness. Very unsettling.

I really disliked Burden in this one. Grieving the death of his wife certainly didn't bring out the best in him. It's one thing to mess up his job but how he acted with his kids was just disgusting. That being said, their aunt was certainly a shining star and I think Wexford was wonderful in this. I loved when it was disclosed that his baby girl was his favorite (no surprise there).

This book dragged for me but I am not sure if it was because I was ill or because Burden was such a pill.

[Bionic Jean]

I hope you soon feel a lot better, Susan, and can enjoy reading what you fancy :)

[Barbara K]

Sorry you've been so sick, Susan! That can certainly have an effect on your feelings about what you're reading. I will agree that Burden was a "pill" for most of the book, but it seemed to me that he began finding his way at the very end.

[Barbara K]

Greetings, Wexeteers! Our next read is Murder Being Once Done. Here's hoping that we will begin November with a "treat", not a "trick", that it will set off fireworks for the Brits on November 5th and that the Yanks will be giving thanks for it by November 26th!

[Barbara K]

To anyone who is reading the series in ebooks, BookBud currently has the 17th book, Road Rage, on sale for $1.99.

[Susan]

Thanks for that tip, Barbara. I am now going to look up what the Brits celebrate on Nov. 5.

[Susan]

OK. Guy Fawkes Day. Happy fireworks.

[Dorothy]

Remember remember
The 5th of November.
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason,
Should ever be forgot.

When our kids were young we celebrated this day with fireworks, even though we were l living in Canada, and fireworks were banned after Halloween.

[Susan]

Thanks for the ditty. I had no idea it was celebrated in such a big way. I am sorry for being so ignorant.

[Barbara K]

Gosh, nothing to apologize for, Susan! I figured the Americans would pick up on the Thanksgiving reference and the English would get Guy Fawkes. Didn’t expect cross Atlantic understanding!

[Bionic Jean]

Spot on Barbara :) I thought it was very clever.

Susan, November 5th is important here in England, and the rhyme Dorothy quoted is well-known.

But I have no idea - am ignorant - as to when Thanksgiving is! I just know it's different in America and Canada - and need telling the date every year. You probably find that just as odd :D

[Susan]

Thanksgiving changes every year. It's the last Thursday in Nov whatever day that may be. What is more mind boggling to me is the fireworks. Here in fire ravaged CA. fireworks are really outlawed everywhere especially now in the middle of fire season. We were just without power for 2 days as the electric company shut it down because of high winds.

[Dorothy]

Susan wrote: "Thanks for the ditty. I had no idea it was celebrated in such a big way. I am sorry for being so ignorant."

Please do not apologize. We all have our different customs and I think it is interesting to share them. When I was growing up in England we did not celebrate Halloween so we had Guy Fawkes Night instead, The Halloween ritual seemed quite strange to us when we first moved to Canada and I wonder if there will be any trick or treating this year.

[Bionic Jean]

Yes, Dorothy, Hallowe'en seems to have grown a lot more popular in England over the last few decades. Also, there are far more public fiireworks displays. When I was little they were mostly in people's back gardens, with the bonfire.

I expect it is safer now, however. The hospitals used to dread Guy Fawkes night, because of all the injuries.

Thank for the tip on how to remember the US date, Susan.

[Barbara K]

I just came across a comment (either Chapter 7 or 8 - I can't tell exactly where I heard it) that dates the book in a way similar to the absence of cell phones. Wexford and his nephew Howard discuss how easy it is to get a National Insurance card. "It's not as if they ask for your birth certificate." I can't imagine that being the case today. In the US you need to show photo ID (which in turn requires about 17 other forms of ID to acquire), just to check a book out of your local library! And although I'm sure my efforts, as an American, to get a NI card and a driving license in the UK were more complicated than they would be if I'd been a native Brit, I got the clear sense that a complicated bureaucracy was behind everything.

[Barbara K]

Question: Is there still a Somerset House, resource for information about births and deaths and all such matters in so many English mysteries? I've never quite understood whether the information held there is available to everyone or just lawyers and police.

[Bionic Jean]

Barbara wrote: "Question: Is there still a Somerset House, resource for information about births and deaths ..."

Yes, it is our official archive, available to all. A new extension was built recently, as it was crumbling.

[Barbara K]

Thanks, Jean!

[Susan]

You are so right, Barbara. I have to believe it has gotten so much more complex now.

I had to laugh about Wexford's diet and his complete disdain for it. I loved when he covered his yogurt up with a napkin so he didn't have to deal with it. I remember the food back then being so much blander than it is now. I had my appendix out in the 60's and I remember they brought me orange jello for every meal for 7 days. 21 straight meals of orange jello. I can't even look at jello now.

I have not read this book before and am really enjoying the humor in it.

[Barbara K]

One of the best entries in the series so far. I'm a fan of well done red herrings, and there were plenty in this book to enjoy. (view spoiler)[ Nod to Inspector Baker's jab at Wexford on the topic. (hide spoiler)]

Although I continue to miss the presence of any strong female characters in this series, I continue to find it very easy to like Wexford, which more or less makes up for it. If I recall correctly, I shouldn't be impatient about the women because over time that situation changes.

(view spoiler)[I thought the concerns about Wexford's health and his feelings of self-worth were a great backdrop to the plot this time around. And between them, Baker and Clements constituted a good stand-in for Mike Burden. (hide spoiler)] I continue to appreciate the impetus of this buddy read to revisit these books!

[Susan]

I totally agree. This is my favorite book so far. I have not read it before so I am really enjoying it. There are plenty of red herrings and interesting characters. I love that Teal character.

I just got to the part where Wexford dropped the urn on his nephew's foot. What kind of person makes an urn for their house that takes two people to carry? Can you imagine how heavy that was and how much space it would take up? I don't have a house with enough space for that and if I did it would be holding books. I just can't believe the decorating the nephew's wife does.

Also it seems like being a policeman pays well. They are off to fashion shows and wearing minks. Wow.

[Barbara K]

Tis the season for Black Friday shopping - and for gearing up for our next Inspector Wexford book, Some Lie and Some Die. He's back in Kingsmarkham again, and up against some nasty doings related to a rock festival.

The GR blurb includes this quote, which seems pretty much on point to me: With her Inspector Wexford novels, Ruth Rendell, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, has added layers of depth, realism and unease to the classic English mystery. Unease it is...

Happy reading everyone!

[Bionic Jean]

I like the title of this one! It sounds like a nursery rhyme. Thanks Barbara :)

[Susan]

Although it is not the next book in our read, [book:An Unkindness of Ravens|83405 is 99 cents on Amazon Kindle today. I picked it up for future use.

[Barbara K]

Good language, Susan.

[Bionic Jean]

I hope everyone who wants to has managed to get Some Lie and Some Die after Barbara's helpful alert. The read begins today, and I'll put it as an option on our home page, as we haven't had a Wexford novel there for a while :)

[Barbara K]

Will check in with everyone tomorrow- recovering from a hard disk failure today. Stressful, but all data is intact, thankfully.

[Barbara K]

Susan, I have no idea what I had typed that autocorrect turned into good “language”. I meant to say that it’s always nice to be able to pick up a book on sale that you know you will read before long. Sheesh!

[Susan]

That made me laugh. I was just happy to have good language for a change.

[Dorothy]

Susan wrote: "Although it is not the next book in our read, [book:An Unkindness of Ravens|83405 is 99 cents on Amazon Kindle today. I picked it up for future use."

Yay! Our library has it in on CD so I have ordered it. This after I picked up 5 audiobooks there yesterday! I'd better get listening!

[Susan]

I started Some Lie and Some Die yesterday and I am liking it so far. I had to laugh at the lady who was surprised that Wexford could produce a daughter that was a TV star. Some people are amazingly blunt.

[Susan]

I enjoyed this book in spite of some of the most despicable characters. I also like this is a manageable 180 some odd pages compared to JK Rowling's ego infused book of some 900 pages or whatever.

[Barbara K]

I agree, Susan. Some very long books justify their length by the content and writing. I’m about half way through Wolf Hall, and it is anything but bloated. But as I’ve recently been revisiting crime novels from, say, 40 years ago or longer, I’m struck by what a great story can be told, and told well, in under 300 pages.

[Susan]

I don't know how this happened. Elizabeth George and JK both need some good copy editors. Reading fiction from the past reminds us that long is not necessarily better. Some long books are good like CJ Sansom and Edward Rutherford and Wolf Hall but some are just feeding egos.

[Barbara K]

Love Sansom - and there is value throughout his books, regardless of how long.

[Dorothy]

Susan wrote: "I don't know how this happened. Elizabeth George and JK both need some good copy editors. Reading fiction from the past reminds us that long is not necessarily better. Some long books are good like..."

I agree. I have given up on Elizabeth George.

[Bionic Jean]

Do you know yet who is lying? And who will die? Or is there some other significance to the title?

[Barbara K]

Merry Christmas evening (here on the US East Coast), and happy holidays to all!

Next week the Wexeteers begin our group read of Rendell's Shake Hands Forever, ninth in the series. I was pleased to find just now that it is available in audio from one of our local libraries (I'm fortunate in being able to borrow from several counties), so I've already downloaded it and I'm raring to go. Fortunately I received enough books as giftholiday s to hold me for a week so that I don't jump the gun. (Is that a US expression?)

[Susan]

I got my copy in the mail so I am all set to go. Can't wait.

[Barbara K]

Ok, so this book started out in a frightening way for me. The cleanliness inspection conducted by Mrs. Hathall in the first chapter made me shudder as I was reminded of a former mother-in-law of my own many decades ago. (view spoiler)[I was not dead, fortunately, when she ran her finger along the top of a doorframe. I got to watch. (hide spoiler)]