The Babes in the Wood

I am a huge Ruth Rendell fan, and this book did not disappoint me. In it we have a series of bizarre consequences stemming from the disappearance of two teenaged children and their minder on a rainy weekend. The book is set around a huge flood that hits Kingsmarkham, and we have Wexford watching the waters rising in his own yard as he gets drawn further and further into the strange disappearance, and the even stranger family that the children belong to. The book will keep you guessing until the end. Rendell uses the book to also air her views on sexual exploitation, fundamentalist religion and disfunctional families. You always get a lot more than just a mystery with a Ruth Rendell novel. This lady is a masterful writer. Most others pale in comparison.

After the messy nonsense of "The Blood Doctor", our capable writer, Ruth Rendell is somewhat returned to us in this somber mystery and in the character of the very dour-yet-knowable Inspector Wexford. I seem to remember that a few years ago, Europe endured a summer-long flood of biblical proportions. Rendell uses this as the backdrop for a mystery involving the disappearance of a house sitter who is minding two teenagers whilst their parents are away for the weekend. Wexford is serious, the surrounds are sodden, and there isn't a lot of action, but the story perks along pretty well and takes some inventive turns. You'll want to slap the parents of the teenagers silly before the book is through. As usual, we get to see a great deal of Wexford and wife Dora's personal life and in this book, Wexford's daughter Sylvia, whom we have come to know through her marriage, children, and divorce, has a desperately unlikable boyfriend who becomes a key part of the story. I think that maybe I had a real appreciation for the endless rain in this book, having just survived one of the wettest years in Maryland history. I think Rendell does drenched very well.

Ruth Rendell is one of the best at her craft, and she is ingreat form with this one.Inspector Wexford has gotten a little older, and a bit morephilosophical, but he is still a good, persistent cop, andhe is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.2 teen-age children, and their "sitter," a young woman whoused to be a school teacher and who now runs her own internet-tutoring business, disappear while the parents are on a trip toParis. The investigation is hampered by the wildly dysfunctional parents, and Wexford and his staff have to battlethe parents to get all the information they need.But the investigation goes nowhere, and it is further delayedby Wexford's superior who orders him to wait until the currentflood waters recede, thinking all 3 will be found dead in the floodwaters.But after the waters finally recede, and some valuable time has been lost, Wexford is able to pursue the case properly, but thelost time causes a lot of difficulty, and the people finallycontacted are an odd mix, and they largely seem uninterestedin being forthright and helping.In addition to the family and friends, the police here have tocontend with some selfish, superior-acting people whose onlyconcern is not getting "involved" with the police, even to theextent of giving them vital information, as well as a ratherodd group of people who have formed their own church, and whosereligious practices confound Wexford and staff.Plus, of course, Wexford has some personal distractions, andhe has to address those at the same time.But the real Plus of this story is author Rendell's particularmagic in presenting her characters and moving the story along.This writer is as good as they come in this genre, and it issuch a pleasure to read her story, nearly everyone will enjoyit. The true fan won't be able to put it down. An absolute"must" for the mystery reader.

"The Babes in the Wood," the latest Inspector Wexford mystery, is a welcomed addition tothe famed Ruth Rendell police procedural series set in England. Three people have disappeared with few traces. Due to the heavy rains the area ofKingsmarkam is literally inundated, and it is first assumed, by some, that the three, Joanna Troy,the baby sittter, and Giles and Sophie Dade, have simply drowned. Of course, Rendell wouldn'thave it so simple and neither would her Inspector. Before long the proverbial body is found and it'sJoanna. Now the hunt begins for Wexford. Where are the two kids (Giles 15 and Sophie 13)? Motives for their harm abound. The scene becomes quite complex. Rendell is simply great with her series; her combination of strong central characters(Wexford, his family, and Mike Burden, his assistant), a riveting story line, and the usualoutstanding interplay between the characters, the plot, and setting make "Babes in the Wood" acomfortable companion to the others in this series. Her fans know that, barring some great literary upheaval, Wexford "will out." The murderwill be solved--this is a given. The author, like others in this genre, most notably P.D. James,Martha Grimes, and Donna Leon, concentrates on the strength of her central character: hiswisdom and savvy, his personal and internal struggles, his depth of perception, his abilities simly tosolve the case. In addition, Rendell does not hesitate to foray into sensitive and socially significantissues (spousal and child abuse, racism). Each of her books is an adventure alone, but as the seriesprogressed the complete picture of a complex and gentle man emerges. "Babes in the Wood" joints smartly in this stellar series. Wexford, once again, triumphs.([email protected])

I remember my first Inspector Wexford mystery novel: "Some Lie and Some Die." Up till then I had been living on a strict diet of Agatha Christies. Through the Wexford books, a whole new modern world of crime opened up before me, and I was hooked. And I've been a fan ever since. Ruth Rendell's Wexford mystery novels are not like most police procedurals in that they're a lot more character driven then the others, and that Wexford and his team spend a great deal of time trying to establish exactly what kind of people the victims and suspects are/were -- who they are, their past, their involvement with others and what they're capable of. If you're the kind of reader that finds such things fascinating, then "Babes in the Wood" will be a treat to read. But if you prefer constant action and an extremely fast paced kind of book, then you might want to borrow this book from the library instead.It's been raining cats and dogs for weeks, the River Brede has burst its banks, and the people of Kingsmarkham are hunkering down in order to deal with the flooding. And in the midst of all this, a mother 'phones up claiming that her two children are missing and that she thinks that they've drowned. Mr. & Mrs. Dade had decided to go away to Paris for a weekend, leaving their 16 year old son Giles, and their 13 year old daughter, Sophie, in the charge of friend, Joanna Troy. But when the parents returned from their trip, they found their house empty with so sign of Joanna or the teens. A hysterical Mrs. Dade believes that her children have drowned in the river. And while Chief Inspector Wexford doesn't believe that that theory holds any water, (it's too shallow and both the Dade children were, apparently, excellent swimmers), he does get the Subaqua Task Force to check out the woman's fears. The Task Force finds no bodies: wherever the trio are, they're definitely not in the river. As the days pass, and the police are still unable to locate either Joanna or the Dade teens, Wexford begins to fear for the teenagers and to wonder about the people involved in this case, from the very angry Mr. Dade, his very hysterical wife, the missing Giles who has just recently joined a new Christian group, and in the center of it all the elusive Joanna who seems to have few friends and was a bit of a loner..."The Babes in the Wood" is the kind of unassuming book that manages to ensnare so that before you know, you've spent the entire day being enthralled by all that was unfolding before your eyes. Ruth Rendell is a magnificent story teller. The prose style is elegant yet uncomplicated, and the twists and turns in the plot was continuous, unexpected and intriguing. What I especially like about the Wexford books is the manner in which the authour goes into the whys and wherefores of the crime as well of all the characters involved in the story. But this is done so unobtrusively and is incorporated into the story as a whole. With fully realised character portrayals, an interesting sto