THE BRIMSTONE WEDDING is one of Barbara Vine's finest novels, a blend of romance, murder, mystery, and much adultery that forms a remarkably peaceful book. Once more, Vine gives us a clever and intricately developed plot and vividly drawn characters. Though the story has its dark, suspenseful moments, it has an overall calm, serene overtone, with the exception of the exciting and explosive climax, a section you'll literally plow through so quickly you won't be able to turn the pages fast enough. Finally, on the very last page, Vine demonstrates once more that few authors are so gifted at throwing in the final, sudden twist, the twist that is totally unpredictable, yet fits in logically with the plot, and makes you look back on the whole story and the characters differently. This last, spectacular twist is likely to leave the reader breathless but satisfied. A solid achievement, not quite as compelling as A DARK-ADAPTED EYE, but every bit as readable. Well done.

another marvelous creation from that all time master of mystery, suspense, psychology, and the human heart, barbara vine, aka ruth rendell. this book will take you in and guide you to the strong unexpected ending and not let you leave until you get there. great characters, true to life situations, interesting subplots and all weaved around the search we all make for love and the pitfalls along the way. all sides of an adulterous relationship are explored and some people in the book find themselves in two positions, being betrayed and betraying others at the same time. great novel, very atmospheric of the country side and the seasons and the inner lives of men and woman. it may be available in the library if you cannot get it on-line or in a bookstore and i would suggest trying that, you will enjoy this book, its one of her best efforts.

Genevieve Warner, a young woman trapped in a hopeless affair and a loveless marriage, works at Middleton Hall, a home for the elderly. Most of the residents are pleasant enough, contentedly reminiscing about their lives to their carers, but Stella is different. Stella and Genevieve immediately form a bond, taking to one another, seeing little bits of their own personality and situation within the other. Unlike other residents, though, Stella is sharp, smart, and in control, and she does not share the memories of her past, so retains a definite air of mystery. But Stella is dying of lung-cancer, and now she feels a desperate need to tell someone the story of her eventful life, so that her secrets do not die with her, following her into the grave, unknown forever. Thus, she decides to tell her story to Genevieve, slowly unfolding a tale that is moving, powerful, and, ultimately, subtly horrific.

This, "The Brimstone Wedding", is yet another masterpiece of atmospheric fiction from Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell). Yet again she synthesises her twin storylines - one in the past, one in the present - brilliantly, and they eerily mirror each other down the generations. She builds the atmosphere brilliantly in both the time periods, and the suspense is continually ratcheted up, helped along by subtle and tantalising hints as to what exactly Stella's shocking secret could possibly be.

This time around, the characters are also more likeable than is the norm for a Vine novel, so it has a warmer, deceptively (and dangerously) cosy feel, which is juxtaposed with the usual chilly atmosphere and down-to-the-bones and wonderfully detached writing style. They're characters you are motivated to care deeply about, which serves to make this not only a powerful in places but also very moving. Certainly, there was one point when I even shed a few tears.

The story is told brilliantly, giving readers enough information to satisfy, but yet as little as possible, to ensure that they need continually to turn the page to find out more. It all culminates excellently with a shocking revelation about the true nature of Stella's secret. This revelation is not overblown and exaggerated, as some authors might make it, instead Vine underplays it, clearing it entirely of melodrama and simply telling things exactly as they were, which forces the reader to actually think about it, thus bringing huge power to the climax.

This, a masterpiece that is the sum of many excellent parts, is a complete triumph for Vine, matching up very equally with my previous favourite of hers, the erotic and chilling genius that is "No Night Is Too Long". Neither of these books should be passed over by any reader worth their salt.

I have just finished House of Stairs for the 3rd time. I know little about writing and read mostly commercial fiction. However, the quality of Rendell's writing is at times breath taking. Her device is this book for shifting from the past to the present is simple and elegant. There is really no who done it here, only a why done it. And when you find out why, its so ordinary that you wonder why you read so long to get there. The why is that Rendell writes so good and dribbles the information out is dribs and drabs that you keep reading. You know early on that the narrator may or may not have a dread disease but it isn't identified until about 15% into the book.

One of the drawbacks to this book is the lack of sympathetic characters. Maybe its my age, but there is really no main character is this book who is likeable (although there are a couple which you care about). Elizabeth is the narrator but has an unfathomable weakness when it comes to Belle with whom there cannot be any type of healthy relationship. Belle is a flagrant sociopath who is only interesting because of the degree and outlandishness of her coldness and selfishness. Cossette is the all-time post child for co-dependency. Mark comes closest to being decent but in the end destroys Elizabeth and Cossette's relationship to save his own. There is no one in this group I'd ever want to be friends with.

As Elizabeth Vetch is travelling down the street in a taxi, she suddenly spots a woman whom she used to know many years before. A woman that she thought was still in prison. She calls the vehicle to a stop, and rushes off in pursuit of her old friend. Eventually, Elizabeth looses her amid the bustle of London. Then, here memories triggered by this event, she begins to tell the reader her story...

It's a tale that leads to a time when Elizabeth was staying in a tall boarding house (known by its residents as the House of Stairs) run by her kindly old friend Cosette, when all the varied inhabitants lived in peace and harmony, and when she was in a relationship with the enigmatic Bell, a woman who will soon be arrested for murder. But, then Mark comes into their lives, and the effects of his presence soon mean that none of their lives will ever be the same again. For death is following in his path...

Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell) is quite, quite marvellous. The way she mixes past and present, the current story and the flashbacks to the events which happened at the House of Stairs is masterful, and not nearly as confusing as a lesser writer might make it. Her demonstrations of how the past can hold an inextricable grip on all our future's are brilliantly subtle. The characters she creates are almost unbearably realistic, and few of them are likeable. Even the kindly Cosette's needy dependency may grate on some after a while. She also injects a great subplot concerning the fact that Elizabeth, our narrator, may well have inherited the Huntington's Chorea that runs in her family.

The suspense Rendell creates with the almost unbearably slow (although never, ever boring) teasing out of her plots is immense, and she maintains it right to the end, when the final surprise is revealed. Some longstanding fans of Rendell may be able to guess the main subtle twist that she uses (but not all she has up her sleeve), for she has used a similar one before (but in a rather different way). But then, as another reviewer has said, very aptly, of Rendell, "she pulls back the curtain to reveal, rather than to surprise".

Vine/Rendell is not going to be ideal for anyone who prefers their thrillers to be fast-paced and exciting, with constant surprises, but if you're the sort of reader who admires an intelligent, immaculately written thriller, full of realistic characters, subtle suspense, and with one or two surprises along the way, then there is no one better at providing this that Rendell. The House of Stairs is a prime example

The Book is really good because the reader really has to think and has to find out who the killer is, and who she/he wants to kill. There is also a good version for non-English speakers! (Its for Intermediate -1650 words) The book was written by Barbara Vine, she is one of the most popular crime and mystery writers.

In the story is an old Lady who is really lonely and wants to be younger and to have a husband. Her best friend Elizabeth is always helping her with her problems. Cossette (the old Lady) is really rich so she buys her a new house with 106 stairs, then Bell Sanger, who was in prison because she killed her husband for money, meets Elizabeth on the street. What effect will she have? Later Liz (Elizabeth) falls in love with Bell. Liz is so happy but does Bell feel the same? Later Bell brings her brother Mark to the house of stairs. Cossette falls in love with him and Mark with her. Soon they are together, but is Mark really the right one for Cossette? And why is Bell so strange? Read the book and you will find out.

By Lilly F.

This is the most extraordinary book I have ever read, and read, and read! While it requires a little effort to "get into" the story, the end rewards are great indeed. The plot involves mysteries inside mysteries, and you're not even aware that they ARE mysteries until the answers begin to unfold. Anna's life, as revealed through her diaries, is masterfully told, from her girlhood, through her marriage and child-raising years, into her old age and death. We get to know Anna intimately, her joy, her pain, her prejudices, and we learn the truth about Swanny, the child her husband rejected.

I was raised in a bookstore, did read a lot of books... But this one really stands out. The cover by itself is already appealling, the handwriting and the children, you can deduct a good story in it. I loved the diaries of Asta (I don't get it why my version is Asta's book, later on changed to Anna's book), she is so clever. The plot is fantastic, I even went to archives of the newspaper I work for to check on dates and events... Such as the ship going under with the cadets... The murder is horrifying, and you keep asking about the missing child.... They should write more books like that. Containing a good story, good characters, a thin line between fiction and non-fiction. I just devored it.....

In most of Barbara Vine's novels, the identity of the killer is known from the beginning. The mystery lies in the nature of the crime and the criminal's mind, which are gradually revealed as the story unravels. ANNA'S BOOK deviates from the rule in that the question of whodunit is not revealed until the very end. For that reason, it may be the most "mysterious" of Vine's tales.

Anna Westerby is a young Danish woman living in London in the early 1900's. She keeps a record of her life in her diary, writing mostly about her beautiful young daughter, Swanny. After Anna's death, the diaries are published to great critical acclaim, but they slowly reveal a chilling pattern. One of the entries is missing, it turns out, an entry that may shed light on the murder of Lizzie Roper, a crime that took place not far from Anna's old house. There are mysteries beyond whodunit, however. Questions arise concerning Swanny's illegitimacy, and the whereabouts of the missing Edith Roper, Lizzie's daughter. The novel alternates between selections from Anna's diary and a narrative by Anna's granddaughter, Ann Eastbrook, who begins to investigate the murky secrets behind her family history.

This is one of Barbara Vine's most complex, intricately plotted mysteries. The solutions are not revealed until the final chapters, and Vine once more dazzles us with stunning ingenuity, giving us some of her most "Why didn't I think of that before?" revelations ever. But above all, this is a wonderful, richly textured novel. Vine writes beautifully; the diary passages are poignant, convincing, and marked by wry humor, and the characters are vivid and real. While ANNA'S BOOK lacks the chilling suspense of some of Vine's earlier novels, it is nonetheless one of her best.

This is one of the most sophisticated mysteries in years, and intitated a whole series of superior psychological novels from Ruth Rendell under the nom de plume Barbara Vine. The work begins with the sensational headline-grabbing state hanging of Vera Hillyard; the rest of the work is preoccupied with why she was executed and whom she murdered. Although Vera's victim becomes apparent earlier than halfway through the book, the whys of murder are much more intriguing: indeed, the novel purposefully begins with a knotted web of familial Hillyard relations for the reader to enjoy sorting through until it all makes sense.

The tale Vine has to relate is a complex one, extraordinarily deftly told: one has only to see the well-meant expensive botch made of it on British television to see how extraordinarily subtle Vine's art is here. The sense of wartime and postwar atmosphere is marvelously evoked, and the particular attention given here to WWII makeup and glamor (a favorite preoccupation of Barbara Vine's) is an especially intriguing and enjoyable detail.

Since her first novel, A DARK-ADAPTED EYE, Barbara Vine has written several superb psychological thrillers. A FATAL INVERSION, THE HOUSE OF STAIRS, ANNA'S BOOK, and THE BRIMSTONE WEDDING in particular are exceptional suspense novels. But not one of them comes even close to A DARK-ADAPTED EYE which, after more than a decade, is still the best Rendell/Vine novel to date.

What drove Vera Hillyard to brutally murder her younger sister Eden? The answer turns out to be far more complex than the question. Wryly narrated by their niece, Faith Severn, this flat-out brilliant story brings to light a hidden world of love, lust, greed, and pain. Vine's characters aren't just well-developed; they are completely real and totally convincing. What distinguishes A DARK-ADAPTED EYE from Rendell/Vine's other novels is that aside from the usual intricate plotting and realistic sense of place, the conclusion is gut-wrenchingly emotional. As the inevitable tragedy approaches, the suspense escalates to a fevered pitch, and the final climax manages to be riveting and deeply moving. More than any of her other books, A DARK-ADAPTED EYE shows that the mystery genre is not at all inferior to serious fiction; on the contrary, the mystery genre at its best delivers the best that the literary world can offer.

If not for sexism and genre-snobbery, Ruth Rendell, alias Barbara Vine, would be recognized as one of the greatest living writers, and this book is her masterpiece. Vera Hillyard undoubtedly committed a murder and was duly hanged for it. More than thirty years later, Daniel Stewart, a writer researching a "re-examination" of the case, approaches Vera's niece, Faith. In helping Stewart, Faith is drawn back into the past. It is Faith who has the "dark-adapted eye" and can see murky things in the past (both about society and about her own family) that her modern-day grown children can't begin to comprehend. The book is replete with symbolism and secrets: secrets springing from the repressed sexual mores of the forties and fifties, touching on homosexuality, illegitimacy, adultery, and supposedly virgin brides. The richness and complexity of the narrative, the bell-ringing realness of the emotions described, and the capture in amber of mid-twentieth century attitudes, make this a book to read over and over, and to recommend to everyone you know.

I love Ruth Rendell, I think she is the best current day mystery/thriller writer. I've read most of her books, including the "psychological thrillers", but I've only recently started reading the Barbara Vine books. I literally could not put this book down, and I finished it in one day. I can't remember the last time that was the case. I think it's one of her best books, it just hooks you. It's not fast-paced, but it keeps you guessing, she unfolds the story at just such a pace that you can't stop, you have to know more. I absolutely recommend this book, especially if you're already a Ruth Rendell fan.

There is probably no other writer with as cold and bleak a vision as Ruth Rendell. Even in her slightly warmer incarnation as Barbara Vine, her take on human foibles and on matters of love tends to be chilly and steely-eyed. (Some people dislike her for this reason -- not me, I think she's amazing.)

Rendell has said that she created the new "Vine" line to be able to take a more human, personal viewpoint than she did in the Rendell books -- well, perhaps so, although the main character Tim Cornish, from whose viewpoint this is told, is vintage Rendell, i.e., hard to like. Tim is not evil but confused, self-absorbed, befuddled by emotions, weak and fumbling.

That said, this haunting novel stands out among Rendell's/Vine's other superb works -- and that's saying something, as she is probably the finest writer in the mystery/thriller, bar none.

Like her other books, this one features a sinuous plot that keeps springing subtle and believable changes on you, and characters that are just odd enough to be interesting yet still realistic, and throughout, her elegant and poetic writing.

It's also her only real love story. Yes, many of her novels feature the theme of obsessive love -- that's one of her recurring favorites -- but rarely does love do anyone any good in a Rendell or Vine novel. But, without spoiling the ending, let me note that when I finished this novel I was shocked to discover that for the first time, she'd actually written a book where she gave love a chance to succeed. That in itself is remarkable, and the way she pulls it off, even more so.

If you've never read Rendell or Vine, this is a terrific one to start with (personally I don't think the Vines, other than this and "The Brimstone Wedding" ever came up to the Rendell quality). If you're already a fan, well, there's nothing I need to add.

After reading the very first chapter, i knew i was going to love this book. I was mesmersised by the first chapter, and already felt so involved in the story that it was unbelieveable. I've long been aware of Rendell's genius, but this was a shock even for me.

The story actually moves pretty slowly, but the suspense and tension is just unbearable. You know very well that cataclysmic events are going to occur, but of how and when you know nothing. The sense of wonderment you feel at Rendell (in any of her incarnations) is simply awe-inspiring. You read and read and read, completely unable to tear your eyes from the story, even though its moving with a slow pace. Its thrilling, suspenseful and tense. And i loved it.

Barbara Vine is slightly more literary than her Rendell books, i have found. (Just an observation)

The plot is simple, but very strong. There are good, strong, simple, sensible, realistic twists. They turn the story once or twice, adding just the right amoung of freshness and surprise.

The characters are superbly well drawn and believeable. and quite likeable, despite their flaws. The completely unsettling thing about Rendell's books are the fact that all the people are quite, quite normal. Tim is just a normal, young man, struggling with his identity and sexuality, experiencing the world for what it really is. He's nothing special. Has no psychological abnormalities, is not in any damaged And yet he is driven to murder. This novel is a bravura display of how circumstances can drive people to commit horrible deeds. Quite sane, normal people, slowly taken hold of.

THis is a wonderful book. A masterpiece. The writing is just first class, and the descriptions of the places in which this novel are set are simply stunning. I have never been to Alaska (in particular) but through her descriptions i found myself transported there. And now, my window to it is closed, i want to visit it. It's a desire that should pass in a few days, but its a powerful thing to feel simply after reading a book. (I felt the same after reading "The Empty Chair" by Jeff Deaver, wanting to visit North Carolina. Guatemala after reading about it in Kathy Reichs' "Grave Secrets", and the middle east after reading Jack Higgins' "Edge of Danger" and "Midnight Runner")

I would reccomend this to everyone. I have in the past held of reading Barbara Vine, because i assumed that they would be something very different. SO different as to need publishing under a different name. My, though, was i wrong. After all, a Rendell by any other name is still a Rendell. These books still contain the intensity of subtle plot, great characters, good twists, and all the things i expect from Rendell. It has been months since i've read anything new by Rendell, and now i have discovered this new rich casket of wonders, my future in reading looks very bright indeed.

THE FACE OF TREPASS falls into that category of early Rendell classics that have since fallen out of print. A pity--this is one of Rendell's most enjoyable, involving, and finely tuned performances. An author, obsessed by his memories of a passionate but dangerous love affair, shuts himself up in a filthy hovel for months and months, willing himself to forget...it's a wonderful setup for Rendell's typically inventive plot twists, peppered with dead-on psychological insight.

Rendell's boundless strengths as a mystery writer and an anatomist of the human condition are fully in evidence here. She demonstrates once more her perfect mastery of tone and pace, as well as her gift for wicked wit--THE FACE OF TRESPASS is not just a superior thriller; it can also be an extremely funny book in certain places. And like all of the author's novels, there is a wonderfully effective buildup of psychological tension, a sense of inevitable tragedy that is brilliantly sustained--impressive, considering that THE FACE OF TRESPASS doesn't feature a single gunfight or car chase. Nothing here but delicious prose, shrewd social observation, marvelous character study, and a deft plot that serves up surprise after surprise. The story is marred only by a contrived conclusion that offers a false sense of security, usually absent in Rendell's bleak novels. Still, a wonderfully rich choice for fans of intelligent suspense fiction.

Alfred Hitchock would have filmed this story of deceit and obsessive love. Although the book begins slowly, the plot quickens to a double twist of fate. Highly recommended. This book is out of print and hard to find. Excellent BBC adaption available of video.

This is my 12th Ruth Rendell book and I think each is better than the last. They are not as good to me when I listen to them on audio book. I wonder why? Gray loves Druscilla so much but cannot bring himself to commit the crime she requests. Then he has to go to France to see about his dying Mother. It is so hard to write a review of this very complicated novel which is so good. You know something bad is going to happen to someone but you don't know who, when, where or why. I love that type of novel. Read it, you won't regret it. I am going to get all her works, if it's the last thing I ever do!!!!!!11

Unless you are aware that the book itself IS a mystery, and read the crucial 2 questions on the backof the book and continually remind yourself of them, the first 3 quarters of the book seem like theyre heading in the direction you want and expect them to...but if youre not alert and pondering, the end will grab you like a string...the persn you don't expect, the person who is accused of killing the person who you didnt expect...its all baffling for a traditional mystery, but it even has a happy ending to go along with it!

This is another excellent book from Ruth Rendell...the plot creeps along like a wounded shadow, unsettling the reader as ONLY Rendell can. The characters are developed very well, quirks and all.

The writing is brilliant, and Rendell manages not just to make Wyvis Hall a brooding force over the novel, but almost a character all in itself.

the book is mysterious, suspenseful, beautifull written, with a powerful narrative drive, and with some really great twists along the way which challenge all our assumptions about what we have read. The final chapter is positively chilling.

The ephemeral bygone quality of Ms. Vine's characters during their summer long idyll at Wyvis Hall reminded me of Anthony Powell's dream-like but objective viewings. The author toys with us in this complex novel. The reader spends two-thirds of the book not mulling over what has happened, but what is going to happen.

New owners of beautiful Wyvis Hall uncover human bones in the pet cemetery on the grounds of the estate. This sets in motion events which have been hidden for the past eleven years. The story goes back and forth from the present to the fateful summer of 1976. The tale is told from the viewpoints of Adam, Rufus and Shiva. Adam earns his father's undying enmity by inheriting his great-uncle's estate Wyvis Hall when he is 19. Adam with casual friend, Rufus drives down from London just intending to have a look at the property and going on for holidays in Greece. The estate works its magic on the young men and their stay extends to the entire summer. They sell off items in the house to keep themselves in money, drink quantities of wine, laze about and keep the world at bay. The party enlarges to include Zosie, a fey childlike homeless girl, Shiva, a highly proper Indian and his companion, the mystic Vivienne.

The reader knows something is going to happen this summer because of the prologue when the bones are discovered. But what? We know the event has had a profound effect upon Adam and Shiva that has entirely changed their lives. Rufus seems to have escaped unscathed and is living according to his original plan. None of the characters are particularly likable, let alone lovable. We don't connect with them, but do feel this terrible unease as the tale unfolds. The buildup is masterful, the horror is cataclysmic and the epilogue is chilling. Contrary to a few of the reviews posted here, this book does not have a "happy" ending at all.

Ms. Vine/Rendell deserves all the prizes she received for this craftily constructed novel. Some of the issues touched upon are profound; yet we are never allowed to be sidetracked into a case of the existential vapors. Recommended.

I either agree or sympathise with all of the previous reviewers. This is a difficult book from the standpoint that without some exposure to the London Underground transit system, one is reading the story from a slight disadvantage. Mind you, it is only a slight obstacle--don't avoid the chance to read this book and enjoy Barbara Vine's fascinating tale of the emotionally disenfranchised denizens of Jarvis Stringer's sheltering old brick home, the former Cambridge School.

If you have read this far, you know the basic plot and are aware of the major players in the drama. So I will leave you with this enticement. It is, in a very odd way, a fun read that goes by all too quickly. As in all of Barbara Vine's novels, justice is served up sooner or later (usually later) and, as always, it is never polite justice. Barbara Vine delivers the kind of justice that one dreams of but rarely ever sees. The last page of this novel is well worth the wait.

A word of warning to the readers who are squeamish around the subject of feeding the animals. The hawk belonging to Jed, Abelard, is especially fond of a certain delicacy that is very hard to envision without a lurching of the stomach. Not for the faint of heart!

On that note, if Ruth Rendell ever reads her reviews on Amazon, and she really should, I hope that they will serve as a justification for no imminent retirement from the world of writing. It would be so hard to live knowing that there wouldn't be another Barbara Vine novel to consume with my usual gusto!

I either agree or sympathise with all of the previous reviewers. This is a difficult book from the standpoint that without some exposure to the London Underground transit system, one is reading the story from a slight disadvantage. Mind you, it is only a slight obstacle--don't avoid the chance to read this book and enjoy Barbara Vine's fascinating tale of the emotionally disenfranchised denizens of Jarvis Stringer's sheltering old brick home, the former Cambridge School.

If you have read this far, you know the basic plot and are aware of the major players in the drama. So I will leave you with this enticement. It is, in a very odd way, a fun read that goes by all too quickly. As in all of Barbara Vine's novels, justice is served up sooner or later (usually later) and, as always, it is never polite justice. Barbara Vine delivers the kind of justice that one dreams of but rarely ever sees. The last page of this novel is well worth the wait.

A word of warning to the readers who are squeamish around the subject of feeding the animals. The hawk belonging to Jed, Abelard, is especially fond of a certain delicacy that is very hard to envision without a lurching of the stomach. Not for the faint of heart!

On that note, if Ruth Rendell ever reads her reviews on Amazon, and she really should, I hope that they will serve as a justification for no imminent retirement from the world of writing. It would be so hard to live knowing that there wouldn't be another Barbara Vine novel to consume with my usual gusto!

This story is told quite brilliantly. All the characters are wonderfully drawn, and all are INCREDIBLY interesting. From Jed, the loner who lives on the top floor of the house and keeps his hawk in the garden. To Jarvis, the owner of the house who is obsessed by underground systems and is writing a book chronicling them. To Alice, the young mother who has run away from her humdrum life, leaving her daughter and husband behind. And then there is Tom, the busker who once aimed to study at a musical college, but is now content to play for the armies of people who walk through London's cavernous Tube. Then there is young Jasper, who, along with his friends, finds his thrills amid the bustle of the dangerous underground. And then, Axle. The enigmatic, strange man whom little is known about, and whose secret will cast shadows over all their lives.

The story is told brilliantly, as i say. All the charaters living in the old schoolhouses each have a different part in the story, and rarely do their own seperate stories interact, until the end. It is like watching several little planets revolving around the sun (in this story the sun is the london underground system). Their orbits do not cross, but still they revolve around the main body of the story, until they are finally drawn together.

Rendell skips between each persons's story (each persons story varies greatly) wonderfully, while the reader hardly notices the transition.

The climax is not completely unexpected, but i often find that that is the beauty of Vine/Rendell. You can sometimes see or tell what is going to happen, and you know that absolutely nothing any of the characters can do to prevent the inevitable awfullness.

At first i thought the ending was shocking, and powerful but anticlimatic. Then i realised it is shocking and powerful BECAUSE it is anticlimatic. (Rather like when we meet Hannibal Lecter...we are shocked by him because we were expecting a monster.)

Barbara Vine's talent for devising compelling characters and situations remains high in this new effort, but the tasty idea never blooms into a wonderful book. The effect on the family of a dead author when they learn he is not who he said he was is a perfect idea for a psychological thriller, and Vine starts off admirably. But the investigation doesn't so much come to a conclusion as peter out. In fact the denouement, told in the form of a manuscript submitted to a publisher, is at once so bland and yet unlikely that we are left with a very unsatisfying feeling. Even modest Vine is better than many other story-teller's work, but this is modest.

Barbara Vine is arguably one of the most prolific of contemporary writers and her creative genius is never more obvious than in "The Chimney Sweeper's Boy." (Vine is the pseudonym of author Ruth Rendell.) And in this novel, Vine departs from her "regular" thrillers and embarks on a different route from what we've come to expect from her. Granted, Vine's ability to capture her reader totally, as in her thrillers, is once again to the fore. In this book, famed writer Gerald Candless early on suffers a fatal heart attack and one of his daughters, Sarah, is persuaded to write a biography, a memoir of what it was like to be the daughter of such a famous writer. Thus begins the odyssey: she quickly discovers that Candless is not her father's real name. And what she unearths is at once chilling, emotionally trying, sentimental, and tragic. Sarah is in for a long haul. And Vine is at her best as she lays bear the souls of her principle characters. Perhaps what keeps the book alive--and the reader so absorbed--is Vine's penchant for capturing her audience completely. And while "Chimney's Sweeper's Boy" is not a Rendell-mystery, complete with police procedural revelations, it is a book that is compelling, almost impossible to put down. That is the beauty of the work, the genius of Vine's writing ability. Vine scores easily in this scholarly, sophisticated, yet readable, missive. The characters, in addition to Sarah, are complete and believable. Early on, Candless and his Girls play The Game, an esoteric, snobbish parlor contest. No rules are explained but the object is for the players to pass a scissors a certain way and to be able to explain the move, thus the "solution" to the riddle. Few solve it and Candless and company make buffoons of their guests (which is basically why they play it), belittling them for their inability to solve The Game. This turns out to be a metaphor for his own life and for Vine's intricately written and cleverly presented work. One of Vine's chief characteristics is the pace she applies to her works. There is never a doubt whether the author is in control of the plot development, her characters, or any other literary aspect. Nothing goes awry as she orchestrates the book's denouement and the reader's reactions. It is a treat to see such writing and to see such a writer display her command of her prose. In the Inspector Wexford novels, Rendell is content to stay within the bounds of police investigation and solution--and feels quite comfortable in doing so--and has created one of the best of current British mysteries, but when she lets loose her writing psyche as Vine, watch out! And in "Chimney Sweeper's Boy," she leaves no ash unturned!

It's no secret that Barbara Vine and Ruth Rendell are one in the same. Rendell writes police procedurals under her own name, while using the Vine pseudonym for novels more psychological and less police-driven. Her books are novels rather than mysteries-character-rich and plot-complex, surprising, and often haunting.

"The Chimney Sweeper's Boy" is her best Barbara Vine book since the remarkable "No Night is Too Long." Barely into the story, Gerald Candless, a writer both critically acclaimed and popular, dies at the age of 71. Vine has already deftly revealed his family-the detached wife, the adoring, unkind daughters and Candless himself as unfeeling and even cruel. They've invited guests to lunch, treat them with indifference and get them to play a parlor game, the only point of which seems to be to mock those not part of their inner circle. When Candless dies, his daughter Sarah is asked by his publisher to write a biography of her father. Almost immediately, Sarah discovers that her father was not what he seemed-in fact, his name wasn't even Gerald Candless. But who was he? How does she find out, and does this self-centered woman who reveled in her father's love really want to find out?

As in "Simisola," the Ruth Rendell book where the source of the title was not revealed until the very end, "The Chimney Sweeper's Boy" uses an interesting narrative process to unroll the story. How she tucks the ends of the story together will both intrigue and satisfy readers, although she wisely knows that no story should give all the answers.

In this overlong story of a biographer/hereditary peer's research into the life of his great-grandfather, the 1st Lord Nanther, the reader is able to sort out what Sir Henry was really up to long before the author lays it out in the final pages. At that, it goes out with a whimper rather than the hoped-for bang. Repeated references to genealogical charts were both necessary and bothersome. An "inside" look at the House of Lords during the hereditary peers' swan song was an interesting diversion, but the narrator's (Sir Henry's grandson, Martin)moans and groans after his departure were tiring. Vine/Rendell's writing skills alone kept me doggedly through the first 200 pages (of 369); only then did the story move beyond a snail's pace. The narrator becomes a convincing character only in the final pages, but he has been so tiresome throughout that by then I didn't care. Not recommended.

The latest from Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine, is a complex, slow-building, story of Martin Nanther, middle-aged biography writer and Hereditary Peer, as he researches a book on the life of his enigmatic great-grandfather, Henry Nanther, and prepares for life after the abolition of his seat in the House of Lords.

Henry Nanther, physician to Queen Victoria and specialist in diseases of the blood, particularly hemophilia, received the peerage from his Queen. Henry's diary reveals a cold man, occupied entirely with his work, but Martin's other researches - letters from his children, interviews with little known descendants - begin to turn up darker secrets.

Meanwhile, Martin deals with his own conflicted feelings over his wife's repeated miscarriages and anguish. Already in possession of a son, his marriage is enough for him and it bothers him that his wife wants a child so badly. His guilt and resentment mingle with the regret he feels over the bill which will erase hereditary seats form the House of Lords.

Following the family tree makes for some confusion at the outset, but Vine builds her story with plenty of uneasy menace and strong characters, pleasant and unpleasant. The story is more absorbing than compelling (and astute readers will figure things out), but Vine's characterizations, development and pacing continue to keep her work at the apex of psychological mysteries.

Ruth Rendell, as Barbara Vine, has again written an original and mesmerizing novel, "The Blood Doctor." It combines all the elements that make this author's writing so compelling. "The Blood Doctor" has elegant prose, vivid descriptive writing, intriguing characters, a riveting plot and an ending that is both shocking and poignant.

Martin Nanther, a Hereditary Peer in the House of Lords, has decided to write a biography of his great-grandfather, Henry Nanther. Henry was an expert on diseases of the blood, particularly hemophilia. In recognition of Henry's work as one of the physicians to Queen Victoria's family, the Queen made him a lord. This title was passed down to Henry's great grandson, Martin, now Henry's biographer.

Rendell interweaves details of Martin's present day life with revelations about Henry Nanther that slowly emerge throughout the novel. Martin is about to lose his peerage as part of a reform bill that will oust most hereditary peers. More disturbing, his beloved wife, Jude, has difficulty carrying a child to term, and she consistently miscarries early in her pregnancies. This failure to have a child is threatening Martin's and Jude's close and loving relationship.

Partly as a distraction from his present-day problems, Martin throws himself into detailed research of his great-grandfather's life. Martin traces distant relatives who have saved valuable letters and notebooks. These papers shed some light on the character of Henry Nanther. However, they also raise some puzzling questions. Henry seems to have been many men at once. On the one hand, he was a charming physician with a soothing bedside manner. On the other hand, Henry was a fanatical scientist who was obsessed with blood diseases, especially hemophilia. Henry was a devoted husband to his wife, Edith. Yet, he was also fickle in his relationships with women. Henry was a cold and distant father to his children. However, when he eventually fathered a son who was deathly ill, Henry treated this son with great love and compassion. Which of these Henrys was the real Henry? What motivated this man to act in such contradictory ways?

In telling this most unusual story, Rendell probes the internal conflicts and twisted motivations that sometimes cause people to behave perversely. She balances this with her touching portrait of Martin and Jude Nanther, whose deep love for one another is sorely tested. Enriching this novel still more is Rendell's colorful description of life in Victorian England as well as the fascinating medical details she provides about genetics and the scourge of hemophilia. "The Blood Doctor" proves once again that Ruth Rendell sets the standard for highly accomplished novels of psychological suspense.