Harm Done

Rating:
Summary: Long winded
Review: My first Ruth Rendell novel, listened to on CD. The reading is very good, but the novel is longwinded and relatively boring. Between spousal abuse, bigotry, low life prejudice and multiple police cases, Rendell has taken on way too much here and done a satisfactory job of little. What stands out and suprised me most, tho, is her portrait of the British provincial police as small-minded and not particularly bright. A strange sort of detective fiction that left me wondering if she is really mocking the police. Part of what makes for the longwindedness is how many obviously false leads the police conjur up in long discussions, that then have to be played out in visits to imagined suspects.

One thing about some of the reviews. It strikes me that those who complain about her "political correctness" ought to quit whining and just come out and say they think spousal abuse, lynch mobs bigotry, etc., are unworthy subjects for policiers (and other types of fiction?).

Rating:
Summary: very disappointed
Review: The Inspector Wexford series is one of my favorites. Rendell is at her best with this character. I was hungry for a mystery and bought it in hardback as soon as it appeared on the shelves and was glad to see how long it was. High expectation added to disappoinment. I agree with the other reviewers who found the book disappointing, politically correct, overwritten, and tedious. I would add that Inspector Wexford is not himself in No Harm Done-- readers who have not read any of the other Wexford mysteries will be pleasantly surprised to find a richer and less moralistic character. Don't give up because of No Harm Done.

Rating:
Summary: Domestic violence a topic for Wexford mystery
Review: Wexford and his elder daughter appear in one of the later Wexford mysteries. Although the plot is simple it is anything but easy to unravel as it moves toward the end. Displays Rendell's typical excellent development of characters (even if you haven't read the earlier Wexfords -- which I also recommend -- it's fun.