Dark Corners : A Novel by Ruth Rendell (2015, Hardcover)
ZBK Books (157201)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherScribner
ISBN-101501119427
ISBN-139781501119422
eBay Product ID (ePID)210344844
Product Key Features
Book TitleDark Corners : a Novel
Number of Pages240 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2015
TopicThrillers / Suspense, Literary, Mystery & Detective / General
GenreFiction
AuthorRuth Rendell
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height0.8 in
Item Weight13.9 Oz
Item Length9 in
Item Width6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2015-298200
ReviewsRuth Rendell's final novel, DARK CORNERS, is a deliciouslydiabolical tale on a favorite theme: one person's devouring of a weakerperson's identity...Carl may be sitting pretty, but he's just the sort ofweak-willed milquetoast Rendell enjoys tearing into little bits., DARK CORNERS, Ruth Rendell's final mystery novel, ranks among her best... Including those she published as Barbara Vine, DARK CORNERS is Ruth Rendell's 66th novel -- and her last. Rendell, who was made a life peer as Baroness Rendell of Babergh in 1997, died in May of this year at the age of 85.Throughout her prolific output, she maintained high standards, winning three American Edgars and multiple British awards for best mystery novel. One of her Inspector Wexford novels, A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970), was long-listed for the Lost Man Booker Prize. As a longtime fan of Rendell's, I naturally wanted to give DARK CORNERS a positive review, and luckily itdeserves one...Let me finish by saluting the late Baroness Rendell in the proper British fashion: Well done, my lady., Ruth Rendell is my dream writer. Her prose style...has the disquieting intimacy of an alien touch in the dark., I'm so sad that there will never be another new Ruth Rendell mystery to look forward to, but I'm so glad she had this last one in the pipeline... Her Inspector Wexford novels, her books under the name Barbara Vine, and these standalones full of uneasy menace will all be missed., The late Ruth Rendell put a permanent stamp on crime fiction with 65 novels of screw-twisting suspense, written under both her own name and the pseudonym Barbara Vine. The posthumously published DARK CORNERS is a worthy final entry in her body of work., Praise for Ruth Rendell "If you're unfamiliar with Ruth Rendell, if you've somehow managed to miss her sixty or so books ... then, congratulations: Your reading life is about to get infinitely richer.", [Rendell] is one of the most literate living writers of fiction...Her witty style and her endless trove of subtle references to fellow writers (living and dead) are matched by a timeliness that always takes on contemporary social issues along with the invented mystery that propels her plot into action. Part of the miracle is that with more than 60 books to her credit over a half-century career, Ms. Rendell never descends into mere formula. The Girl Next Door is no exception., [Rendell] creates another riveting story with her sharp characterizations and keen sense of irony that will keep readers engaged from start to finish. Fans of psychological suspense, along with Rendell's loyal following, will love this complex story., With DARK CORNERS, Rendell, who perfected the art of the truly suspenseful, psychological thriller, clearly had one final trick of drawn-out intensity up her sleeve... Rendell's delicious, quasi tongue-in-cheek atmosphere is so finely-tuned and tightly wound that it manages to be menacing and mesmerizing while harboring a nearly over-the-top element of the melodramatic.... The book inspires a perpetual niggling level of anxiety, the persistent white noise of tension and jittery energy that Rendell honed to bone-cutting sharpness over her long and celebrated career... Meanwhile, she incorporates tart, amusing, and canny observations on the current state of everything from the challenge of grown children moving in with parents -- or, in some cases, never leaving -- to the lack of affordable housing in London, the presence of random violence, Cones of Shame on pets. From the creepiness of a character who relishes causing fear in others, to the surprising ways in which a football-size pottery goose can come in handy, DARK CORNERS proves that Rendell never lost her touch., With DARK CORNERS, Rendell, who perfected the art of the truly suspenseful, psychological thriller, clearly had one final trick of drawn-out intensity up her sleeve… Rendell's delicious, quasi tongue-in-cheek atmosphere is so finely-tuned and tightly wound that it manages to be menacing and mesmerizing while harboring a nearly over-the-top element of the melodramatic.… The book inspires a perpetual niggling level of anxiety, the persistent white noise of tension and jittery energy that Rendell honed to bone-cutting sharpness over her long and celebrated career… Meanwhile, she incorporates tart, amusing, and canny observations on the current state of everything from the challenge of grown children moving in with parents - or, in some cases, never leaving - to the lack of affordable housing in London, the presence of random violence, Cones of Shame on pets. From the creepiness of a character who relishes causing fear in others, to the surprising ways in which a football-size pottery goose can come in handy, DARK CORNERS proves that Rendell never lost her touch., Praise for Ruth Rendell "If you're unfamiliar with Ruth Rendell, if you've somehow managed to miss her sixty or so books … then, congratulations: Your reading life is about to get infinitely richer.", Ruth Rendell's fiction clusters at such a high level that the best judgment I can render about The Girl Next Door is this: It's a good Rendell, and that makes it very good indeed., Praise for Dark Corners "Every aspect of Ruth Rendell's dark art is splendidly showcased in Dark Corners . One can't say she saved the best for last, because a great many books by Ms. Rendell and her alter ego Barbara Vine are so splendid, but it's among the best. You won't put it down. I loved it.", I'm so sad that there will never be another new Ruth Rendell mystery to look forward to, but I'm so glad she had this last one in the pipeline… Her Inspector Wexford novels, her books under the name Barbara Vine, and these standalones full of uneasy menace will all be missed., Ruth Rendell's final novel, DARK CORNERS, is a deliciouslydiabolical tale on a favorite theme: one person's devouring of a weakerperson's identity…Carl may be sitting pretty, but he's just the sort ofweak-willed milquetoast Rendell enjoys tearing into little bits., Let us nowpraise Ruth Rendell -- and mourn her, for herself and for her millions ofreaders. The prolific British writer died this year at age 85...she won widepraise for her dark tales of suspense mixed with significant psychologicalaspects. One of the past half century's leading practitioners of the genre, shetranscended and expanded it. Now we have her final novel, DARK CORNERS -- agripping story of blackmail and death... one cannot turn the pages ofthis trademark Rendell novel without feeling a rising chill and hearing thewhispered hiss of a snake. The author blends the mundane with the menacing,all the while infusing her story with edgy humor...DARK CORNERSprovides lovers of intimate and intelligent fiction with a final bequest from awriter who ranks among the best and whose body of work likely will be read andre-read for many years., "Only recently has it been common for novelists to work into their late 70s and beyond - not merely producing new work but writing at a very high level. A case in point is Ruth Rendell, whose new novel, The Girl Next Door , just appeared. Rendell is 84...Like her contemporary P.D. James, she is one of the finest writers of her time... her wit, always mordant, has never been sharper than when she skewers patronizing assumptions about the 'elderly.'" , Thisis a beguiling, powerful novel, made poignant by the staggering realizationthat this is the last of a feast of characters and narratives. Everythingthat makes Rendell's work so memorable-gothic but believable people and plots,simple yet vivid prose, peerlessly rendered settings, and fear and despair asthe twin 'parents' of violence-is in evidence here., Rendell has for years, along with her friend P.D. James, been bringing new sophistication and psychological depth to the traditional English mystery., No one surpasses Ruth Rendell when it comes to stories of obsession, istability, and malignant coincidence., DARK CORNERS, Ruth Rendell's final mystery novel, ranks among her best… Including those she published as Barbara Vine, DARK CORNERS is Ruth Rendell's 66th novel - and her last. Rendell, who was made a life peer as Baroness Rendell of Babergh in 1997, died in May of this year at the age of 85.Throughout her prolific output, she maintained high standards, winning three American Edgars and multiple British awards for best mystery novel. One of her Inspector Wexford novels, A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970), was long-listed for the Lost Man Booker Prize. As a longtime fan of Rendell's, I naturally wanted to give DARK CORNERS a positive review, and luckily itdeserves one…Let me finish by saluting the late Baroness Rendell in the proper British fashion: Well done, my lady., A worthy addition to the canon... Rendell once again exhumes the depths of obsession and traces each step in a sympathetic character's downward spiral. It has both a mythic element--all the trouble starts with a box that shouldn't have been opened--and a Victorian bent, in that it features an inheritance that dooms the recipient... This is stunningly suspenseful and often downright creepy., Let us nowpraise Ruth Rendell - and mourn her, for herself and for her millions ofreaders. The prolific British writer died this year at age 85…she won widepraise for her dark tales of suspense mixed with significant psychologicalaspects. One of the past half century's leading practitioners of the genre, shetranscended and expanded it. Now we have her final novel, DARK CORNERS - agripping story of blackmail and death… one cannot turn the pages ofthis trademark Rendell novel without feeling a rising chill and hearing thewhispered hiss of a snake. The author blends the mundane with the menacing,all the while infusing her story with edgy humor…DARK CORNERSprovides lovers of intimate and intelligent fiction with a final bequest from awriter who ranks among the best and whose body of work likely will be read andre-read for many years., Thisis a beguiling, powerful novel, made poignant by the staggering realizationthat this is the last of a feast of characters and narratives. Everythingthat makes Rendell's work so memorable--gothic but believable people and plots,simple yet vivid prose, peerlessly rendered settings, and fear and despair asthe twin 'parents' of violence--is in evidence here., Praise for The Girl Next Door "Using her customary spare yet decorous style and measured pace, Rendell, now in her 80s, beautifully and carefully individualizes each member of her ensemble cast, at the same time creating not a grim reminder of mortality but a picture of moribund lives renewed. A special book by a special writer."
Synopsis"A spectacularly creepy and macabre tale" ( Entertainment Weekly ) of blackmail, murders both accidental and opportunistic, and of one life's fateful unraveling--from Ruth Rendell, "one of the most remarkable novelists of her generation" ( People ), writing at her most mesmerizing. When his father dies, Carl Martin inherits a house in an increasingly rich and trendy London neighborhood. Carl needs cash, however, so he rents the upstairs room and kitchen to the first person he interviews, Dermot McKinnon. That was colossal mistake number one. Mistake number two was keeping his father's bizarre collection of homeopathic "cures" that he found in the medicine cabinet, including a stash of controversial diet pills. Mistake number three was selling fifty of those diet pills to a friend, who is then found dead. Dermot seizes a nefarious opportunity and begins to blackmail Carl, refusing to pay rent, and creepily invading Carl's space. Ingeniously weaving together two storylines that finally merge in one shocking turn, Ruth Rendell describes one man's spiral into darkness--and murder--as he falls victim to a diabolical foe he cannot escape. This is masterful storytelling that gets under your skin, brilliant psychological suspense from Ruth Rendell. "No one surpasses Ruth Rendell when it comes to stories of obsession, instability, and malignant coincidence" (Stephen King)., A spectacularly compelling story of blackmail, murders both accidental and opportunistic, and of one life's fateful unraveling from Ruth Rendell--"one of the most remarkable novelists of her generation" ( People )--writing at her most acute and mesmerizing. When his father dies, Carl Martin inherits a house in an increasingly rich and trendy London neighborhood. Carl needs cash, however, so he rents the upstairs room and kitchen to the first person he interviews, Dermot McKinnon. That was colossal mistake number one. Mistake number two was keeping his father's bizarre collection of homeopathic "cures" that he found in the medicine cabinet, including a stash of controversial diet pills. Mistake number three was selling fifty of those diet pills to a friend, who is then found dead. Dermot seizes a nefarious opportunity and begins to blackmail Carl, refusing to pay rent, and creepily invading Carl's space. Ingeniously weaving together two storylines that finally merge in one shocking turn, Ruth Rendell describes one man's spiral into darkness--and murder--as he falls victim to a diabolical foe he cannot escape. This is masterful storytelling that gets under your skin, brilliant psychological suspense from Ruth Rendell. "No one surpasses Ruth Rendell when it comes to stories of obsession, instability, and malignant coincidence" (Stephen King).
LC Classification NumberPR6068.E63D34 2015
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Ratings and Reviews
Most relevant reviews
- Jun 08, 2023
Creepily fantastic.
Creepy characters, and delicious story content. Any book by Ruth Rendall is stellar.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
