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Ruth Rendell's new psychological thriller is a gripping examination of society. And the darkness is never far away . . .
Hexam Place in Pimlico is an elegant place to live. To own a property in this area requires not only a sizable income, but hired help. The people who work there don’t necessarily consider themselves to be servants. But a group of them decide to form The Saint Zita Society. (Zita was the patron saint of domestic servants, who gave her food and clothes to the poor.)
Inevitably, each one has an axe to grind, but the meetings at the local pub resolve little. Dr Jefferson’s gardener is a strange man called Dex. He has been invited to join this motley group, but is ill at ease with other human beings. Messages from his mobile phone reassure him that there is some kind of god who will protect him and who will also give him instructions about ridding the world of evil spirits… Accidental death and pathological madness cohabit in Hexam Place.
In her new novel, Ruth Rendell examines the many layers of human society - with its foibles, eccentricities, ambitions, kindnesses and despairs. And the darkness is never far away.
About the Author
Ruth Rendell has won many awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for 1976's best crime novel with A Demon In My View; a second Edgar in 1984 from the Mystery Writers of America for the best short story, 'The New Girl Friend'; and a Gold Dagger award for Live Flesh in 1986. She was also the winner of the 1990 Sunday Times Literary award, as well as the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger. In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer.
Rendell's prose style is unadorned, but she uses it to create memorable characters and nail-biting suspense. Sunday Times 20120708 Rendell is excellent on the delicate snobbery of the uneasy territory in between the social classes. Independent A superbly executed ensemble piece set in an exclusive street in Pimlico, home to the rich and privileged and those who supply their daily wants and needs ... Psychodramas abound and, as always, Rendell excels at detailing misunderstandings, paranoia, subtle power-shifts and the laws of unintended consequences ... a fascinating murder mystery. Guardian There are quite a few Ruth Rendells: the doyenne of the traditional English detective novel; the queen of the psychological thriller; the celebrated author of the literary thriller; and her most recent incarnation, as a writer of blackly comic fairy tales set in London. Mail on Sunday Rendell is brilliant at showing how proximity and distance can co-exist; how people's lives can intersect in a practical sense without ever really touching in any meaningful way ... Dramatic tension is building right from the start of this powerful novel ... Many authors have written successfully about events spiralling out of control but Rendell's area of expertise is the deluded patterns human beings try to impose on the chaos of life and their true selves which are far more frightening than unchecked mayhem. Sunday Express 20120701
ISBN: 9780091944056
ISBN-10: 0091944058
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 279
Published: 5th July 2012
Dimensions (cm): 23.2 x 15.5
x 2.5
Weight (kg): 0.38
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