- Mass Market Paperback: 201 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (Jan 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345345304
- ISBN-13: 978-0345345301
- Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 1.4 x 17.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,771,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Best Man To Die: Nothing is ever quite what it seems
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Product Description
Review
One of the best novelists writing today --P.D. James
Ruth Rendell has quite simply transformed the genre of crime writing. She displays her peerless skill in blending the mundane, commonplace aspects of life with the potent murky impulses of desire and greed, obsession and fear --Sunday Times
Rendell never fails to come up trumps, and her millions of admirers will eagerly consume this offering as they have all the others. --Irish Times
A firm grasp of social concerns ensure that her novels are reflective of our own times, as well as hugely absorbing. --Louise Welsh, The Times
This is Rendell on cracking form, with the entire accoutrements one expects from her. --The Good Book Guide --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Ruth Rendell has quite simply transformed the genre of crime writing. She displays her peerless skill in blending the mundane, commonplace aspects of life with the potent murky impulses of desire and greed, obsession and fear --Sunday Times
Rendell never fails to come up trumps, and her millions of admirers will eagerly consume this offering as they have all the others. --Irish Times
A firm grasp of social concerns ensure that her novels are reflective of our own times, as well as hugely absorbing. --Louise Welsh, The Times
This is Rendell on cracking form, with the entire accoutrements one expects from her. --The Good Book Guide --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Book Description
The fourth in the Chief Inspector Wexford series.
Nothing is ever quite what it seems . . .
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
JACK PERTWEE was getting married in the morning and the Kingsmarkham and District Darts Club were in the Dragon to give him what George Carter called a send-off. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
JACK PERTWEE was getting married in the morning and the Kingsmarkham and District Darts Club were in the Dragon to give him what George Carter called a send-off. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's as good as any Wexford story but first check if you don't have it already. It was first published in 1987, not in 2009 as the site more or less suggests.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The four stars are for the tale, not for the edition.
This is a classic Wexford murder mystery. Okay, so it's dated, but in a quaint, inoffensive way: note the fascination for novel technology such as a washing machine or a lift! I've said in another review that these new editions of the early Wexfords are very attractive: moody cover shots, nice larger-than-usual size, sturdy yet elegant little editions. Two gripes, though - the second more important than the first ...
First, I really don't like the bland strap-lines on the covers. This novel's is: "nothing is ever quite what it seems" ... banal, or what? Come on, PR department, make an effort!
Second, the book is full of typos. I lost count of the number of sentences that started with a lower-case letter. Words were jumbled: "on" instead of "no" and vice-versa. "May" was misspelled as "Mar" in one important passage - potentially very misleading in a detective story! And in another place, "she" has the "s" missing! - again, very confusing and pretty downright shoddy.
Overall, certainly worth a look, but proofreading would be appreciated ...
This is a classic Wexford murder mystery. Okay, so it's dated, but in a quaint, inoffensive way: note the fascination for novel technology such as a washing machine or a lift! I've said in another review that these new editions of the early Wexfords are very attractive: moody cover shots, nice larger-than-usual size, sturdy yet elegant little editions. Two gripes, though - the second more important than the first ...
First, I really don't like the bland strap-lines on the covers. This novel's is: "nothing is ever quite what it seems" ... banal, or what? Come on, PR department, make an effort!
Second, the book is full of typos. I lost count of the number of sentences that started with a lower-case letter. Words were jumbled: "on" instead of "no" and vice-versa. "May" was misspelled as "Mar" in one important passage - potentially very misleading in a detective story! And in another place, "she" has the "s" missing! - again, very confusing and pretty downright shoddy.
Overall, certainly worth a look, but proofreading would be appreciated ...
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
...with my continual rantings on the brilliance of Ruth Rendell. In my quest to ascertain that every Ruth Rendell book here is reviewed, though, you'll be hearing more from me yet, I'm afraid.
As I'm lazy, I'm just going to copy out the official blurb (plus, I can't say it any better):
Jack Pertwee was getting married in the morning.
Charlie Hatton drove his lorry eleven hours down from Leeds just to be there. Charlie was Jack's best friend and he would be his best man. When the two parted at the Kingsbrook bridge, jack felt as though his life was just beginning. But for Charlie Hatton, life was about to end.
Detective Chief Inspector Wexford wondered why the fatal Fanshawe car accident kept upsetting his concentration on the Hatton murder. There couldn't be a connection. Fanshawe had been a wealthy stockbroker, Charlie Hatton a cocky little lorry driver with some illegal dealing.
But was it just a coincidence that Hatton had been killed on the day following that of Mrs Fanshawe's regaining consciousness?
On first read, several years ago when I was about 12, this book didn't strike me as one of the greatest Wexford's. On re-reading it, my estimation is much, much improved. The Best Man to Die is another excellent Wexford novel from Rendell's early period. It doesn't have the wonderful, vicious darkness of Wolf to the Slaughter or the unique quality of Some Lie or Some Die, but it remains a very very excellent and clever mystery that will likely confound even the most practiced of crime-fiction readers. It did me, even though I had read it before! I could remember, just about, who, but for the life of me I had no idea why, until Rendell revealed all in one of those excellent last-revelation chapters that she does so so well.
At this point in the series, neither Wexford nor Burden had begun to fully develop quite yet; primarily these early books are plot novels and character foible novels. Still, Wexford is certainly beginning to show hints of how interesting he is, and his family life begins to take on the wonderful life it does later in the series. Here, actually, Wexford seems slightly out-of-character; he's less patient, possibly. Less tolerant perhaps? Certainly, he wasn't quite as warm as in many of the other books, but his skills as a detective are borne out wonderfully in an excellent mystery.
The Best Man to Die (again, one of Rendell's treasures that have been left out of print. I doubt you'll be able to get this anywhere except second-hand) is a great, impeccably written mystery. Rendell dissects her characters motivations marvellously. I would recommend this, of course, very highly indeed, but I don't think it's really the place to begin reading Wexford.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Slipshod proofing insults a great read
The Inspector Wexford series are classics of Engliish detective fiction and if you have not enjoyed them yet, then I cannot recommend them too highly. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lee Holton
Brilliant
There is simply no such thing as a bad Ruth Rendell book. She is a phenomenon. A brilliant read as always.
Published 11 months ago by Kim
disappointment
I too thought this was a new release that I'd missed but no, its a reprint of an 1969 book. Wish I'd read the reviews first!
Published 14 months ago by eden
Typos
This is my first Kindle reading experience and I must say what an excellent device it is to use.I have even gone to "turn" the page, it is so like reading in the ordinary way. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kate
Very dated
I purchased this book in the belief that it was a new release from Ruth Rendell as the publishing date was given as 2009. Read more
Published 20 months ago by annewithanee
disappointing
I am a great fan of Ruth Rendell and saw this title. really disappointed to discover that it was written about 20 years ago and is very dated - not a patch on her later novels.
Published 24 months ago by Dr Liz
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