The Babes in the Wood: A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

The Babes in the Wood is packed with symbolism, which makes it a very thoughtful read indeed. In some of the early books, also, Wexford is not a very developed character, merely a vessel through which the mystery could be solved. In her later novels, he has grown and expanded and shown himself to be one of the most fascinating protagonists the genre has to offer. A sort of Old-Father-Time of the crime world. His presence in this story alone makes it worth reading.

The Babes in the Wood is still a five-star read, better than almost all other crime fiction. As well as an intriguing mystery, she crams in interesting social observation and wonderful character development, too. True, her characters may not always be likeable, but the view that unlikeable characters a good book does not make holds absolutely no water with me at all. Rendell shows us real people, all the time, not always in their best light, and they are always fascinating. If you want comfortable fiction, Rendell probably isn't always for you. If you want a strong and fascinating crime novel, she is.

It is brilliantly written, as always, and there is a wonderful cast of characters, all of whom we almost invariably either like or despise. Wexford is on fine form, and he is fascinating as ever. His wry observations of life, and his opinions (while we may not agree with them always) make him seem very human, and he is a very interesting characters for us to see the story through the eyes of. Once again, Burden tags along, and provides an edge of distinct grey in his character. However, this time he doesnt get quite as much of a role as he has in the past.

The plot is original and absolutely fascinating. The way it unfolds is unfalteringly engrossing, and even though this is no thriller, its still a huge pageturner and its intriguing, exciting, and Ruth Rendell builds layer upon layer of nice plot turns into the story.

In the beginning, we are presented with an almost inexplicable set of human behaviours, and, through the events of her plot, Rendell excellently explains why people sometimes act in such strange ways, which is part of the reason why this book is so fascinating. the mystery contains many more levels than just the "who?" or "how?", but she delves deep into the character's psyche's, giving reason to every single characters often strange actions. Finding out "why" people do such strange things is almost as compelling as the mystery itself.

Along the way, we are also presented with some more brilliant story from wexford's own family life. Topping the book off is the fact that Kingsmarkham is flooding, which gives the story an extra layer of originality and interest, and also allowing her plot to go down different, more unconventional avenues.

The final conclusion is unexpected and satisfying.

I can't wait for what she has to offer us next year. Ruth Rendell's crown is showing absolutely no signs of tarnishing, even after all the many, many years she's been wearing it.