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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Stalking Nemesis Looms, 14 Nov 2004
If you have enjoyed the Ripley series of books, you will undoubtedly want to read the final book, Ripley Under Water.This book is a continuation of the story line of Ripley Under Ground, as the title suggests. This book is, however, less engaging and dramatic than Ripley Under Ground. What Makes Ripley Under Water noteworthy is its boding sense of menace and paranoia. What would it be like to be stalked by someone who wants to do you harm? How would you feel? Those are the themes that are well developed in this book. An American couple in their thirties, David and Janice Pritchard, move into Tom Ripley's neighborhood. Tom has a slight recollection of seeing them before somewhere. Soon he begins receiving strange telephone calls from someone claiming to be a person Ripley killed many years before. The Americans invite Ripley and his wife for a drink. Ripley goes alone and finds that the couple is obsessed with him, and knows quite a bit about his past misdeeds. The man even threatens Ripley. Soon thereafter the couple is seen outside of Ripley's home taking photographs. Ripley's annoyed, but trying to stay cool. But when the man shows up in Morocco during the Ripley's' vacation, it's too much. Ripley begins to fight back in typical Ripley fashion. Events escalate when Ripley and Pritchard return to France. My main complaint about the book is that the end doesn't live up to the suspense that leads up to it. As a result, I was left feeling dissatisfied with the story. On the good side, the psychological development is very fine. In addition, the book is full of subtle puns and ironies . . . such as Ripley, who has killed so many men being freaked out by having to be in the kitchen while live lobsters are cooked. Even if you are paranoid, remember that someone may really be after you!
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by Patricia Highsmith
by Patricia Highsmith
by Patricia Highsmith
by Patricia Highsmith
by Patricia Highsmith
