The Water's Lovely (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)
by Ruth Rendell
List Price:
Our Price: $1.48
You Save: $12.47 (89%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Ruth RendellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-12
ISBN: 0307388018
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of The Water's Lovely (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)
Book Review: A good read in spite of its flaws
Summary: 3 Stars
Ruth Rendell's non-Wexford novels have always been hit and miss. You know what you're going to get: excellently written prose, characters taken from the extremes of society, tangled webs which will unravel as the book develops and a thrilling story in amongst it all.
Rendell has a tendency to focus on the negative aspects of her characters' personalities. One almost feels like she is sneering at them as she describes what they say. The Water's Lovely certainly contains its share of individuals that we are willing to get their comeuppance. We follow the unscrupulous Marilyn, whose income is derived from stealing from her various employers and whose plotting to benefit from their wills is as chilling as it is calculated. We observe Irene, the overbearing hypochondriac mother of Edmund, who has fallen in love with Heather, one of the two sisters at the centre of the novel. And we find it equally difficult to be endeared by Andrew, the philandering boyfriend of Heather's sister Ismay.
In many ways, Ismay is the central character of this novel, although Rendell expertly flips from strand to strand. Ismay is living with the spectre that her sister Heather almost certainly drowned their stepfather Guy several years ago, and battles with her conscience as she tries to decide whether to tell Edmund of the incident before he becomes too enamoured with Heather. She loves Heather - the sisters have probably the strongest bond in the story - but is always under strain. Her total submissiveness to Andrew sees her weakened, and one always wonders if she will eventually find the strength to overcome her demons.
The Water's Lovely is a good thriller, for the most part. As it picks up pace in the second half of the book, it becomes compelling and easy to race through to the end. But it suffers from its share of flaws too, which irritate and grate, making the reading experience a very mixed one. Some of Rendell's characters seem to behave unnaturally, and this is true of many of her novels. The character of Barry, in particular, seems remarkably unintelligent, for reasons that will become clear to the reader. In addition, the strands of the story eventually weave together in a manner that requires a huge suspension of disbelief, though the outcome is not unguessable. Also, there is perhaps a little too much padding before we get to the denouement.
Rendell leaves the reader of The Water's Lovely pondering whether people always get what they deserve. The outcomes for various characters are perhaps not what one expects, but Rendell leaves certain storylines to the reader's imagination.
There is no doubting that Ruth Rendell is still a very talented mystery writer. If you have enjoyed her previous novels, you'll probably enjoy this one. New readers may be better advised to read one of her Wexford novels first. If you can overcome the irritating parts of this book, it's worth a read.
Mystery & Thrillers Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Mystery & Thrillers Books
Just Take My Heart: A Novelby Mary Higgins Clark
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2009-04-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.58
Price in other shops:
From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 8)by Charlaine Harris
Ace; Published: 2009-03-31; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
Angels & Demons - Movie Tie-In: A Novelby Dan Brown
Washington Square Press; Published: 2009-03-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.35
Price in other shops:
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built: The New No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novelby Alexander McCall Smith
Pantheon; Published: 2009-04-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops:
The 8th Confession (The Women's Murder Club)by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2009-04-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.70
Price in other shops:
First Familyby David Baldacci
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2009-04-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.85
Price in other shops:
The Shackby William P. Young
Windblown Media; Published: 2008-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.76
Price in other shops:
Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 9)by Charlaine Harris
Ace Hardcover; Published: 2009-05-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.23
Price in other shops:
Prince of Fireby Daniel Silva
Signet; Published: 2006-02-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.01
Price in other shops:
The Associateby John Grisham
Doubleday; Published: 2009-01-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
What the Dead Know: A Novelby Laura Lippman
Avon A; Published: 2009-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.56
Price in other shops:
Friend of the Devilby Peter Robinson
Harper; Published: 2009-01-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.91
Price in other shops:
The Tin Roof Blowdown (Dave Robicheaux)by James Lee Burke
Pocket; Published: 2008-06-17; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.04
Price in other shops:
In the Woodsby Tana French
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2008-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.97
Price in other shops:
On Chesil Beachby Ian McEwan
Anchor; Published: 2008-06-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.11
Price in other shops:
The Lake of Darknessby Ruth Rendell
Vintage; Published: 2001-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.84
Price in other shops:
Careless in Red (Inspector Lynley)by Elizabeth George
Harper; Published: 2009-05-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
The Private Patient (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries)by P.D. James
Knopf; Published: 2008-11-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.73
Price in other shops:
End in Tears (Vintage Crime/ Black Lizard)by Ruth Rendell
Vintage; Published: 2007-06-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.70
Price in other shops:
Not in the Flesh: A Wexford Novel (Inspector Wexford Mystery)by Ruth Rendell
Crown; Published: 2008-06-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.74
Price in other shops: