The Babes in the Wood: (19 Inspector Wexford)

There hadn't been anything like this kind of rain in living memory. The River Brede had burst its banks, and not a single house in the valley had escaped flooding. Even where Wexford lived, higher up in Kingsmarkham, the waters had nearly reached the mulberry tree in his once immaculate garden. The Subaqua Task Force could find no trace of Giles and Sophie Dade, let alone the woman who was keeping them company, Joanna Troy. But Mrs. Dade was still convinced her children were dead. This was an investigation which would call into question many of Wexford's assumptions about the way people behaved, including his own family.

About the Author :
Ruth Rendell is the author of Road Rage, The Keys to the Street, Bloodlines, Simisola, and The Crocodile Bird. She is the winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award. She is also the recipient of three Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America and four Gold Daggers from Great Britain's Crime Writers Association. In 1997, she was named a life peer in the House of Lords. Rendell also writes mysteries under the name of Barbara Vine, of which A Dark-Adapted Eye is the most famous. She lives in England. Nigel Anthony is best known for his extensive broadcasts for BBC radio as a leading actor and for his Earphones Award-winning audio narrations. He has also appeared many times on television in series such as Casualty and Coronation Street, while on the stage he has appeared in Sick Dictators and Ghosts and has worked with Alan Ayckbourn and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Review :
"A solid, if not spectacular, entry in the series...as always, Chief Inspector Wexford remains a comfortable companion, with taut, thoughtful and imaginative observations about small-city England and the wider world." -- "Publishers Weekly" "Hard to put down...Ruth Rendell is a master of the genre." -- "Los Angeles Times" "In the matriarchy of British crime fiction, Rendell is the weird sister; her novels concern themselves with the more darkly enigmatic corners of motivation...The plot--a series of puzzles surrounding the disappearance of two teenagers in the care of a family friend--marches efficiently to its unguessable dénouement while demonstrating Rendell's grasp of the psychological dynamics of seduction and exploitation which lie at the heart of the case." -- "The New Yorker" "Once again, Rendell trots out some sharply drawn characters to grab attention (including, of course, the clever, rather curmudgeonly detective himself) and uses the mystery as the catalyst for the characters' growth...Wexford gets to the bottom of it all, but readers won't have a clue until the final pages." -- "Booklist" "Rendell's gift for intelligent, coolheaded storytelling remains undiminished." -- "Entertainment Weekly" "Spectacular...Rendell writes with a chill poetic precision." -- "The Washington Post" "This veteran writer does not disappoint with The Babes in the Wood...Miss Rendell is a master of the psychological twist, and she throws in several before Wexford finds all the answers...If you are not [already] a fan, read this and you will be." -- "The Washington Times"