November 22, 2009
Ruth Rendell's The Monster in the Box is her most psychologically twisted thriller yet, and that is saying quite a lot. Rendell always delves deeply into what makes a killer kill, a murderer murder, or a mutilator mutilate. What makes the killer in The Monster in the Box her most chilling character ever is that this one seems to kill without any motive at all. Lack of motive is what prevented Wexford from arresting the killer decades ago, during Wexford's first murder case as a young policeman. Haunted by the case for years, Wexford has a second chance to nab his man when the monster returns to Kingsmarkham (Rendell's imaginary English town). Wexford is sure, once more, of the killer's identity and his m.o. but again, the killer's motive eludes him. When the motive gradually becomes clear to Wexford, it is horrible. Innocent people die, and one death can be laid at Wexford's door, or garden gate, quite literally.
Rendell never lets anyone off easy in her wonderful novels, least of all her intelligent, self-analyzing, inquisitive, and intuitive detective, Inspector Wexford. Those of us who are Rendell/Wexford aficionados are given a good dose of the inspector's personal history in this book, including details about his first fiancée and his first forays into books, art, and culture. Rendell also gives us the usual wonderful assemblage of recurring supporting characters and unique plot-specific characters. She prods, exposes, and examines them all to come up with truth that is sometimes ugly, sometimes comforting, and always compelling. Anyone who reads Rendell's Wexford books (and everyone should read all twenty-two of them) has been treated to the maturing of a detective, the multi-layered Inspector Reg Wexford, and the sharpening and honing of a writer's skills, the supremely talented Ruth Rendell.
Per FTC rules, the book I review here was a review copy received from the publisher.
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