A Judgement in Stone (1977)

Ruth Rendell is such a good writer that she can reveal the plot ending and you still want to read the book just to find out how it all comes together. This was one of her best ones (and I've read many) - almost lyrically written and the family so lovingly drawn that I kept thinking there was no way she was going to kill them off. A great study of psychopathy fueled by illiteracy. ( )

How does conflict within relationships build up to the point of murder? This is the question that Ruth Rendell seeks to answer. Eunice Parchman joins the Coverdale household as a housekeeper and ends by killing her employer and relatives. But how can such a thing happen when Eunice appears to be so bland and self-effacing? The strength of this tale is the narrative built through careful description of incorrect assumptions about a person and the unfortunate misunderstandings that follow. Excellent writing supports a story that tells you in the first fifty pages the bare facts of the crime and the secret Eunice harbors, but then another 200 pages outlines how the conflict built to the point of a massacre. Almost no blood and guts on the page, but not by any means a cozy read. Marvelous early work by Ruth Rendell! ( )

This was a real page turner. Even though the murder and the motive was revealed in the first sentence it was impossible to put this down. Once again Ruth Rendell has created a world that draws the reader in and has them living the lives of the characters. The writing and character creations are inspirational. This has confirmed Ruth Rendell (also writing as Barbara Vine) as on of my all time favourinte authors. ( )

This is probably one of the best suspense novels I have read. By the end of the first sentence the reader knows who is the murderer, who is murdered, and a motive. The story of how the events unfold is truly fascinating. The Coverdales hire Eunice Parchman to be their housecleaner. Eunice has a dark past and a secret that she is determined to keep, her illiteracy. The Coverdales are an upper-middle class family that enjoys the arts and literature. Eunice is uncomfortable by their constant reliance on the written word and is fearful of having to demonstrate her reading ability. Eunice befriends a zealot of a religious sect who teetered on emotional instability. This friendship leads to further discomfort with the Coverdales. I was constantly waiting for the big event that tips the scales and found myself on the edge of my seat while reading.

The characters are original and intriguing. The Coverdales are both pompous, but likable, and their relationship with Eunice and others makes them at times cold, but understandable. Eunice is a character I both sympathized for, but feared. Her lack of emotion and constant fear made her pathetic and dangerous all at once. The relationships between the characters and the events that took place engulfed me. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a suspense filled novel. ( )

This was a fascinating story! The first sentence grabbed my attention and I could not put the book down before I had finished. It can be so wonderful to get totally engrossed in a story, so I really recommend this book to anyone taking a long trip - reading the whole thing on a plane or on a roadtrip (as I did) would be quite satisfying.

I have not read many mysteries but I didn't at all find the plot predictable, aside from the fact that the first sentence gives the crime completely away. The characters are what makes this story so fascinating - the roles of villain and victim blur and cross, and at times all the characters are equally unlikable or endearing. The book is heavy on setting, so I really enjoyed being in a place that was entirely new to me - the English countryside in the 1970's. This is absolutely a new favorite of mine! ( )