Adam and Eve and Pinch Me

A genial con man is involved with several women, one of whom is crazy. What could go wrong? A number of tangled web weavers’ lies intersect in curious ways. Rendell is magnificent at describing how people make bad decisions that make sense at the time, and the way emotions change as time passes. The tension towards the end of this one is deliciously unbearable.

‘Adam and Eve and Pinch Me went down to the river to bathe. Adam and Eve were drowned. Who was saved?’

This old nursery rhyme is a favourite of Jerry Leach (if that is the name he is using at the time), a handsome ne’er do well, who sponges off women. Five women, unknown to each other, are his willing victims. One he even married once and abandoned, while promising to marry another. But, with the cruel irony he would be the first to recognize in that nursery rhyme, Jerry, almost accidentally, becomes the victim of one of his female prey.

But the plot of Adam and Eve and Pinch Me, Ruth Rendell's latest psychological thriller, is not what keeps us hooked. It is Rendell's understanding of human psychopathology and human frailty that show more is at the fore, with characters who are compelling — and with whom we can identify even when they are mad, neurotic, or unconscionably selfish. And although there's little mystery about what has happened and what is happening, the psychological tension is maintained throughout, keeping us uncertain what the effects will be on everyone when the truth comes out. The result is vintage Rendell. show less

This is typical Rendell - well-written characters, some with interesting quirks and some with downright mental illnesses. The story revolves around one man, Jock/Jerry/Jeff (aliases), who touches the lives of many women and not in a good way. He is a user and an opportunist, and this results in some tragic consequences, but there is also a dark humor throughout the book that lightens things up. Very good read.

A very strange book about an almost insignificant and backward woman suffering from OCD in a big way. When she keep seeing the "ghost" of her old "boyfriend", things really get weird and she is driven to an act of extreme violence. Not one of Rendell's best, but I found myself compulively reading this, much like slowing down by a road accident.

The novel actually makes you root for the psycho killer. It's quite well told.

Per usual, Rendell does not disappoint–her insight into human psychology is always finely wrought. It was interesting to see the world through the eyes of a very disturbed young woman, who was obviously suffering from OCD. Captivating.

Enjoyable and compelling. But plodded along in places. Nice idea though and beautifully executed.