Thirteen Steps Down

Something like the offspring of Simenon & late Dickens. Gwendolen Chawcer modeled on Miss Havisham? I'm a little too much like her psychologically. Inhabiting the mind of Mix Cellini is not a pleasant experience. Nerissa Nash-- interesting to have a not too bright and conventionally shallow character also decent and kind (maybe emphasized to contrast with the object of her passion). Rendell does not give much psychological depth to Olive Fordyce (Nerissa's great-aunt), Queenie Winthrop, or Kayleigh Rivers, though if there is any mystery it's their persistence, going out of their way, in caring for others who either dislike them (Olive & Queenie vis a vis Gwendolen) or whom they barely know (Kayleigh for Daniela Kovic). The cat Otto also show more seems Dickensian (Mix seems more Simenonish), at least the Dickens with supernatural leanings, as is the fortune teller Shoshanna. And the Dickensian coincidence of Olive being G.'s friend and Nerissa's great aunt, leading to the meeting with Cellini. One odd note: when Olive, her niece Hazel Akwaa,(Nerissa's mother) & Nerissa take Gwendolen back to her house, Rendell doesn't have G. note Nerissa's mixed race (mentally or out loud), which seems uncharacteristic. Favorite funny: G. deciding she wasn't in the mood for reading something as taxing as Darwin, and begins reading the Golden Bowl. show less

If only Hitchcock were alive to make this into a movie! Several times during the reading of this fine mystery the film "Frenzy" came to mind. The novel is wonderfully imagined, going deep into the recesses of the killer's mind via his internal monologue. Set in London and full of quirky characters, this mystery is also a comment on the narcissistic times we live in and how that narcissism manifests itself in a killer abused by his stepfather while his mother stood mutely by; and in a lovely model, who, through her love-filled upbringing, is only marginally affected by the narcissistic trappings of a surface and celebrity-obsessed culture, but whose character remains, in the end, unaffected by it.
This book is much creepier than those show more carrying the byline Ruth Rendell; it is more in line with those that carry the byline Barbara Vine with its gothic trappings and touches of horror. One of her best. show less

This book came across my shelves as a book club monthly read. I am familiar with Rendell's classic British mysteries, but somehow had missed out on the fact that she writes wonderfully suspenseful thrillers. 13 Steps Down fits into the latter category since there is the lack of a detective and you follow the crimes from the murderer's point of view through most of the story.
Mix, a young man in love with fame, celebrities, and wealth is followed closely in this novel as the author recounts the growing obsession the character feels towards a serial killer from his neighborhood and a local well-known fashion model. Mix is absorbed with crime literature showcasing the life of his hero, Reggie Christie, who brutally killed numerous women, show more and visits the former place of residence of the murderer. He begins to stalk Narissa, the beautiful model, and convinces himself they can have a future together. The dream of the "perfect" woman he believes her to be leads him to murders that he then rationalizes by the actions of his hero.
The story took a few chapters to truly hold my curiosity, but as the feelings of his idolization and obsession grows, so does the suspense of the book. The reader is given an in-depth look inside of the mind of a killer and the ways his heinous actions are justified in his mind. It is sufficiently dark, gripping, and disturbing.
Now for the bad. I did feel that some of the plot twists were hard to swallow. Narissa, knowing that Mix is stalking her, receives him into her home towards the end of the book. I didn't feel like this was in character for her and was quite surprised by this turn. Also, throughout the book you are given a look into the twisted mind of Mix. At times, he sees a ghost, that he believes to be that of Reggie Christie, in the old home he rents a room from. I'm not sure why this wasn't explained as a figment of his menacing, obsessive imagination. Instead, it's a homeless man who somehow manages to sneak into the house and basically "squat" unnoticed for months. Seems highly unlikely.
Overall, I rated this novel extremely high. I loved the suspense and the look at the deviant mind behind a killer. Ruth Rendell will be added to my "must-read" shelf.
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It is a gripping and somewhat grim read, of a lonely old woman and her obsessive lodger; he kills his Bosnian girlfriend, and hides her body under the floorboards. It's a crime novel rather than a mystery novel, since we know what the murderer has done and why he has done it all the way through; the police barely feature in the story. The other main character in the book apart from the murderer and his landlady is the city of London in the Noughties; socially and ethnically mixed, but on edge and easily fractured. There are a lot of memorable minor characters as well - the model who the killer is obsessed with, the landlady's long lost love, the fortune-teller who the victim worked for, even the show more Iraqi refugee who emerges rather abruptly in the final pages. If Rendell's other books are this good I shall start looking out for them. show less

Excellent writing, characters, and story. Creepy tale beautifully written, story moves at a good pace.

At first I thought that this was a copycat murder mystery because it involved a man who was an avid fan of a former serial killer. Instead it turns out to be a a psychological foray into the mind frame of the same man who turns out to be a stalker of a celebrity. The reader has an inside loop on how he thinks, what motivates him, the lengths to which he will go, the scenarios that he concocts, etc. -- and when one thread of that carefully woven web unravels, things start to fall apart. The way the story develops and concludes is plausible, but for a thriller, the plot is a little too neat for my liking, though I did enjoy the book.

This is a story of obsession and murder and how far people will go to protect a favourite and prized image and idea of themselves.

Mix Callini is living in Gwendolen Chawcer's house, mostly because it's close to 10 Rillington Place wheree John Christie committed a series of murders. He's also infatuated with Nerissa Nash, a model who lives nearby and would do anything to get closer to her.

Gwendolyn is a woman who has been left behind by life and now lives in books, trying to hold on to the values of her youth in the face of modern England.

And on the face of it it could have been a very good book, but it falls a bit flat and sometimes you're just waiting for something to happen so when it does it's rather ho-hum.

Diverting but not her best.