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Title details for The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell - Available

The Monster in the Box

An Inspector Wexford Novel

#22 in series

by Ruth Rendell
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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Inspector Wexford returns in his most surprising case yet
"He had never told anyone. The strange relationship, if it could be called that, had gone on for years, decades, and he had never breathed a word about it. He had kept silent because he knew no one would believe him. None of it could be proved, not the stalking, not the stares or the conspiratorial smiles, not the killings, not any of the signs Targo had made because he knew Wexford knew and could do nothing about it."
Wexford had almost made up his mind that he would never again set eyes on Eric Targo's short, muscular figure. And yet there he was, back in Kingsmarkham, still with that cocky, strutting walk.
Years earlier, when Wexford was a young police officer, a woman called Elsie Carroll had been found strangled in her bedroom. Although many still had their suspicions that her husband was guilty, no one was convicted. Another woman was strangled shortly afterwards, and every personal and professional instinct told Wexford that the killer was still at large. And it was Eric Targo. A psychopath who would kill again...
As the Chief Inspector investigates a new case, Ruth Rendell looks back to the beginning of Wexford's career, even to his courtship of the woman who would become his wife. The past is a haunted place, with clues and passions that leave an indelible imprint on the here and now.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 15, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780385668866

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780385668866
      • File size: 2015 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 17, 2009
      In Edgar-winner Rendell's 22nd Inspector Wexford novel (after 2007's Not in the Flesh
      ), the British police detective confronts a man from his past, Eric Targo, who he suspects is guilty of multiple murders. Years earlier, Targo stalked and taunted Wexford, daring him to press charges. A squat, creepy bully with a purple birthmark disfiguring his neck, Targo has graduated from smalltime thug to prosperous businessman, ensconced in a nouveau-riche spread complete with private zoo and lion in Kingsmarkham. When Targo apparently commits a murder affecting Wexford's own family, the inspector must re-examine how Targo consistently outsmarts the law. The meeting and mating of Wexford and his wife, Dora, also figure in the backward-looking action. While the reminiscing dilutes some of the suspense, Rendell easily outdistances most mystery writers with her complex characters and her poetic yet astringent style.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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