The Bridesmaid: a passionate love story with a chilling, dark twist from the award-winning queen of crime, Ruth Rendell

I have to concede that this book is much too dark, as one reviewer has put it.Having read a fair number of Rendell books over the years I feel qualified to categorizing her work. There are those books which feature inhumane, dark, sinister characters - 'Live Flesh', 'The Killing Doll' and this, 'The Bridesmaid'.Others have dark, unsettling characters but the book is so engaging it doesn't affect its spirit: 'The Keys to the Street', 'A Judgement in Stone', 'A demon in my View', 'One Across two Down', 'The face of Trespass'.Then there are her classic page turners, 'Make Death love me' and especially, 'The Lake of Darkness' - the best book of hers I have read.Given that her novels deal with crime and the ugly aspects of society it is inevitable she will deal with dark subject matter. With some of Rendell's books, however, there is an almost obsessive concentration on seedy, soulless, diseased situations and people. This makes the first category hard to get through. You can feel them dragging you down.She's a fine writer and great story teller and I suppose it all comes down to what you are partial to. 'The Bridesmaid' does have a thrilling ending.

This is my favourite Ruth Rendell novel. It begins with likeable Philip falling for the mysterious and beautiful Senta, and proceeds as a passionate love story. However, to say there is something not quite right about Senta would be to understate things. Fascinatingly, despite her seraphic beauty she lives in filthy squalor and in a world where she does not not seem to notice or adhere to the safe conventions of society. This may make her sound like a romantic, but she is dangerously self governing. The pace gathers speed and tension as her behaviour becomes even stranger and Philip's passionate feelings for her conflict with his sense of right and wrong. She is a terrifying and realistic character and by the time I had breathlessly read the last page, I was still blinking in the sunlight trying to take it all in. Rendell's talent is astounding. And so is this book. By the way- it would make a fantastic TV drama, BBC!!

Another Ruth Rendell classic, seemingly ordinary people with psychological disturbances. The author brings dark undertones to a family going through the ups and downs of living in the suburbs, and the complexities of relationships. The truth is mingled with fantasy leaving the story a page turner til the end.

This is a typical Ruth Rendell psychological story. Quite dark.

Classic thriler fiction from the modern master (mistress?) of the genre. I have onlr rarely suffered any disappointment from Ruth Rendell / Barbara Vine books. What is both satisfying and spooky about these books is her ability to inhabit the mind of a deeply damaged and probably dangerous person. Always a good read.

V Good

Brilliant as usual !

Great romance by one of best crime writers of today. I like to read crime novels and the books written by Ruth Rendel are always interesting.