Shake Hands Forever This is one of Rendell's earlier books in the Inspector Wexford series and it is good reading. A woman is found murdered and Wexford suspects her husband, but he has an alibi. Then the murder suspect complains that Wexford is harassing him, and Wexford is told to back off. The case drags on for a year with Wexford investigating on his own time. There is a strange twist at the end. Anyone who enjoys reading Rendell's Inspector Wexford series will enjoy this well-crafted mystery.
Poor Kindle Version This was my first Ruth Rendell novel. I was enjoying the book, or at least trying to, but the numerous typos made it impossible. The story started off well, I was really enjoying Wexford as a character, but the sheer amount of typos in this book was distracting to the point where I just gave up. I am a prolific reader and it is very hard for me to not finish a book, I rarely do it, even if the book is bad, but I couldn't even concentrate on the content. It became a chore, and reading should NEVER be a chore. So I gave up. I've read many books on my Kindle and never had this problem before and hopefully won't again. I plan on picking the book up in paper back just so I can finish the story, but shame on whoever is responsilbe for this jumbled mess.Great Rendell, poor Kindle version Any book by Ruth Rendell is going to be marvelous, but in this case the Kindle version has way too many typos, misprints, etc. Didn't anyone edit this??One of Wexford's best Although Ruth Rendell's writing is always excellent, and the characterization (particularly of Wexford) very engaging, sometimes the plot of these early Wexford novels seem a bit dated. Not so with the very innovative premise here. Although Wexford has a firm idea of who committed the murder, he has no proof, and is commanded by his superior to drop the investigation. Therefore, he must investigate on his own time, using his own resources, for about a year in order to turn up the solution--an absolutely shocking surprise which proves his hunch to be both right and wrong at the same time.No Directions Necessary Definitely not one of Ms. Rendell's better efforts in the Inspector Wexford series. While the basic plot is intricate and clever, the mystery tends to get bogged down with painfully detailed descriptions of travel around London and its suburbs via public conveyances and automobiles; if I had wanted travel directions, I would have purchased a road map from the Automobile Association of Britain and some public transit schedules from the LTC. Still, second-rate Ruth Rendell is better than no Ruth Rendell at all.
