The Keys to the Street

A young, aristocratic woman from London volunteers to donate bone marrow to save the life of a homeless man, while a vicious stalker in the city's Regents Park terrorizes its dwellers in a shockingly brutal fashion.

Discovering Ruth Rendell late must be like discovering Mozart late: any regrets for time wasted are overwhelmed by the pleasure of having so many treats to choose from. She writes mysteries about Inspector Wexford and suspense thrillers about what happens when people's lives accidently collide. This new book falls into the thriller category: in the first few pages we meet a large group of people living in and around London's Regents Park. There are the homeless, whose hardships are added to when a murderer begins to decimate their ranks; a barely-restrained lunatic who works as a dog-walker; a drug dealer and his violent helper; and Rendell's central character, Mary Jago, a gentle young woman whose courageous charity brings her lots of trouble. The best recent Wexford mystery is Simisola; other recommended Rendells include: From Doon With Death, The Tree of Hands, An Unkindness of Ravens and The Brimstone Wedding (written under her Barbara Vine alter ego).