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Ruth Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE (1930 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. She is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford. A second string of works was a series of unrelated crime novels that explored the psychological background of criminals and their victims. This theme was developed further in a third series of novels, published under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. From Wikipedia: Set in the Highgate-Archway area of North London, the novel's protagonist is Martin Urban, a young accountant leading a comfortable, complacent and rather dull bachelor life, in his own flat, attended by a peppery, older male cleaner, and visiting his doting parents regularly. When Martin unexpectedly wins a large sum of money in a football pool, he shrinks from telling or sharing his win with one of his clients, a dashing, feckless actor he secretly admires but affects to disapprove of. It was this client who procured Martin the winning ticket. Instead, Martin decides to give half the money away to personally-identified worthy causes, all of whom, to Martin's bemusement and dismay, entirely misinterpret his gestures of generosity. Suddenly, Francesca enters his life, a mysterious young woman who works in a flower shop and captures his heart. He also meets Finn, the self-sufficient, twisted son of his mother's cleaning lady, Lena, a vulnerable eccentric absorbed in astrology, crystals, tarot and so on. Finn works as all-round handyman for a dodgy landlord, who pays him to evict (or murder) sitting tenants from his rental properties. Martin's naivety and misplaced good intentions become fatally entangled with Finn's macabre madness and the machinations of others around Martin he completely fails to understand. The tragic outcome opens Martin's eyes and destroys his world. This copy is fine in black cloth with gilt titles on the spine. No marks or damage at all. The unclipped dust jacket has slight fading on the jacket spine. Signed by Rendell on the title page. An early, somewhat uncommon Rendell title. . AB19.
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