The Secret House of Death (1st, Signed)

Ruth Rendell

ISBN 10: 0090892100 / ISBN 13: 9780090892105

Published by John Long, London, 1968

About this Item

From ruthrendell.info Ruth Rendell is one of the true all-time greats. The Secret House of Death changed my life with its utterly perfect, unguessable twist. -Sophie Hannah 1 It was his third visit to the gloomy house on Orchard Drive. Each time he parked in the same place, carried a briefcase, and was greeted by Louise North at the door. Is it sin to rush into the secret house of death, ere death dare come to us? (Antony and Cleopatra, Act 4, Sc. 16) Susan Townsend was the only resident with no interest in the neighbourhood gossip about the affair going on next door. Yet it was Susan who found the murdered bodies of the lovers, locked, not in passion, but in death. And it was Susan whose own life would be imperilled by a monstrous crime far beyond the imaginings of the vilest gossiping tongues. This copy is near fine in brown cloth with gilt titles on the spine. Very slight bumping at the spine ends and a lightly stamped number on the copyright page are the only issues. The unclipped DJ has very slight edge wear, but it is approximately 1/4" shorter than the book itself. It is not clear if that is a publication anomaly, a trimmed jacket for some reason, or a jacket borrowed from another edition. As a result, I am rating the jacket as a VG- Signed by Rendell on the title page. Very scarce first in jacket and signed. . EB18.

Seller Inventory # B1019

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Secret House of Death (1st, Signed)
• Publisher: John Long, London
• Publication Date: 1968
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0090892100
• ISBN 13: 9780090892105
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First UK.
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good-
• Signed: Signed
• Seller catalogs:
  • Signed/Inscribed
  • Mystery
  • Fiction

About this title

Synopsis

It was his third visit to the house on Orchard Drive, and each time Louise North greeted him at the door. Susan Townsend was the only resident who had no interest in their affair. But it was Susan who found the bodies of the lovers, locked not in passion, but in death. And her own life would be imperiled by a monstrous crime far beyond the imaginings of the vilest tongues. September publication date. 6 cassettes.

From the Inside Flap

Louise North doesn't care what the neighbors think. She lets her lover leave his car just outside her house in broad daylight, telling everyone a cockamamie story about him being a central heating salesman. Still, it's a shock when she's found shot dead, covered by the equally dead body of the "salesman." Now Susan Townsend -- the Norths' next-door neighbor, who discovers the bodies -- must help Louise's husband, Bob, get back on his feet. But is she helping a neighbor . . . or a murderer?