Nine Lives

by Bernice Rubens

The killer's modus operandi is the same in each instance—strangulation, always with a guitar string, pulled tight from behind until life is taken. And though the murders are taking place up and down country, there is one other similarity that Inspector Wilkins can't help noticing. Each and every victim is a psychotherapist.

Genres: Mystery, British Literature, Literature

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Bernice Rubens was born in Cardiff, Wales in July 1928. She began writing at the age of 35, when her children started nursery school. Her second novel, Madame Sousatzka (1962), was filmed by John Schlesinger filmed with Shirley MacLaine in the leading role in 1988. Her fourth novel, The Elected Member, won the 1970 Booker prize. She was shortlisted for the same prize again in 1978 for A Five Year Sentence. Her last novel, The Sergeants’ Tale, was published in 2003. She was an honorary vice-president of International PEN and served as a Booker judge in 1986. Bernice Rubens died in 2004 aged 76.

Reviews

[Ashley Marilynne Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing premise and storyline, with complex, multidimensional characters. Particularly loved the structure of the book with its mathematical precision – I thought it complimented the multiple narratives beautifully.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this so much more than The Elected Member! A cleverly structured tale not of a whodunnit but why he did it... the narrative moves between the past - the planning and executing of ten murders - and the present with the murderer in Parkhurst and his long suffering wife's narrative and general sense of being rather lost although unable to resist returning continually to visit her husband in prison. Donald has targeted psychotherapists, apart from the last one, he does not care who they are. He stays out of reach of the increasingly weary detective on the case.... it was a page turner for me!!

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best way I can describe this book is that it was odd...

Not a typical murder mystery...you know all along the who- and the when and how. You don't know the why though and that's what kept me at it. The answer made sense, yet if felt rushed...after all that build up...

I wouldn't read it again, but I will say I finished it simply out of curiosity.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nove vittime, un omicida che si proclama innocente, una moglie lacerata tra amore, pietà e orrore: una ricetta vincente.
Mi è piaciuto tutto di questo libro: ho adorato la trama, il modo in cui è organizzato e lo sviluppo psicologico dei personaggi. Coinvolgente ed appassionante.
Assolutamente consigliato.

[LAURA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi è piaciuto. Si parte sapendo già quasi tutto ma rimane sempre una specie di incertezza, dubbio su quale sia la verità. Verso la fine si intuisce il motivo che ho trovato comunque un po' poco approfondito.. Un pochino poco convincente per giustificare la "crociata". Comunque una piacevole lettura.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read although the ending felt very rushed. Too much build up and honestly quite predictable. The characters didn't really evolve throughout the story and even if the plot was quite interesting it was relatively plainly executed.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting detective story, described as a whydunnit rather than a whodunnit. Told in 3 perspectives, the killer, his wife and the detective. The reason for the killer’s targeting psychotherapists, and the number of them he killed, emerges gradually through the book. An fascinating tale.

[Kin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bei personaggi. Bella vicenda. Belle le implicazioni psicologiche. In tutto questo è riuscita ad inserire lampi di humour. Giù il cappello.

[Giulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molto interessante il modo in cui si succedono i capitoli.
Trama avvincente e coinvolgente fino all'ultimo.

[Jessica Cavaleri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Molto particolare.

[John Newcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing little novel about a serial killer who decides to murder psychotherapists and his poor wife who is in denial.

[Rita · Rating 2 out of 5]

2002. Not what you'd call a 'literary' book, but it's fairly well done.
The portrait of the two wives who visit their murderer husbands in prison every week sounds plausible.

"I wasn't convinced of his innocence, but at the same time, I couldn't believe that he was guilty. In view of our years together, the happiness we'd shared, it was much easier to presume his innocence....

"Neither of us [the two women visiting their husbands in prison] dared to believe what was real, so we fashioned another kind of truth. We had to....And it was pity that would lace our stirrings in the small hours, a pity so dangerously close to resentment and anger that it led to a paralysing confusion."

"I saw Donald in his prison gear and was overwhelmed with a feeling I couldn't quite define. It could have been love for him, but possibly it was one of protection. Or perhaps they were one and the same."

The murderer wants revenge on the psychotherapy profession as a whole, yet benefits from a therapist, though he doesn't realize it. That was cleverly shown, I thought.

[Spiegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copied from my Bookcrossing entry from 2008.

That was an engrossing read! I couldn't put it down for two days. Same author as Madame Souzatska? I didn't even know that was a book; I confess that I might've liked the movie better if Shirley MacLaine murdered a few people between lessons. Although pianos aren't very practical weapons.

Speaking of which, I think the shattered guitar should've been the first clue of this book, because there aren't many scenarios involving an attic and a rope for someone with a mysterious past.

I'm ambivalent towards the character of Verry, the wife. She starts and ends the story completely passive and her lack of curiosity in her previous life is astonishing (not in a good way). On the other hand, I liked the portrayal of her denial after the events and her mirror, Mrs. Cox, during the prison visits.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donald Dorricks has killed 9 psychotherapists and 1 dentist - but he insists he is innocent. This is the story of how he killed his victims, the police's pursuit of an invisible killer, his wife's reality now that he is in prison and finally why he did it.

I liked the mystery of this book - you have no idea how a man can admit guilt to killing 10 people and profess his innocence in the same breath. I did not like any of the characters in this book - a pushover wife who is too scared of her husband to ask questions, a serial killer husband who was able to become who he was through his wife's docility and accepting nature and an obsessed detective who can't stop until he has caught the killer. It is an intriguing story.

[Nannee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was amazing, and I couldn't help associating it in a kind of way to Memento. the back and forths of the story and so on. But I was rather disappointed by the containt itself, i was expecting something more and it was too plain in my eye, maybe that's just my case as a lover of thriller and detective stories, Psychologichal side of it was good too but rather shallow. Anyway I enjoyed it and as it was the first book I read of her I would like to deepen more in the works.

[Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

- I thought that this story of a man who kills 9 Psychotherapists was only mediocre. The writing style was light and, while you know right away who did the crimes, the real mystery to be solved is 'why?'. It turns out that the reason is not entirely improbable, but it is also not startling or compelling.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a mystery for this literary set. Its the kind of thing you would see on the short list for a Booker Award. It is very readable, has some refreshing ideas, and was a unique read for me. I very much enjoyed it.

[Sonja Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the writing style and story line.
It is a different and fresh way of telling a shocking story. A journal of a murderer and the impact of his actions as well as lack of sharing on the people in his life.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read! The triple narrative really kept the story moving.

[Francesco Morra · Rating 3 out of 5]

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