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Three Novels: A Dark-Adapted Eye; A Fatal Inversion; The House of Stairs
Excellent Book
- GenresCrime
Paperback
First published December 6, 1990
3 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Vine
29 books464 followersPseudonym of Ruth Rendell.
Rendell created a third strand of writing with the publication of A Dark Adapted Eye under her pseudonym Barbara Vine in 1986. Books such as King Solomon's Carpet, A Fatal Inversion and Anna's Book (original UK title Asta's Book) inhabit the same territory as her psychological crime novels while they further develop themes of family misunderstandings and the side effects of secrets kept and crimes done. Rendell is famous for her elegant prose and sharp insights into the human mind, as well as her ability to create cogent plots and characters. Rendell has also injected the social changes of the last 40 years into her work, bringing awareness to such issues as domestic violence and the change in the status of women.
Rendell created a third strand of writing with the publication of A Dark Adapted Eye under her pseudonym Barbara Vine in 1986. Books such as King Solomon's Carpet, A Fatal Inversion and Anna's Book (original UK title Asta's Book) inhabit the same territory as her psychological crime novels while they further develop themes of family misunderstandings and the side effects of secrets kept and crimes done. Rendell is famous for her elegant prose and sharp insights into the human mind, as well as her ability to create cogent plots and characters. Rendell has also injected the social changes of the last 40 years into her work, bringing awareness to such issues as domestic violence and the change in the status of women.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 25, 2008
An excellent read by the master of the genre (Ruth Rendell), writing as Barbara Vine.
Fine writing and conclusions which may have you still guessing a little, but the clues were there all along, the language just lulled you on.
Fine writing and conclusions which may have you still guessing a little, but the clues were there all along, the language just lulled you on.
August 1, 2013
I love that this is the second book I have read by Barbara Vine, and I have not met a sympathetic or likable character yet! I find myself HOPING that bad things are going to happen to these characters instead of hoping that bad things DON'T happen which has made these really fun.
March 6, 2014
Meh, think I'll stick to Ruth Rendell when she's Ruth Rendell. I just found the writing 'tricks' annoying after a time... maybe they were more noticeable in a trilogy of fairly similar "psychologies". I also found parts a bit repetitive and over-wordy - somewhat in need of a good editing.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews