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Put On By Cunning / An Unkindness Of Ravens
Paperback
Published January 1, 2007
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About the author
Ruth Rendell
457 books1,630 followersA.K.A. Barbara Vine
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford.
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 4, 2018
I thought this book was confusing, it did have a good explanation of what really happened at the end.
A wealthy man is killed and at first it is ruled an accident but the inspector is sure it was murder, especially after they find that a long lost daughter had just turned up. A good plot but it was slow moving.
A wealthy man is killed and at first it is ruled an accident but the inspector is sure it was murder, especially after they find that a long lost daughter had just turned up. A good plot but it was slow moving.
August 27, 2017
An early Inspector Wexford, and just as worthy of reading as Rendell's later work. Her body of work comes with as many surprises as Agatha Christie's, and with just as much delightful English culture.
January 22, 2021
Not her best. Perhaps not suited to audio as quite confusing with names that I would normally double check with a book.
May 11, 2024
I read the second of this volume in one day. Have not done such for a very long time, but then again I was on annual leave and spending the day cuddling my dog.
September 1, 2025
Put on by Cunning is a fine example of Ruth Rendell’s psychological depth and mastery of the crime novel. It’s a story of greed and manipulation, but also of vulnerability and misplaced trust. This is quietly chilling—and a must-read for those who value crime fiction that lingers in the mind long after the last page.
February 10, 2023
Put on by Cunning only....
Rendell leads us utterly down the garden path in this one. The mystery is all there, and keeps us reading till the last sentence. But the mystery isn't anything like what we think. Very clever.
August 21 - Listened to it on audio while travelling...I remembered all the first half of it, but very little of the second half, which seems odd!
Not sure why An Unkindness of Ravens (finished in February 2023) doesn't show up as a separate book on Goodreads. Anyway, it looks as though I've read Put on by Cunning twice, curiously, and quite recently.
An Unkindness of Ravens is a strange, complicated Wexford novel, in which there are frequently too many young girls appearing at once for an old brain to get to grips with. That sorted itself out as the book went on, and Rendell does a nasty switch on the reader late in the book, when everything seems to have been sorted out in terms of who did the major murder. I'm not sure that I was entirely convinced by this, but...
The great joy of reading Rendell's novels is the way she takes trouble with her minor characters. They never just appear; they always have personality, and we learn this through their actions, their clothing (she's very careful in this book about clothing), their relationships. Rendell's stories may not always have the same high standard, but the writing of the stories certainly does.
Rendell leads us utterly down the garden path in this one. The mystery is all there, and keeps us reading till the last sentence. But the mystery isn't anything like what we think. Very clever.
August 21 - Listened to it on audio while travelling...I remembered all the first half of it, but very little of the second half, which seems odd!
Not sure why An Unkindness of Ravens (finished in February 2023) doesn't show up as a separate book on Goodreads. Anyway, it looks as though I've read Put on by Cunning twice, curiously, and quite recently.
An Unkindness of Ravens is a strange, complicated Wexford novel, in which there are frequently too many young girls appearing at once for an old brain to get to grips with. That sorted itself out as the book went on, and Rendell does a nasty switch on the reader late in the book, when everything seems to have been sorted out in terms of who did the major murder. I'm not sure that I was entirely convinced by this, but...
The great joy of reading Rendell's novels is the way she takes trouble with her minor characters. They never just appear; they always have personality, and we learn this through their actions, their clothing (she's very careful in this book about clothing), their relationships. Rendell's stories may not always have the same high standard, but the writing of the stories certainly does.
February 13, 2012
Ruth Rendell is an amazing British author with a wonderful talent for mystery writing. Put On By Cunning is in the Inspector Wexford series of books and is as good as it gets. It is a maddeningly complex murder story where you really need to focus and keep your wits about you. The clues are all there for the reader to see - nothing is hidden. Although to come up with what really happened will take some cunning - and don't be put on!
July 30, 2013
Interesting to read as I'd never read any Ruth Rendell before. I enjoyed both books but have no strong recollection of the plot lines.
August 19, 2013
"Put on by cunning" is very good. Agatha Christie good, and similar in structure and style.
August 18, 2013
A good old fashioned murder mystery. I don't particularly like the characters of. inspector Wexford or his side kick Burden but the twists and turns in the plot made this a bearable read.
August 17, 2014
great read
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews