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Dark Corners
When his father dies, Carl Martin inherits a house in an increasingly rich and trendy London neighborhood. Carl needs cash, however, so he rents the upstairs room and kitchen to the first person he interviews, Dermot McKinnon. That was colossal mistake number one. Mistake number two was keeping his father's bizarre collection of homeopathic "cures" that he found in the medicine cabinet, including a stash of controversial diet pills. Mistake number three was selling fifty of those diet pills to a friend, who is then found dead.
228 pages, Hardcover
First published October 22, 2015
478 people are currently reading
3509 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Rendell
456 books1,625 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 - 30 of 765 reviews
October 16, 2015
This is the first novel I have read by this author, and now feel sad to see that “Dark Corners” was Ruth Rendell’s last novel, as she died this year.
Based on a recommendation from another Goodreads member, I was fortunate to be approved by the publisher, Scribner and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a story of murders and blackmail and psychological suspense, and how a person’s life can unravel completely over time, by hiding secrets and actions.
After his father dies, Carl Martin, an author, who had his first book published, inherits his late fathers’ London home, along with everything in it.His dad had collected samples of alternative medicines, homeopathic remedies and herbal pills, including diet pills, which he kept in the bathroom cupboard in his house.
He should have thrown them all out!
Carl needs money, so he decides to rent out the upstairs room for extra income.
Never:
(1)Rent to the first person you interview. (Dermot McKinnon)
(2)Keep old medicines in the house. (Should have thrown them out)
(3)Sell diet pills to a friend.
Everything went well with his new tenant initially… the rent was paid on time, he kept to himself, and had a job working at a Pet Clinic. Life seems to be going well until Carl sells some of the diet pills to one of his friends, a semi-famous actress who dies because of taking them.
The following days and months take an increasingly series of dark turns as things progressively get worse for Carl. Dermot blackmails Carl, refuses to pay rent and invades his space.
This was a well written and well-paced book, and I greatly enjoyed the building suspense level, as everything comes together. Then at about 75% through the book… the big REVEAL, which I hadn’t considered. I would have liked a little more unpredictability in the novel, but I look forward to reading some of her earlier novels.
Based on a recommendation from another Goodreads member, I was fortunate to be approved by the publisher, Scribner and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a story of murders and blackmail and psychological suspense, and how a person’s life can unravel completely over time, by hiding secrets and actions.
After his father dies, Carl Martin, an author, who had his first book published, inherits his late fathers’ London home, along with everything in it.His dad had collected samples of alternative medicines, homeopathic remedies and herbal pills, including diet pills, which he kept in the bathroom cupboard in his house.
He should have thrown them all out!
Carl needs money, so he decides to rent out the upstairs room for extra income.
Never:
(1)Rent to the first person you interview. (Dermot McKinnon)
(2)Keep old medicines in the house. (Should have thrown them out)
(3)Sell diet pills to a friend.
Everything went well with his new tenant initially… the rent was paid on time, he kept to himself, and had a job working at a Pet Clinic. Life seems to be going well until Carl sells some of the diet pills to one of his friends, a semi-famous actress who dies because of taking them.
The following days and months take an increasingly series of dark turns as things progressively get worse for Carl. Dermot blackmails Carl, refuses to pay rent and invades his space.
This was a well written and well-paced book, and I greatly enjoyed the building suspense level, as everything comes together. Then at about 75% through the book… the big REVEAL, which I hadn’t considered. I would have liked a little more unpredictability in the novel, but I look forward to reading some of her earlier novels.
November 17, 2015
The End of an era: Ruth Rendell's final novel. Bittersweet, for never again will I have the experience of reading a new Ruth Rendell novel. It's possible that Rendell might have done more rewriting on this one, for it's shorter than her recent novels have been, and the subplots seem under-developed and to go somewhat astray, rather than coverging at the end as they do in some of her best books such as A DEMON IN MY VIEW, THE TREE OF HANDS, and THE BRIDESMAID. Still, it's a page-turner, and as a final offering it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of. If Ruth Rendell in her eighties was no longer quite at the top of her game, she still gives the competition something to which to aspire, and I hope that anyone who reads this novel as their introduction to Rendell will seek out the novels I've mentioned above, or some of those she wrote as Barbara Vine (A DARK-ADAPTED EYE, A FATAL INVERSION, ASTA'S BOOK [ANNA'S BOOK in the US]). The title, by the way, comes from Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE.
January 28, 2016
I hate to be a dick but I really really disliked this book. The plot was ridiculous and the characters were just plain terrible, not a redeeming quality about any of them. Let me try not to throw too many spoilers in, but it doesn't even matter because this book is just drivel anyway.
I should have finished this book in no more than two days, but it took me three to even read half. How terrible. I'd like to be generous and give this book 1.5 stars but until I get over my frustration with this book I just don't think I can.
I should have finished this book in no more than two days, but it took me three to even read half. How terrible. I'd like to be generous and give this book 1.5 stars but until I get over my frustration with this book I just don't think I can.
December 5, 2015
2.5 this is the last book from an author that I have read for many years. She has been known for her dark atmosphere, an insidious creepiness that slowly consumes the reader. Some of her books I have liked more than others. This one I did not like at all.
Well written like most of her books, this one had characters with few redeeming qualities, characters I did not like at all. Blackmail, revenge are the motifs, but this book gave me a very ugly feeling. Still this author has been very prolific through the years and everyone is entitled to one off book. Just sorry this was her last.
Well written like most of her books, this one had characters with few redeeming qualities, characters I did not like at all. Blackmail, revenge are the motifs, but this book gave me a very ugly feeling. Still this author has been very prolific through the years and everyone is entitled to one off book. Just sorry this was her last.
January 23, 2016
It is my understanding that Ruth Rendell was a favorite of many in the mystery genre. And that may be so. However, I was totally frustrated with this book....her last offering. I plugged through until the end, not willing to give up, and hoping beyond hope that it would go out with a bang. It certainly didn't.
This book had all the potential to nip at your heels with a Hitchcock flavor. There were just mild attempts to build on tension. It could have been so much more. I know that others rated it much higher as being life long fans. I tried to rate it as honestly as I could for the work itself. Ms. Rendell was an excellent writer, but Dark Corners just didn't do justice to her stellar name.
This book had all the potential to nip at your heels with a Hitchcock flavor. There were just mild attempts to build on tension. It could have been so much more. I know that others rated it much higher as being life long fans. I tried to rate it as honestly as I could for the work itself. Ms. Rendell was an excellent writer, but Dark Corners just didn't do justice to her stellar name.
July 3, 2016
Dark Corners by Ruth Rendell is a 2015 Scribner publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ruth Rendell, who also wrote as Barbara Vine, passed away in 2015, just a few months before this book was published. I had planned on centering a blog post around Ruth, featuring a review of this, her final book, but sadly, every time I picked it up, I could not, for the life of me, stay interested.
But, I needed to turn in a review for the book, one way or another, so I started all over from the beginning, and forged ahead, determined to make it all the way through, without giving up.
Carl, a novelist, inherits his father’s large and unusual supply of home remedies, along with a nice home, but needs help making ends meet, so he rents out an upstairs room, and quickly becomes rather dependent on that income.
When his friend, Stacey, an actress, desperate to lose weight, sees his father’s diet pills, Carl agrees to sell her some, a transaction Carl’s new tenant witnesses. So, when Stacey dies suddenly, the pills being a major contributor to her death, Carl finds himself suffering from a moral dilemma, and worried he could be held responsible. But, his problems are compounded by his tenant’s decision to blackmail Carl.
From here the story becomes a cat and mouse game between Carl and his tenant, with a slight amount of dark humor tossed in. Carl, who is normally a little bland and mild-mannered, begins to slowly unravel as his conscience weighs on him and he begins to crumble under the pressure of being blackmailed and the ever present possibility his dark secret will be exposed.
Alongside this story, is a secondary thread, that slowly intersects with Carl’s story, and while it’s rather odd, it was also weirdly absorbing.
Although I was determined to get this book finished, I still found it very slow going, and plodded through it at a very slow rate of speed. It was not until the second half of the book that things really started to pick up and the suspense began to build in earnest.
Despite the fact that my interest was finally peaked, the story was still pretty predictable, except for Lizzie’s situation, which I could never quite figure out. The plot was rather clever, but not exactly unique.
For me the ending was extremely abrupt and just plain… well plain. I felt like I had gone through all of this for nothing, although I probably should have guessed this was how things would play out.
I really hate that this was Ruth’s last impression, because this is not her best effort. But, one must remember that the author was in her mid-eighties when she passed and I certainly hope my mind will be that sharp if I am lucky to live that long.
I have a nice collection of Ruth Rendell novels and a smattering of her Barbara Vine stories too. I enjoyed the long running Inspector Wexford series as well, and someday I hope to complete my collection of those books.
I still plan to feature Ruth on the blog someday and pay tribute to her and her work, as she was one of my favorite mystery writers for a long time.
Even though this book failed to make a huge impression on me, it’s still a solid enough effort, and any diehard fan of Ruth Rendell will want to add this book to their collection.
Ruth Rendell, who also wrote as Barbara Vine, passed away in 2015, just a few months before this book was published. I had planned on centering a blog post around Ruth, featuring a review of this, her final book, but sadly, every time I picked it up, I could not, for the life of me, stay interested.
But, I needed to turn in a review for the book, one way or another, so I started all over from the beginning, and forged ahead, determined to make it all the way through, without giving up.
Carl, a novelist, inherits his father’s large and unusual supply of home remedies, along with a nice home, but needs help making ends meet, so he rents out an upstairs room, and quickly becomes rather dependent on that income.
When his friend, Stacey, an actress, desperate to lose weight, sees his father’s diet pills, Carl agrees to sell her some, a transaction Carl’s new tenant witnesses. So, when Stacey dies suddenly, the pills being a major contributor to her death, Carl finds himself suffering from a moral dilemma, and worried he could be held responsible. But, his problems are compounded by his tenant’s decision to blackmail Carl.
From here the story becomes a cat and mouse game between Carl and his tenant, with a slight amount of dark humor tossed in. Carl, who is normally a little bland and mild-mannered, begins to slowly unravel as his conscience weighs on him and he begins to crumble under the pressure of being blackmailed and the ever present possibility his dark secret will be exposed.
Alongside this story, is a secondary thread, that slowly intersects with Carl’s story, and while it’s rather odd, it was also weirdly absorbing.
Although I was determined to get this book finished, I still found it very slow going, and plodded through it at a very slow rate of speed. It was not until the second half of the book that things really started to pick up and the suspense began to build in earnest.
Despite the fact that my interest was finally peaked, the story was still pretty predictable, except for Lizzie’s situation, which I could never quite figure out. The plot was rather clever, but not exactly unique.
For me the ending was extremely abrupt and just plain… well plain. I felt like I had gone through all of this for nothing, although I probably should have guessed this was how things would play out.
I really hate that this was Ruth’s last impression, because this is not her best effort. But, one must remember that the author was in her mid-eighties when she passed and I certainly hope my mind will be that sharp if I am lucky to live that long.
I have a nice collection of Ruth Rendell novels and a smattering of her Barbara Vine stories too. I enjoyed the long running Inspector Wexford series as well, and someday I hope to complete my collection of those books.
I still plan to feature Ruth on the blog someday and pay tribute to her and her work, as she was one of my favorite mystery writers for a long time.
Even though this book failed to make a huge impression on me, it’s still a solid enough effort, and any diehard fan of Ruth Rendell will want to add this book to their collection.
December 14, 2015
BABT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06qhzp0Description: Ruth Rendell's final novel is a dark and atmospheric tale of psychological suspense read by Patricia Hodge.
Budding crime writer Carl could do with some extra cash. Renting out the top part of his house in Maida Vale - newly inherited from his father - will help his cash flow immensely. And what harm could it do to sell some slimming pills from his late father's stash of 'alternative medicines' to his actress friend Stacey, who's been putting on weight in the wake of a relationship break up?
Acclaimed by her literary peers and beloved by her readers, Ruth Rendell wrote over sixty novels in a career that spanned fifty years. She received numerous awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for 1976's best crime novel with A Demon in My View, a Gold Dagger award for Live Flesh in 1986, and the Sunday Times Literary Award in 1990. In 2013 she was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer. She died in May 2015, aged eighty-five.
1/10: Budding crime writer Carl could do with some extra cash. Renting out the top part of his house in Maida Vale - newly inherited from his father - will help his cash flow immensely.2/10: In Maida Vale, London, Carl struggles to accept his part in the untimely death of his actress friend Stacey. The slimming pills he sold her are perfectly legal, after all. Carl also doesn't like the way his new lodger, Dermot, is taking an interest in the case, even going so far as to attend the coroner's inquest. 3/10: Dermot has proven to be a slippery and manipulative tenant, making much of his knowledge that Carl sold slimming pills to a friend who subsequently died. Indeed, Dermot has now stopped paying rent altogether. Almost broke, Carl reluctantly faces the prospect of having to confess all to Nicola, his girlfriend.4/10: Dermot's threatening presence in the house in Maida Vale has become all-pervasive. After Carl reveals the hold Dermot has over him, Nicola decides to confront him herself. But Dermot refuses to be cowed and instead turns the focus upon her, describing how abhorrent he finds it that she and Carl are living in sin. A dark and atmospheric tale of suspense by a doyenne of the form.5/10: Miserable and desperate, Carl is placed under further pressure by Dermot, his blackmailing tenant.6/10: Carl is pushed to breaking point by Dermot7/10: At breaking point, penniless and desperate, Carl killed Dermot on one of Maida Vale's side streets and is now waiting to see whether he has 'got away' with the murder.8/10: Carl's relief at getting rid of Dermot is short-lived, when Dermot's girlfriend, Sybil, takes his place in the top floor of the house in Maida Vale. Nicola can't understand why Carl is letting this happen, but he can't tell her about the hold Sybil has over him; that she saw him kill Dermot in the street outside her parent's house in Jerome Crescent.9/10: Once again, Carl finds himself blackmailed and placed in a desperate situation. He can't afford to let Sybil to live rent-free in the top floor of his house in Maida Vale, but neither can he allow her to go to the police and tell them that he killed Dermot. And so, he begins to formulate a plan to rid himself of Sybil...10/10: Fate intervenes once again and Carl is forced to face up to what he has done.
14:12:2015 - Tragic: Eloise Aimee Parry died after taking eight DNP tablets that she bought online. Source
February 8, 2017
Another great book by a master (mistress?) of the mystery thriller. I love Ruth Rendell. This book is very enjoyable, even better than Portobello which I also loved. She has such a way. She sets up an event, a death, and we get to watch how it cascades through a group of people. She makes nefarious doings - blackmail, murder, lies - seem to almost be ordinary. Loved it.
December 18, 2015
let's start with the dustjacket blurb:
"When his father dies, Carl Martin inherits a house in an increasingly rich and trendy London neighborhood. Cash poor, Carl rents the upstairs room and kitchen to the first person he interviews, Dermot McKinnon. That is mistake number one. Mistake number two is keeping the bizarre collection of homeopathic 'cures' that his father left in the medicine cabinet, including a stash of controversial diet pills. Mistake number three is selling fifty of those diet pills to a friend, who is then found dead."
Just briefly and spoiler free, Dark Corners follows the events that launch from this perfect storm of mistakes, beginning with Dermot who seizes the moment following the news coverage of the death of Carl's friend Stacey and the resulting outpouring of public outrage. Carl, of course, meant no harm to Stacey, but it was an innocent mistake that ultimately leads to increasingly-unbearable psychological pressure that Carl gradually finds unendurable. Dermot (a creepy, sleazy vet tech at a pet clinic) witnesses the transaction between his landlord and Carl's overweight, overwrought actress-friend Stacey, and has no qualms about blackmailing Carl, demanding to live rent free after Stacey's death under the threat of ruining Carl's newly-launched career. Dermot is not beyond gloating to himself about the power he holds over Carl, delighting in his ability to "keep Carl exactly where he wanted him." As the pressure ratchets, Carl, who has taken to following Dermot occasionally and sees him out walking with his girlfriend, is reminded of a phrase from his high school performance of Measure for Measure: "the duke of dark corners," but ultimately it will be Carl who is eventually backed into a dark corner of his own.
What I love about Rendell's work in general is that a) once you open one of her non-series novels, you find yourself in a claustrophobic environment where you can't escape the building tension and b) she is able to unearth those "dark corners" that dwell within otherwise seemingly-normal people, and she excels at that here. Dermot the blackmailer, for example, is a regular churchgoer, never misses a Sunday service. Sex outside of marriage is something untenable for him; he even chides Carl for living with his girlfriend Nicola, saying the situation is "far from right." He is also person who discovers and enjoys power, which becomes even more obvious in his relationship with his new girlfriend. And then there's Lizzie, a friend of Stacey, who has a job and her own apartment but isn't beyond taking advantage of Stacey's death for her own purposes for the small measure of power the situation affords her. At the same time, though, one of the ironies of this tale is that neither Dermot nor Lizzie have that moral guide of conscience running through their heads, while Carl ... well, I'll leave it there so as not to wreck things for the next reader.
If you think about this novel as another in which Rendell explores the darkness of which humans are capable, then it is just as good of a work as many of her other books; I personally felt a bit let down by how things played out at the end, a sort of haphazard coming together of coincidence. Then again, as I noted about another Rendell novel some time back, she often uses coincidence and is aware that she's doing it so it sort of just goes with the territory. Despite that wee niggle, though, Rendell readers do NOT want to miss this book.
"When his father dies, Carl Martin inherits a house in an increasingly rich and trendy London neighborhood. Cash poor, Carl rents the upstairs room and kitchen to the first person he interviews, Dermot McKinnon. That is mistake number one. Mistake number two is keeping the bizarre collection of homeopathic 'cures' that his father left in the medicine cabinet, including a stash of controversial diet pills. Mistake number three is selling fifty of those diet pills to a friend, who is then found dead."
Just briefly and spoiler free, Dark Corners follows the events that launch from this perfect storm of mistakes, beginning with Dermot who seizes the moment following the news coverage of the death of Carl's friend Stacey and the resulting outpouring of public outrage. Carl, of course, meant no harm to Stacey, but it was an innocent mistake that ultimately leads to increasingly-unbearable psychological pressure that Carl gradually finds unendurable. Dermot (a creepy, sleazy vet tech at a pet clinic) witnesses the transaction between his landlord and Carl's overweight, overwrought actress-friend Stacey, and has no qualms about blackmailing Carl, demanding to live rent free after Stacey's death under the threat of ruining Carl's newly-launched career. Dermot is not beyond gloating to himself about the power he holds over Carl, delighting in his ability to "keep Carl exactly where he wanted him." As the pressure ratchets, Carl, who has taken to following Dermot occasionally and sees him out walking with his girlfriend, is reminded of a phrase from his high school performance of Measure for Measure: "the duke of dark corners," but ultimately it will be Carl who is eventually backed into a dark corner of his own.
What I love about Rendell's work in general is that a) once you open one of her non-series novels, you find yourself in a claustrophobic environment where you can't escape the building tension and b) she is able to unearth those "dark corners" that dwell within otherwise seemingly-normal people, and she excels at that here. Dermot the blackmailer, for example, is a regular churchgoer, never misses a Sunday service. Sex outside of marriage is something untenable for him; he even chides Carl for living with his girlfriend Nicola, saying the situation is "far from right." He is also person who discovers and enjoys power, which becomes even more obvious in his relationship with his new girlfriend. And then there's Lizzie, a friend of Stacey, who has a job and her own apartment but isn't beyond taking advantage of Stacey's death for her own purposes for the small measure of power the situation affords her. At the same time, though, one of the ironies of this tale is that neither Dermot nor Lizzie have that moral guide of conscience running through their heads, while Carl ... well, I'll leave it there so as not to wreck things for the next reader.
If you think about this novel as another in which Rendell explores the darkness of which humans are capable, then it is just as good of a work as many of her other books; I personally felt a bit let down by how things played out at the end, a sort of haphazard coming together of coincidence. Then again, as I noted about another Rendell novel some time back, she often uses coincidence and is aware that she's doing it so it sort of just goes with the territory. Despite that wee niggle, though, Rendell readers do NOT want to miss this book.
August 27, 2024
4⭐️ = Good.
Hardback.
This, sadly Ruth’s final book, was a real surprise. It had an unusual storyline but was very easy to follow. I thought I knew where this book was heading but I was only partly correct.
It shows how lies can tangle you up in knots.
Hardback.
This, sadly Ruth’s final book, was a real surprise. It had an unusual storyline but was very easy to follow. I thought I knew where this book was heading but I was only partly correct.
It shows how lies can tangle you up in knots.
November 29, 2015
Some additional trepidation on this, the grand finale of maestra Rendell's life mystery work. No reason, of course, to assume the author saw it any differently than as yet-another mystery; she didn't know she'd be leaving us (5.2.2015) before it was in book form. But for the lifelong fan of her oblique storytelling, there will be questions; how finished was it? How far along was she before it came into the hands of ... whom? An appointed executor, a chosen editor, or maybe just an apparatchik of the publishing concern who knew it needed to be a "finale" rather than an "unfinished" work ..?
Not sure the general reading public will ever know, but Rendell's reputation is safe. Though not really a finished product (in my guesstimation), Dark Corners doesn't fail to tick almost all the highly specialized areas that are vital to the Rendell Readership. Since we are mystery fans, it isn't a stretch to think that nearly every longtime reader had these same questions, though.
Inconsequential ambiguities that don't serve as actual red herrings or misdirection --a Rendell specialty-- are found in this fairly slim book. (This book is only 228 pages and features that Editor's Fake-out, the blank 'spacer' pages that provide the placebo of empty-calorie heft to an already thin product). There are slightly disconcerting narrative hiccups and incongruities that would never have made it thru the editing process when Rendell was alive. Minor but glitchy things like a character going back to sit "on the stack of bricks" that was never mentioned or established; tense and timing problems that are almost unnoticeable but slightly jarring on a close reading. Elements that would have been carefully ironed out by the author.
Most noticeably-- but again without major damage-- is the murder itself. Rendell was expert at lulling the reader into thinking that, although spinning an uncomfortable situation, perhaps there would be nothing untoward in a long sequence... And then unleashing, bringing down the whip so that the murder happens in the most abrupt and breathtaking manner possible. It would allow her, contrarily, to snap back into civility in the next chapter with considerable drama and contrast. Here we have a murder situated exactly in that fashion, but told in shorthand, not measured, snipped and fitted into exact shape; it's something a new reader to the Rendell catalog wouldn't even notice.
Dark Corners features the late-career Rendellism of the unreasonably large cast, a kaleidoscopic ensemble that morph in and out of the frame with minimal lead-up and no standard (eye-patch, missing tooth) memory-aids for the readers. This time, though, rather than sprinkling them heavily into the first thirty pages or so, she goes a bit easy in the beginning, (maybe only ten or twelve in the first pages), but continues to introduce them, unapologetically, throughout. This could tip the scale toward the idea that she had a much longer book in mind, or that as in the case of her last half-dozen mysteries, she was still playing with the elements of the large ensemble.
What is sure is that the slightly abbreviated form here is an interesting excursion into her methods, whether intentionally tightened up by Rendell herself, or in this condensed state just the result of her early passing, something she hadn't quite gotten to. But with nothing too fleshed-out or elaborated, the narrative here benefits by also having nothing belabored or telegraphed.
However you work it out, it is Rendell's plot, and her characters and world; the frame is up, even if the building isn't quite built yet.
The bones are good, though.
________________________________________
I first read Ms. Rendell's work in the seventies; to say she will be missed is a vast understatement. She's left us over sixty books, though, so .. a world of mystery, for the ages now.
Not sure the general reading public will ever know, but Rendell's reputation is safe. Though not really a finished product (in my guesstimation), Dark Corners doesn't fail to tick almost all the highly specialized areas that are vital to the Rendell Readership. Since we are mystery fans, it isn't a stretch to think that nearly every longtime reader had these same questions, though.
Inconsequential ambiguities that don't serve as actual red herrings or misdirection --a Rendell specialty-- are found in this fairly slim book. (This book is only 228 pages and features that Editor's Fake-out, the blank 'spacer' pages that provide the placebo of empty-calorie heft to an already thin product). There are slightly disconcerting narrative hiccups and incongruities that would never have made it thru the editing process when Rendell was alive. Minor but glitchy things like a character going back to sit "on the stack of bricks" that was never mentioned or established; tense and timing problems that are almost unnoticeable but slightly jarring on a close reading. Elements that would have been carefully ironed out by the author.
Most noticeably-- but again without major damage-- is the murder itself. Rendell was expert at lulling the reader into thinking that, although spinning an uncomfortable situation, perhaps there would be nothing untoward in a long sequence... And then unleashing, bringing down the whip so that the murder happens in the most abrupt and breathtaking manner possible. It would allow her, contrarily, to snap back into civility in the next chapter with considerable drama and contrast. Here we have a murder situated exactly in that fashion, but told in shorthand, not measured, snipped and fitted into exact shape; it's something a new reader to the Rendell catalog wouldn't even notice.
Dark Corners features the late-career Rendellism of the unreasonably large cast, a kaleidoscopic ensemble that morph in and out of the frame with minimal lead-up and no standard (eye-patch, missing tooth) memory-aids for the readers. This time, though, rather than sprinkling them heavily into the first thirty pages or so, she goes a bit easy in the beginning, (maybe only ten or twelve in the first pages), but continues to introduce them, unapologetically, throughout. This could tip the scale toward the idea that she had a much longer book in mind, or that as in the case of her last half-dozen mysteries, she was still playing with the elements of the large ensemble.
What is sure is that the slightly abbreviated form here is an interesting excursion into her methods, whether intentionally tightened up by Rendell herself, or in this condensed state just the result of her early passing, something she hadn't quite gotten to. But with nothing too fleshed-out or elaborated, the narrative here benefits by also having nothing belabored or telegraphed.
However you work it out, it is Rendell's plot, and her characters and world; the frame is up, even if the building isn't quite built yet.
The bones are good, though.
________________________________________
I first read Ms. Rendell's work in the seventies; to say she will be missed is a vast understatement. She's left us over sixty books, though, so .. a world of mystery, for the ages now.
November 12, 2020
A compelling and deliciously unnerving novel. It WAS written by Ruth Rendell after all… She penned 66 novels. I’m just so sad it is the last ‘new’ novel of hers I shall ever read.
Set in the affluent London suburb of Maida Vale, the novel features Carl Martin, a young novelist in his early twenties. Carl has recently inherited a property from his father – and in order to make ends meet he takes in a tenant for his upstairs rooms. The tenant, Dermot, works at a local veterinary clinic and is a regular church-goer. At first Dermot seems a model tenant – but that is short-lived…
It happens that Carl’s father left behind a good number of medicines in the bathroom. When Carl’s friend Stacy, a television actress, complains of gaining weight, he sells her some of the ‘diet’ capsules from his father’s stash. Tragically, Stacy dies as a result of her taking the DNP. Dermot had witnessed the transaction with Stacy and now exerts a sort of reverse blackmail upon Carl. He is not demanding money from him, rather he is withholding his rent instead. Rent that Carl depends upon to live – as his writing does not pay the bills…
Dermot inflicts such insidious psychological torment on Carl that the reader can feel his desperation. His life becomes unmanageable. He becomes irrationally frightened of Dermot – so much so that he has suicidal thoughts. The humiliation and shame that would come about if Dermot shared his knowledge – ruining his career and reputation – would be just too much.
The secondary protagonist of “Dark Corners” is Lizzie. An acquaintance of Stacey’s, Lizzie is a loner who enters Stacey’s lovely flat after her death and squats there. She make free and easy with Stacey’s belongings. Eating her food, drinking her drink, wearing her clothes. Yet Lizzie deludes herself into thinking she would never ‘steal’ anything…
Neither of the two protagonists in “Dark Corners” are particularly likable yet the reader raptly follows their increasingly desperate plights – much like fascinated onlookers at an accident scene…
“Dark corners” is a twisted story about twisted personalities. Ruth Rendell is a writer with a seemingly expert knowledge of human foibles and the vagaries of human behavior. She writes ‘WHYdunits’ rather than WHO dunits. This is a novel of abduction, murder and psychological torment – NOT a mystery as such.
Highly recommended!
I’m happy and grateful to Scribner via NetGalley and Edelweiss for providing me with digital ARCs of this novel. (Yes I requested from two different places in case one of them turned me down… I just couldn’t chance not getting to review Ruth Rendell’s last novel).
I’m sad that Ruth Rendell never lived to see her latest novel published…
For this review and others like it - visit my blog: Fictionophile
Set in the affluent London suburb of Maida Vale, the novel features Carl Martin, a young novelist in his early twenties. Carl has recently inherited a property from his father – and in order to make ends meet he takes in a tenant for his upstairs rooms. The tenant, Dermot, works at a local veterinary clinic and is a regular church-goer. At first Dermot seems a model tenant – but that is short-lived…
It happens that Carl’s father left behind a good number of medicines in the bathroom. When Carl’s friend Stacy, a television actress, complains of gaining weight, he sells her some of the ‘diet’ capsules from his father’s stash. Tragically, Stacy dies as a result of her taking the DNP. Dermot had witnessed the transaction with Stacy and now exerts a sort of reverse blackmail upon Carl. He is not demanding money from him, rather he is withholding his rent instead. Rent that Carl depends upon to live – as his writing does not pay the bills…
Dermot inflicts such insidious psychological torment on Carl that the reader can feel his desperation. His life becomes unmanageable. He becomes irrationally frightened of Dermot – so much so that he has suicidal thoughts. The humiliation and shame that would come about if Dermot shared his knowledge – ruining his career and reputation – would be just too much.
The secondary protagonist of “Dark Corners” is Lizzie. An acquaintance of Stacey’s, Lizzie is a loner who enters Stacey’s lovely flat after her death and squats there. She make free and easy with Stacey’s belongings. Eating her food, drinking her drink, wearing her clothes. Yet Lizzie deludes herself into thinking she would never ‘steal’ anything…
Neither of the two protagonists in “Dark Corners” are particularly likable yet the reader raptly follows their increasingly desperate plights – much like fascinated onlookers at an accident scene…
“Dark corners” is a twisted story about twisted personalities. Ruth Rendell is a writer with a seemingly expert knowledge of human foibles and the vagaries of human behavior. She writes ‘WHYdunits’ rather than WHO dunits. This is a novel of abduction, murder and psychological torment – NOT a mystery as such.
Highly recommended!
I’m happy and grateful to Scribner via NetGalley and Edelweiss for providing me with digital ARCs of this novel. (Yes I requested from two different places in case one of them turned me down… I just couldn’t chance not getting to review Ruth Rendell’s last novel).
I’m sad that Ruth Rendell never lived to see her latest novel published…
For this review and others like it - visit my blog: Fictionophile
November 22, 2021
Ruth Rendell’s last novel. Not her best work and several subplots. The main plot is around the cat and mouse game between Carl owner of a Maida Vale house where he rents the top flat to Dermot. Through a tragedy where Carl sells a friend diet pills who then dies, Dermot blackmails him. In this day and age the premise of Carl worrying about his reputation it all seems a bit farfetched.
The subplot with Lizzie was bizarre and which I never figured out. Her parents and the bus riding father Tom also weird. None of the characters were likable and the ending anticlimactic. Although I did like the insomnia and conscience of Carl plaguing him. In the end perhaps confession is good for the soul.
The jaw dropping element was Carl charging a monthly rent for £1200 a month around 2014 for a flat in Maida Vale!
The subplot with Lizzie was bizarre and which I never figured out. Her parents and the bus riding father Tom also weird. None of the characters were likable and the ending anticlimactic. Although I did like the insomnia and conscience of Carl plaguing him. In the end perhaps confession is good for the soul.
The jaw dropping element was Carl charging a monthly rent for £1200 a month around 2014 for a flat in Maida Vale!
November 24, 2015
My View:
Guilt festers and multiplies, life becomes unbearable, and blackmail pushes an ordinary person already on a ledge into a freefall of irrational and deadly behaviours.
An interesting psychological profiling of the three protagonist – none are very pretty and only one has any redeeming features, however I felt the ending was a little mundane and the narrative was not developed enough for my liking. Murder served under done is a bloody thing.
RIP Ruth Rendell.
Guilt festers and multiplies, life becomes unbearable, and blackmail pushes an ordinary person already on a ledge into a freefall of irrational and deadly behaviours.
An interesting psychological profiling of the three protagonist – none are very pretty and only one has any redeeming features, however I felt the ending was a little mundane and the narrative was not developed enough for my liking. Murder served under done is a bloody thing.
RIP Ruth Rendell.
February 15, 2020
O carte ciudata cu personaje haotice, foarte putin credibile, chiar enervante.
Ceea ce am crezut ca o sa-mi placa cel mai mult si anume faptul ca vietile personajelor ajung sa se intrepatrunda, pana la urma, a ajuns sa ma irite pentru ca mi s-a parut un truc fortat.
Desi cartea are un mesaj bun si ne invata ca nu trebuie sa avem incredere in nimeni, mai ales in chiriasii pe care ii primim in gazduire, oricat de inofensivi ar parea, din cauza executiei scriitoricesti slabe, acest mesaj se pierde.
Pare comic, dar, de curand am citit o carte de Ruth Ware care mi-a lasat aceeasi impresie si mi-am dat seama ca m-am ales cu un fel de "Ruth-fobie" - asa ca nu o sa mai cumpar foarte curand carti care apartin autoarelor cu acest prenume.
Ceea ce am crezut ca o sa-mi placa cel mai mult si anume faptul ca vietile personajelor ajung sa se intrepatrunda, pana la urma, a ajuns sa ma irite pentru ca mi s-a parut un truc fortat.
Desi cartea are un mesaj bun si ne invata ca nu trebuie sa avem incredere in nimeni, mai ales in chiriasii pe care ii primim in gazduire, oricat de inofensivi ar parea, din cauza executiei scriitoricesti slabe, acest mesaj se pierde.
Pare comic, dar, de curand am citit o carte de Ruth Ware care mi-a lasat aceeasi impresie si mi-am dat seama ca m-am ales cu un fel de "Ruth-fobie" - asa ca nu o sa mai cumpar foarte curand carti care apartin autoarelor cu acest prenume.
October 23, 2023
Don't really know what to say about this book. It was odd, weird, and didn't 'move' in all the ways I expect (most) books to do. Written near the end of Ms. Rendell's career, published in 2015, the book is 'timely,' in that the frequent references to culture, daily life, etc. are still (mostly) the same as today.
The story is (mostly) about Carl, who has inherited a house in London - a big house. His plan? To write a second book, hoping it will be more popular than his first, then live off his writing income AND the rental he has on the third floor of the house. Easy-peasy. (I hate that expression, but it fits.) Carl is sort of a schmucky kind of character, but you do get into him as you read.
Then there are a handful of other characters, all of which will play a crucial part in Carl's life - and his goal of sitting around, not doing much but 'writing,' (cuz writing is so easy, you know?) and settling down with his girlfriend, Nicola.
But this is a Rendell book and she has a way of putting her characters up a tree and using a cannon to shoot balls of fire at them. The book is jarring, weird, funny in places, unsettling in others. What happens to Carl - and why - is the main gist of the book. Don't expect it to follow so-called 'normal lines' with plot, story, etc., cuz it DOESN'T.
IMO Ms. Rendell's best books are her Reginald Wexford series, which I spread out over time and absolutely devoured. But for those who like 'weird' or offbeat, this is a book for you.
For me, just three stars.
The story is (mostly) about Carl, who has inherited a house in London - a big house. His plan? To write a second book, hoping it will be more popular than his first, then live off his writing income AND the rental he has on the third floor of the house. Easy-peasy. (I hate that expression, but it fits.) Carl is sort of a schmucky kind of character, but you do get into him as you read.
Then there are a handful of other characters, all of which will play a crucial part in Carl's life - and his goal of sitting around, not doing much but 'writing,' (cuz writing is so easy, you know?) and settling down with his girlfriend, Nicola.
But this is a Rendell book and she has a way of putting her characters up a tree and using a cannon to shoot balls of fire at them. The book is jarring, weird, funny in places, unsettling in others. What happens to Carl - and why - is the main gist of the book. Don't expect it to follow so-called 'normal lines' with plot, story, etc., cuz it DOESN'T.
IMO Ms. Rendell's best books are her Reginald Wexford series, which I spread out over time and absolutely devoured. But for those who like 'weird' or offbeat, this is a book for you.
For me, just three stars.
September 4, 2017
I’m a great fan of Ruth Rendell, but my heart sank when I realised I had inadvertently downloaded her final book (written at the age of 84 and published in 2015) when I had intended to buy a title from the early 1980s.
My fears were borne out as I began to read. We’ve just seen athletes Bolt and Farah take a step too far – and I reckon it happens to authors, too – albeit, thankfully, at a much, much later juncture.
There is no shame in failing faculties, or loss of contact with contemporary life – but sadly a tide of woolly waffle creeps in where once sharp insight stood proud.
Thus Dark Corners is rather woolly and waffly. At the best of times Ruth Rendell’s brand of suspense treads a fine line between the poignant and the prosaic. Here it fell heavily on the side of the latter. My interest frequently waned.
That said, I was not about to throw in the towel. DNF a Ruth Rendell? No way! And I was rewarded at about 70% thru by a sudden twist of the knife – and the tensionometer shot up. However, this proved to be temporary. Despite its new heights, the story slipped inexorably to an unhappy anti-climax. But this is often the way with suspense.
The plot? Well – I shouldn’t like to give too much away...
Set in a London suburb, struggling author Carl lets rooms to oddball Dermot, who proves to be an unpleasant tenant. Worse is to follow when Dermot discovers that Carl had an inconvenient (if accidental) role in the ostensibly innocent death of his friend Stacey. Dermot blackmails Carl – the price is rent-free accommodation, indefinitely. Carl becomes neurotic. His writing suffers. His relationships suffer. His bank balance suffers. And when finally he ‘resolves’ the problem of Dermot – kaboom – he finds Sybil (Dermot’s strange girlfriend) has moved in to take his place. To his horror, Sybil knows about the fate of Dermot. And what does she want? Rent-free accommodation, indefinitely. Groundhog day? You got it. I shan’t say any more.
Should you read it? Well – yes – but perhaps make it your final Ruth Rendell.
My fears were borne out as I began to read. We’ve just seen athletes Bolt and Farah take a step too far – and I reckon it happens to authors, too – albeit, thankfully, at a much, much later juncture.
There is no shame in failing faculties, or loss of contact with contemporary life – but sadly a tide of woolly waffle creeps in where once sharp insight stood proud.
Thus Dark Corners is rather woolly and waffly. At the best of times Ruth Rendell’s brand of suspense treads a fine line between the poignant and the prosaic. Here it fell heavily on the side of the latter. My interest frequently waned.
That said, I was not about to throw in the towel. DNF a Ruth Rendell? No way! And I was rewarded at about 70% thru by a sudden twist of the knife – and the tensionometer shot up. However, this proved to be temporary. Despite its new heights, the story slipped inexorably to an unhappy anti-climax. But this is often the way with suspense.
The plot? Well – I shouldn’t like to give too much away...
Set in a London suburb, struggling author Carl lets rooms to oddball Dermot, who proves to be an unpleasant tenant. Worse is to follow when Dermot discovers that Carl had an inconvenient (if accidental) role in the ostensibly innocent death of his friend Stacey. Dermot blackmails Carl – the price is rent-free accommodation, indefinitely. Carl becomes neurotic. His writing suffers. His relationships suffer. His bank balance suffers. And when finally he ‘resolves’ the problem of Dermot – kaboom – he finds Sybil (Dermot’s strange girlfriend) has moved in to take his place. To his horror, Sybil knows about the fate of Dermot. And what does she want? Rent-free accommodation, indefinitely. Groundhog day? You got it. I shan’t say any more.
Should you read it? Well – yes – but perhaps make it your final Ruth Rendell.
Read
May 10, 2020Umm... this is like a first rough draft of a novel. Things hang together by the thinnest of threads, characterisation is nonexistent, it lacks texture, I’m not sure if this has been edited but it read like it hasn’t. You feel sympathy for nobody, least of all the main character, whose problems could be solved very easily by a) not letting himself be blackmailed for doing something legal that had unintended consequences and b) getting a job.
September 20, 2015
I have read and loved Ruth Rendell's work for years and my pleasure at reading this book is mixed with the sadness and disappointment of knowing it's her last. Although a relatively short novel it is still classic Rendell: one seemingly small incident sets in motion a series of events leading to the complete destruction of a number of everyday lives. It's Rendell ability to mix the prosaic day to day ordinary detail of life with the gradual decline into some kind of madness which holds and bewitches the reader, throwing one's morality into confusion: wanting the protagonist to "get away with it" while at the same time thirsty for justice. Rendell has a wonderfully quirky ability to make almost all her characters quite unlikeable but perhaps that is why she is unique and will never truly be replaced. As others have written, it does, perhaps, give the impression of needing a final polish, but my devotion as a Rendell fan meant that didn't matter to me and as such I still give it 5 stars. Many thanks to Net Galley fir the proof copy in advance.
September 17, 2015
I've been a Ruth Rendell fan for many years and it was with a real sense of sadness that I began this novel knowing it would be her last. I felt it was possibly a little unfinished, some characters felt slightly one dimensional but as a portrayal of psychological disintegration it was masterful.
As a reader Carl's descent into paranoia and eventual alcoholism was portrayed subtlety and completely believably. As someone who has suffered from nightmare neighbours in the past that sense of always being on edge bought up nasty memories. The main storyline is the one that kept me reading however, I found the sub-plots regarding Lizzie and her father a little random and odd.
This was a good read but not a patch on her earlier work which I intend to re-read as soon as I possibly can.
I received an ARC in return for an honest review.
As a reader Carl's descent into paranoia and eventual alcoholism was portrayed subtlety and completely believably. As someone who has suffered from nightmare neighbours in the past that sense of always being on edge bought up nasty memories. The main storyline is the one that kept me reading however, I found the sub-plots regarding Lizzie and her father a little random and odd.
This was a good read but not a patch on her earlier work which I intend to re-read as soon as I possibly can.
I received an ARC in return for an honest review.
July 30, 2015
After a lifetime of reading Ruth Rendell's novels, it's sad to know that this is her very last one. But it's a good one! When budding author Carl inherits his father's house in London, he thinks he's got it made. He rents out the top floor to a tenant, and lives off the proceeds. But when he unthinkingly sells some DNP 'diet' pills, from his father's horde of medicines, to his old friend Stacey, it sets off a chain of events which ruins his life. This is an exploration in how guilt can destroy a person, and lead them to do more and more drastic things to avoid shame. There are plenty of subplots - from a kidnapping to a bomb on a bus - as, once again, Rendell shows that she has her finger on the pulse of contemporary issues. She will be greatly missed.
May 15, 2016
Hated the ending.
October 29, 2015
A special thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ruth Rendell’s final novel DARK CORNERS an intriguing cat-and mouse-game of blackmail and murder. From diet pills, homeopathic cures, a desperate man who needs cash, a tenant, a friend, an opportunist, and a jealous neighbor. A multi-layered evil web of deceit, multiple narratives- a psychological suspense of darkness and madness spirals out of control.
Wilfred Martin collected all sorts of alternative medicines and remedies over the years. He kept them in his bathroom in his home and when he died, the home and its content, was now the property of Carl, his son. Carl’s mother recommended throwing the stuff out as useless clutter. Hindsight, if Carl had only known the results, he would have emptied it as quickly as possible.
Taken over the former family home in Falcon Mews, with his mother in Camden, divorced. Carl forgot about the meds as spent most of his time with girlfriend Nichola, his novel, Death’s Door, which had just been published, and trying to rent the top floor of his house to a tenant for the extra income he needed. After all rents in London, were highly desirable and he was realistic to know he could not live on book sales alone.
His second mistake: He rented to Dermot McKinnon, the first interested person. He just did not want to fool with interviewing a ton of people, and surely this man could pay the rent, as he had a job at the Sutherland Pet Clinic and produced a great reference. The next mistake was saying he could leave the rent in cash or check in an envelope at Carl’s door.
Carl soon begins work on a second novel, and he feels good about it and excited about the upcoming rental income. As far as the meds, he had taken a couple of doses for his cold and cough, but did not pay much attention to any of the others in the cupboard.
He and Dermot do not cross paths often, as Dermot was off to work or church. Carl was on his way to have coffee with his friend, Stacey Warren. They had met at school and gone to university together. Her parents had been killed in a car crash and Stacey had inherited quite a bit of money—enough to buy herself a flat in Primrose Hill. With her beautiful face and slender figure, she was given a significant part in a TV sitcom called Station Road. She became famous; however, soon she began putting on weight. Everyone knows she was getting fat.
Carl was thinking of her problem, and suggested she go on a diet. She had broken up with her boyfriend and loves to eat. Possibly some diet pills? On his way home he started thinking more about Stacey’s problem and goes into his bookshop to see if he could find her a book on the subject. Then later he recalled the pills of his father’s. He got interrupted and forgot about them for the moment.
At first, being a landlord seemed trouble-free and Dermot paid his rent on time. That is for the first months. Now what? He did not like confrontations. However, he could not seem to write thinking about the money. He and his girlfriend were planning on a holiday. Then she planned to move in.
The day before Nichola moved in, Stacey came around and they had planned on going out to eat to a nearby restaurant. Before going out, she used the bathroom and he assumed she was applying more makeup. When he goes in to fetch some antihistamines, Stacey was intrigued and starts looking for diet pills. DNP. Dinitrophenol. He takes them from her and she mentions she guess she can order some online, or he could sell her fifty of these. Sell them? After all Stacey could afford it, so he agreed.
Dermot came in and possibly he overheard. He forgot about the transaction. Nicola moved in, and he was struggling with his novel, with sort of a writer’s block. One morning, he is reading the paper, and there is Stacey—found dead in her flat by a friend who had a key. Police said foul play was not suspected.
How could this be? His mother calls talking about Stacey and he was breaking out in a sweat. They had been best friends. Frantic, could it have been the pills? Immediately he does an internet search to research the diet pills.
Then there is Stacey’s neighbor, Lizzie who used the key to let herself in Stacey’s apartment. She is jealous, conniving, an opportunist. She and Stacey had known each other for years, (or so she says) when she finds her calls the police. She may just move in with the key she found. Like what would happen to the flat? Someone wants to get rid of Lizzie and cat.
Let the blackmail and the games begin! He is now threatening to go to the cops. No more rental income. Dermot plans to live rent free. He will take over his life. After all he overheard the transaction. An investigation. 50 pills—perhaps he intended for her to die. What about his reputation as a brilliant young writer.
Now Stacey’s apartment appears to be taken over by Aunt Yvonne’s son, Gervaise. First he has to go on an archaeological visit to Cambodia. Then his sister moves in. Lizzie in the meantime takes all Stacey’s clothes and luggage and leaves. There is Tom and Dot, thinking Lizzie is off somewhere on holiday. Never explain. Abduction? Another story here.
Dermot is dating Sybil and plans to get married. Dermot turns up dead. Murdered. Now he has his girlfriend Sybil to worry about. When will this nightmare end? She thinks she is taking over her fiance’s tenancy. And she does not want to pay rent? Further blackmail. One blackmail needs to another, getting rid of one, then another...
A domino effect. One person sees or overhears the other. The stories connect. A friend of Lizzie. Carl has had enough of blackmail. He has a tenant. They are paying rent. His girlfriend is gone. He has taking to drinking around the clock. Madness. Guilt. Everyone has a plan and using the other in their own psycho-sadistic way.
A dark, creepy, quirky wacko read of good versus evil, right and wrong –the lines are blurred and one wrong deed leads to more covers ups with mania and madness. Everyone has a motive. For fans of psychological suspense and cozy mysteries. (of course no investigation by any police)
Also listened to the audio narrated by Ric Jerrom, with a quirky London accent; fitting with the crazy cast of characters.
JDCMustReadBooks
Ruth Rendell’s final novel DARK CORNERS an intriguing cat-and mouse-game of blackmail and murder. From diet pills, homeopathic cures, a desperate man who needs cash, a tenant, a friend, an opportunist, and a jealous neighbor. A multi-layered evil web of deceit, multiple narratives- a psychological suspense of darkness and madness spirals out of control.
Wilfred Martin collected all sorts of alternative medicines and remedies over the years. He kept them in his bathroom in his home and when he died, the home and its content, was now the property of Carl, his son. Carl’s mother recommended throwing the stuff out as useless clutter. Hindsight, if Carl had only known the results, he would have emptied it as quickly as possible.
Taken over the former family home in Falcon Mews, with his mother in Camden, divorced. Carl forgot about the meds as spent most of his time with girlfriend Nichola, his novel, Death’s Door, which had just been published, and trying to rent the top floor of his house to a tenant for the extra income he needed. After all rents in London, were highly desirable and he was realistic to know he could not live on book sales alone.
His second mistake: He rented to Dermot McKinnon, the first interested person. He just did not want to fool with interviewing a ton of people, and surely this man could pay the rent, as he had a job at the Sutherland Pet Clinic and produced a great reference. The next mistake was saying he could leave the rent in cash or check in an envelope at Carl’s door.
Carl soon begins work on a second novel, and he feels good about it and excited about the upcoming rental income. As far as the meds, he had taken a couple of doses for his cold and cough, but did not pay much attention to any of the others in the cupboard.
He and Dermot do not cross paths often, as Dermot was off to work or church. Carl was on his way to have coffee with his friend, Stacey Warren. They had met at school and gone to university together. Her parents had been killed in a car crash and Stacey had inherited quite a bit of money—enough to buy herself a flat in Primrose Hill. With her beautiful face and slender figure, she was given a significant part in a TV sitcom called Station Road. She became famous; however, soon she began putting on weight. Everyone knows she was getting fat.
Carl was thinking of her problem, and suggested she go on a diet. She had broken up with her boyfriend and loves to eat. Possibly some diet pills? On his way home he started thinking more about Stacey’s problem and goes into his bookshop to see if he could find her a book on the subject. Then later he recalled the pills of his father’s. He got interrupted and forgot about them for the moment.
At first, being a landlord seemed trouble-free and Dermot paid his rent on time. That is for the first months. Now what? He did not like confrontations. However, he could not seem to write thinking about the money. He and his girlfriend were planning on a holiday. Then she planned to move in.
The day before Nichola moved in, Stacey came around and they had planned on going out to eat to a nearby restaurant. Before going out, she used the bathroom and he assumed she was applying more makeup. When he goes in to fetch some antihistamines, Stacey was intrigued and starts looking for diet pills. DNP. Dinitrophenol. He takes them from her and she mentions she guess she can order some online, or he could sell her fifty of these. Sell them? After all Stacey could afford it, so he agreed.
Dermot came in and possibly he overheard. He forgot about the transaction. Nicola moved in, and he was struggling with his novel, with sort of a writer’s block. One morning, he is reading the paper, and there is Stacey—found dead in her flat by a friend who had a key. Police said foul play was not suspected.
How could this be? His mother calls talking about Stacey and he was breaking out in a sweat. They had been best friends. Frantic, could it have been the pills? Immediately he does an internet search to research the diet pills.
Then there is Stacey’s neighbor, Lizzie who used the key to let herself in Stacey’s apartment. She is jealous, conniving, an opportunist. She and Stacey had known each other for years, (or so she says) when she finds her calls the police. She may just move in with the key she found. Like what would happen to the flat? Someone wants to get rid of Lizzie and cat.
Let the blackmail and the games begin! He is now threatening to go to the cops. No more rental income. Dermot plans to live rent free. He will take over his life. After all he overheard the transaction. An investigation. 50 pills—perhaps he intended for her to die. What about his reputation as a brilliant young writer.
Now Stacey’s apartment appears to be taken over by Aunt Yvonne’s son, Gervaise. First he has to go on an archaeological visit to Cambodia. Then his sister moves in. Lizzie in the meantime takes all Stacey’s clothes and luggage and leaves. There is Tom and Dot, thinking Lizzie is off somewhere on holiday. Never explain. Abduction? Another story here.
Dermot is dating Sybil and plans to get married. Dermot turns up dead. Murdered. Now he has his girlfriend Sybil to worry about. When will this nightmare end? She thinks she is taking over her fiance’s tenancy. And she does not want to pay rent? Further blackmail. One blackmail needs to another, getting rid of one, then another...
A domino effect. One person sees or overhears the other. The stories connect. A friend of Lizzie. Carl has had enough of blackmail. He has a tenant. They are paying rent. His girlfriend is gone. He has taking to drinking around the clock. Madness. Guilt. Everyone has a plan and using the other in their own psycho-sadistic way.
A dark, creepy, quirky wacko read of good versus evil, right and wrong –the lines are blurred and one wrong deed leads to more covers ups with mania and madness. Everyone has a motive. For fans of psychological suspense and cozy mysteries. (of course no investigation by any police)
Also listened to the audio narrated by Ric Jerrom, with a quirky London accent; fitting with the crazy cast of characters.
JDCMustReadBooks
December 14, 2015
I had to ponder over my hesitation about reading psychological thrillers and the answer lies within the real possibility of these things happening to me! As crazy as things sometimes may seem, there is just that tiny little statistics of probability that it could happen to me, to my neighbour, to my colleague, or anyone who you think are quite ordinary.
In Dark Corners, a fairly ordinary guy, Carl Martin, inherited his father’s house along with everything in it. He was too lazy to clear things out and ended up, accidentally, causing a friend to die. Unfortunately, he has a tenant who begun to blackmail him but he didn’t just stop there. Things continued to escalate with such speed to a climax that you just knew was really unavoidable…
It was so hard to stand on the sideline for this one. I felt bad for Carl, I can understand his laziness and his fears though at the same time, frustrated at his cowardice. And then, I can’t help but cheer him on despite the wrongness of it all! But when push comes to shove, people will snap and not always in the best of ways. And this is exactly what I fear… if such a thing was to happen to me, I’m afraid of doing the wrong thing!
There also wasn’t a particular character I liked. There were the ordinary characters that were just that and there were the crazies whom I just don’t understand! The story is told from multiple perspectives and sometimes, I wonder why this is. There were just little bits from a few perspectives which were relevant to the main plot and everything else I found were tangential to the whole story and inconsequential to my interest in both story and character. I actually wanted to know Carl’s girlfriend’s thoughts but her perspective is not part of the story :(
Overall, Dark Corners carry a fascinating and a very possible life scenario/s. It explores the darkest corners of our minds and just what we are capable of. Whilst I didn’t particularly love it, it was still a thrilling read and the suspense was built cleverly right up to the end when we witnessed Carl acting upon his latest decision.
Thanks to Hutchinson / Penguin Australia for paperback copy in exchange of honest review
In Dark Corners, a fairly ordinary guy, Carl Martin, inherited his father’s house along with everything in it. He was too lazy to clear things out and ended up, accidentally, causing a friend to die. Unfortunately, he has a tenant who begun to blackmail him but he didn’t just stop there. Things continued to escalate with such speed to a climax that you just knew was really unavoidable…
It was so hard to stand on the sideline for this one. I felt bad for Carl, I can understand his laziness and his fears though at the same time, frustrated at his cowardice. And then, I can’t help but cheer him on despite the wrongness of it all! But when push comes to shove, people will snap and not always in the best of ways. And this is exactly what I fear… if such a thing was to happen to me, I’m afraid of doing the wrong thing!
There also wasn’t a particular character I liked. There were the ordinary characters that were just that and there were the crazies whom I just don’t understand! The story is told from multiple perspectives and sometimes, I wonder why this is. There were just little bits from a few perspectives which were relevant to the main plot and everything else I found were tangential to the whole story and inconsequential to my interest in both story and character. I actually wanted to know Carl’s girlfriend’s thoughts but her perspective is not part of the story :(
Overall, Dark Corners carry a fascinating and a very possible life scenario/s. It explores the darkest corners of our minds and just what we are capable of. Whilst I didn’t particularly love it, it was still a thrilling read and the suspense was built cleverly right up to the end when we witnessed Carl acting upon his latest decision.
Thanks to Hutchinson / Penguin Australia for paperback copy in exchange of honest review
October 31, 2015
It truly saddens me to be writing a review of the very last novel written by Ruth Rendell, whom the literary world lost on May 2, 2015. I’ve been a longtime fan of Ms. Rendell’s work. She will be very much missed in the literary world and by this reader.
As for her last book, it’s a perfect blend of suspense and tension. As always, Ms. Rendell built her storyline to make the most of each sentence, like a spider weaving each strand of silk in its web. It’s a page turner that will draw you into the dark story of Carl Martin, who rents part of his inherited home to a fellow who blackmails him and how Carl’s life begins to unravel. Ms. Rendell is a master of psychological suspense and has created a memorable character in Carl Martin and you’ll cringe as you watch him sink deeper and deeper into unstable chaos. While we can’t always agree with Carl’s actions, it’s hard not to empathize with him. I’d prefer not to say too much about the storyline and let Ms. Rendell weave her own magic in her readers’ minds.
If you aren’t familiar with Ruth Rendell’s work, then this last book of hers will open up much wonderful reading time ahead for you, as she wrote over 60 novels, most under her own name but also some under her pseudonym, Barbara Vine. Her sharp insight into the human mind and her wry humor make her books must reads. I’ve heard her work described as “cozy mysteries” but I don’t see that at all. Most of her work, including this one, gives me chills and while they may not be excessively gory, they’re certainly not cozy. Recommended.
This book was given to me by the publisher through Edelweiss in return for an honest review.
As for her last book, it’s a perfect blend of suspense and tension. As always, Ms. Rendell built her storyline to make the most of each sentence, like a spider weaving each strand of silk in its web. It’s a page turner that will draw you into the dark story of Carl Martin, who rents part of his inherited home to a fellow who blackmails him and how Carl’s life begins to unravel. Ms. Rendell is a master of psychological suspense and has created a memorable character in Carl Martin and you’ll cringe as you watch him sink deeper and deeper into unstable chaos. While we can’t always agree with Carl’s actions, it’s hard not to empathize with him. I’d prefer not to say too much about the storyline and let Ms. Rendell weave her own magic in her readers’ minds.
If you aren’t familiar with Ruth Rendell’s work, then this last book of hers will open up much wonderful reading time ahead for you, as she wrote over 60 novels, most under her own name but also some under her pseudonym, Barbara Vine. Her sharp insight into the human mind and her wry humor make her books must reads. I’ve heard her work described as “cozy mysteries” but I don’t see that at all. Most of her work, including this one, gives me chills and while they may not be excessively gory, they’re certainly not cozy. Recommended.
This book was given to me by the publisher through Edelweiss in return for an honest review.
December 28, 2015
Guilt is an insidious thing. Once you feel guilty you can't stop thinking about the guilt. Rather than confront it, you do something else to get around it and that adds to your guilt. You are obsessed. You dwell and fret and stop acting like yourself. Maybe you think there will be a reprieve but then something triggers it all over again.
This is that kind of book. I thought there would be some mystery but the whole story is pretty clear - it's just a matter of what our protagonist is going to do about his festering circumstances that drives the story forward. I listened to this on audio and the narrator did a great job reading this with empathy for Carl - a character that you probably won't like but the reader needs to take part in his anxiety for the story to "work" on you. At several points I found myself uncomfortable, frustrated, and anxious from Carl's guilt seeping over on to me. I think of that as a success for Rendell.
While I enjoyed the central story line there were some additional plot lines that didn't make sense to me. What did Tom's bus riding have to do with Carl? And was the incident that happened to Lizzie (I don't want to spoil anything) necessary? Frankly, that didn't even make sense to me and felt like it could have made the book stronger if it was just lifted right out. The book ended up being quite a mixed bag so only a 2 or 3 star despite some of it's strengths.
This is that kind of book. I thought there would be some mystery but the whole story is pretty clear - it's just a matter of what our protagonist is going to do about his festering circumstances that drives the story forward. I listened to this on audio and the narrator did a great job reading this with empathy for Carl - a character that you probably won't like but the reader needs to take part in his anxiety for the story to "work" on you. At several points I found myself uncomfortable, frustrated, and anxious from Carl's guilt seeping over on to me. I think of that as a success for Rendell.
While I enjoyed the central story line there were some additional plot lines that didn't make sense to me. What did Tom's bus riding have to do with Carl? And was the incident that happened to Lizzie (I don't want to spoil anything) necessary? Frankly, that didn't even make sense to me and felt like it could have made the book stronger if it was just lifted right out. The book ended up being quite a mixed bag so only a 2 or 3 star despite some of it's strengths.
March 15, 2016
What a marvelous literary legacy Ruth Rendell has left behind. So many great stories. I've only discovered them recently for myself and have been making way through her entire oeuvre. This is her last published one and it's unmistakably Rendellian from the morally questionable yet oddly compelling characters to the twisted webs they weave and all the dark disturbing psychological machinations of the seemingly ordinary brains when their perfectly regulated seemingly ordinary lives are threatened. And, of course, all done with Rendell's terrific sense of irony and twisted humor. Very enjoyable story, this one had the leanness of the author's earlier works, so it took just under two and a half hours to read and it was definitely a time well spent. And now, now it's over...reads the last line and what an apt finish, although with dozens upon dozens of titles in Rendell's awesomely expansive catalogue, the storytelling goes on. Strongly recommended.
October 29, 2017
Carl Martin, a philosophy graduate who has just published his first novel, inherits a substantial house from his father in the Maida Vale district of London. His father had collected a vast quantity of over the counter and alternative medicines and these were left in a bathroom cabinet. Among the medicines were some DNP weight loss tablets which he sells to his friend Stacey who is a minor television soap star. These tablets prove toxic and Stacey dies. This is the trigger for a story of subterfuge, blackmail and eventually murder as Carl descends into paranoia and alcoholism.
Throughout the story Carl is increasing in conflict with himself and his conscience and his lodger Dermot McKinnon, this impinges on his writing and his relationship with his girlfriend. Eventually leading his being alone and increasing ill at ease. His girlfriend Nicola comments: “‘I don’t believe you’ve any food in the house,’ ‘I think you’ve lost weight and you can’t afford that.’ A note of anxiety came into her voice.”
Carl and Dermot are the main characters supported by others who all have connections with each other. The story follows each of the characters and then are links them together as they impact on the on Carl, the house in Maida Vale and his relationship with Dermot. The biggest fault for me is that some of the characters’ stories descend into farce that was reminiscent of the actor Brian Rix and not a crime novel. Was I supposed to laugh or throw the book in the reject pile?
This is the final book by Ruth Rendell, who is probable best known as the author of the Inspector Wexford novels. While I thought it was a better book at the end than I had expected it is probably not the best of her output, nevertheless a good enough read. For me 3stars. I am usually somewhat stingy!
Throughout the story Carl is increasing in conflict with himself and his conscience and his lodger Dermot McKinnon, this impinges on his writing and his relationship with his girlfriend. Eventually leading his being alone and increasing ill at ease. His girlfriend Nicola comments: “‘I don’t believe you’ve any food in the house,’ ‘I think you’ve lost weight and you can’t afford that.’ A note of anxiety came into her voice.”
Carl and Dermot are the main characters supported by others who all have connections with each other. The story follows each of the characters and then are links them together as they impact on the on Carl, the house in Maida Vale and his relationship with Dermot. The biggest fault for me is that some of the characters’ stories descend into farce that was reminiscent of the actor Brian Rix and not a crime novel. Was I supposed to laugh or throw the book in the reject pile?
This is the final book by Ruth Rendell, who is probable best known as the author of the Inspector Wexford novels. While I thought it was a better book at the end than I had expected it is probably not the best of her output, nevertheless a good enough read. For me 3stars. I am usually somewhat stingy!
July 1, 2017
En réalité, plutôt 2.5 que 3. Bien sûr, Rendell, c'est toujours bien mais l'histoire est un peu trop "éparse". J'ai lu les 3/4 sans vraiment me passionner, je ne voyais pas trop l'intérêt de certains passages. La fin, par contre m'a grandement plue.
December 2, 2015
Ruth Rendell goes out with a whimper not a bang :-(
Ruth Rendell wrote some fantastic books: the Wexford series, her Barbara Vine books such as Asta's Book, The Chimney Sweeper's Boy, The Blood Doctor and A Fatal Inversion.
Sadly her final book, Dark Corners is not in the same league. It is not even close. She manages to make every single character in her book loathesome, with the exception of the father who spends his days travelling aimlessly around London for free, using his over-60 bus pass. For a book to "work", I think there msut be at least one character who is likeable - or at least whom you love to hate. Not so in this book.
There are two plot threads which are built up as if they are going to be significant and which then fizzle out, unresolved. The first is the kidnap: we never find out who the kidnappers are, why they did so, why they abandoned their victim; there was a hint that they may have kidnapped the wrong victim, but this is only the victim's supposition and we never find out who the real victim should have been. And the victim tried to pretend that it had never happened, and her mother never even noticed or commented on her very dishevelled appearance or her preoccupation after her release. The second abandoned plot thread is the bomb on the bus. We never find out who did it or why; its only purpose is to make the father famous for fifteen minutes. Indeed the father's character serves no real purpose. I thought he was going to see one of the murders/attacks from the top deck of the bus, but this plot opportunity was missed.
And the ending was exceptionally weak - a real "is that it?" moment.
So sad that this should have been Ruth Rendell's final book. I'll stick with her earlier books, many of which were exceptinally good.
Ruth Rendell wrote some fantastic books: the Wexford series, her Barbara Vine books such as Asta's Book, The Chimney Sweeper's Boy, The Blood Doctor and A Fatal Inversion.
Sadly her final book, Dark Corners is not in the same league. It is not even close. She manages to make every single character in her book loathesome, with the exception of the father who spends his days travelling aimlessly around London for free, using his over-60 bus pass. For a book to "work", I think there msut be at least one character who is likeable - or at least whom you love to hate. Not so in this book.
There are two plot threads which are built up as if they are going to be significant and which then fizzle out, unresolved. The first is the kidnap: we never find out who the kidnappers are, why they did so, why they abandoned their victim; there was a hint that they may have kidnapped the wrong victim, but this is only the victim's supposition and we never find out who the real victim should have been. And the victim tried to pretend that it had never happened, and her mother never even noticed or commented on her very dishevelled appearance or her preoccupation after her release. The second abandoned plot thread is the bomb on the bus. We never find out who did it or why; its only purpose is to make the father famous for fifteen minutes. Indeed the father's character serves no real purpose. I thought he was going to see one of the murders/attacks from the top deck of the bus, but this plot opportunity was missed.
And the ending was exceptionally weak - a real "is that it?" moment.
So sad that this should have been Ruth Rendell's final book. I'll stick with her earlier books, many of which were exceptinally good.
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