Death Notes

Inspector Wexford #11

by Ruth Rendell

Sir Manuel Camargue, yesterday one of the most celebrated musicians of his time, today floats face down in the lake near his sprawling English country house. The consensus is accidental death -- but Inspector Wexford knows the stench of murder most foul when he smells it. Particularly in the company of two suspects -- one, the victim's fiancee, who is too young to be true, the other his daughter who may be no kin and even less kind . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective, British Literature, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

A.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.

Reviews

[Barbara K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another month, another Wexford. And a good one it is!

It pays off when reading this series to pay attention to detail. Rendell wastes few words, even when it seems she's simply adding a bit of local color or building out a personality. These places or people might not be important to the plot, but they very well could be. And in a book like this, where the plot is deliciously complicated, we are given plenty of diversions to lure us away from those incidentals. When they re-emerge and are pulled together at the end we have no choice but to say, "Well done again, Ms. Rendell! You hid nothing from us, and yet the conclusion is not what we'd expected."

Of course, for most of the book Wexford didn't put it together either, so I suppose we are to be forgiven.

One comment: the audiobook version I listened to (from Audible) was narrated by Charles Kay. Sadly, Mr. Kay's American accents are appalling. It would seem that at times he was trying to do something regional, but since they didn't even really sound American to begin with, that didn't work. I noticed that there is another version narrated by Davina Porter, who is always excellent. I recommend that you pick that one if you have the choice.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wexford's The Return Of*
Review of the Arrow Books paperback edition (2010) of the original Hutchinson (UK) hardcover (1981).

So shall you hear
[Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,
Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters,]
Of deaths put on by cunning and forc'd cause,
And, in this upshot, purposes mistook
Fall’n on th’ inventors’ heads. All this can I
Truly deliver. - excerpt from Shakespeare's Hamlet Act 5 Scene 2, the source of the title and used as the epigraph for 'Put On By Cunning', except that Rendell drops the part in [square brackets].

[4.5 rounded down]
This book continued my 2023 binge read / re-read of Ruth Rendell and this is the 11th of the Inspector Wexford series. I’m trying to read the Wexfords in chronological order but finished #12 and had to backtrack for #11, as it had been difficult to source until a single library copy arrived.

A famous local musician, Sir Manuel Camargue, dies by apparent accidental causes on the grounds of his estate in Kingsmarkham. The elderly Camargue was about to remarry a devoted fan and would have changed his will accordingly, but he died before the wedding could occur. His estranged daughter suddenly reappears to claim the inheritance. But according to the fiancée, Camargue had met the daughter just before his death and realized she was not whom she said she was, and that she even admitted it!

Wexford and his assistant Burden have to unravel the truth of the identity of the daughter and also determine whether Camargue's death was really an accident or was it murder?


Cover image for the original Hutchinson (UK) hardcover edition from 1981. Image sourced from Wikipedia. By May be found at the following website: https://bookfever.com/book/71118/Rendell-Ruth-PUT-ON-BY-CUNNING-signed-first-edition/., Fair use, Link.

This was a superb Wexford and the only thing that kept it out of solid 5 star territory was that it was perhaps a bit too convoluted and that it relied on at least one very bizarre occurrence / coincidence.

Favourite Quote

Getting at last into their car, he remarked to Burden – apropos of what the inspector had no idea – that sometimes these cogitations still amazed the troubled midnight and the noon's repose. - Wexford quotes from T.S. Eliot's La Figlia che Piange (The Weeping Daughter) from Prufrock and Other Observations(1917).

Footnote
* I was going to title this 'Wexford's Return of Martin Guerre', but then wondered how well the classic 16th century historical case of imposture is known. You can read about it at Wikipedia. Note: The historical case is not a spoiler for the Rendell book as the fates are completely different.

Trivia and Links
Put On By Cunning was adapted for television as part of the Ruth Rendell / Inspector Wexford Mysteries TV series (1987-2000) as Season 4 Episode 9 in 1990 with actor George Baker as Inspector Wexford. You can watch the entire episode on YouTube here.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery. Some good reveals. Wexford gets to go to California and the South of France investigating what he thinks about s a conspiracy. To quote a song ‘Girls just want to have fun.’

The death of an elderly flautist who is about to get married to a younger woman appears an accident. But the revelation that the daughter he met after 19 years estrangement might not be his begins an obsession with Wexford that leads him to California.

The story and plot structure is brilliant. If only my German had been better I might have solved the mystery of who the murderer was quicker. This is Rendell at her best.

SPOILERS AHEAD

John Fassbender was the murderer. Killing the old man and then Natalie the daughter for refusing to marry him. Getting himself arrested for burgling the house to not be a suspect for the old man was cunning. Wexford arrests him in France where he is trying to marry the niece next in line for the fortune.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death Notes by Ruth Rendell.

To say I'm almost speechless after reading this unparalleled in excellence mystery is being truthful. R.R. has won over 25 awards/honors for her writing. In my opinion this author could be her own golden age of mysteries...she's just that good. The depth of the writing goes far beyond the norm or the expected outcome in a mystery. The author's endeavor to bring the reader into not only the plot but the lives and environment of all the characters involved portrays the author sincerely enjoying her craft.

Inspector Wexford has become aware of the accidental drowning of the world famous British flutist extraordinaire, Sir Manuel Camargue. The drowning took place just down the lane from his home in the frozen lake. That same lane and the same nightly walk he had trodden so many, many times before while walking his dog, Nancy. So why after all these years would he suffer an accidental drowning.
If you are searching for a challenging mystery of intelligence with the pleasure of being an avid reader...you can't find another author with more credentials that deliver.

[Felisa Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Inspector Wexford mysteries, though the solution to the murder is a bit too intricate to be actually satisfying.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

We fall in love with Manuel Camargue in the very first chapter, and then, naturellement, he is murdered. I don't think this is a spoiler because the build-up is suspicious from the beginning, you just know something bad is going to happen to him, he's too dear. The murder factor is also clear.
But then things get extremely complex, satisfyingly so, with a character we love to hate who ends up...oops, that would be spoiling.
A little trip to California and another to the south of France, and a number of visits to a weird Kingsmarkham "Ugandan" restaurant decorated in polyethylene, and all is wrapped up satisfactorily. The middle is not quite satisfactorily connected with the end, or maybe it was me, but I'm not going back to figure out what I missed...
An OK read, but at the beginning I expected more...it is fun to see that Burden has metamorphosed into a culture maven, under the influence of his second wife...

[Cybercrone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't often accuse Rendell of trying too hard (or anything else negative, for that matter) but this book does.
The plot, theories and characters get so convoluted at points that I would have loved to see the filing system it took to keep it all coming straight in the end.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Around the World of Crime and Mystery
1981
Cast - 3: Wexford in fine form. Sir Manuel Camargue, musician, isn't around very long. I don't much remember anyone else other than a long - lost daughter, Natalie Arno.
Atmosphere - 4: Rainy England vs heavy traffic in California. Seems like a missed opportunity for contrasts. THEN, A nice trip to southern France saves the day, turning this into a globe-trotting crime.
Crime - 3: Corpse floats in a lake.
Investigation - 3: A conspiracy widens, then Rendell jumps the shark.
Resolution - 2: Too easy to solve half-way through, even though Rendell tries to side track us.
Summary - 3.0: Solid but not outstanding. More story/drama than a mystery, really.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have underestimated Ruth Rendell. I assumed she was along the same lines as P. D. James—dark, dreary, tense, fatalistic, grim, English, rain rain go away. I didn’t know that that was only one thing she could do. This book is bright, brilliant, tricky, and warm—not to mention psychologically real. There’s a lovely, funny, affectionate series of scenes between Wexford and his wife in California that took me by surprise even more than the ending of the book. I am now convinced that she is the real heir of Agatha Christie, and maybe even Dorothy Sayers. I’ll let you know after I finish the 47 others of her books I haven’t yet read. Yay!

P. S. The American title of this book means absolutely nothing; the English title hints at the overall theme of the book: Put On by Cunning.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read many Rendell books, both from the Wexford series and stand-alone, and this is the first disappointment. It is #11 of the 24 Wexford books, and was published in 1981. A few years later and the appearance of DNA testing would have made the whole plot meaningless.

As it is, the plot appears to be a straightforward police procedural dealing with a woman who presents as the long-lost heir to a famous and wealthy man. There are many characters introduce along the way, and they are sometimes referred to much later in the book without context, leaving the reader confused. It's a short book, but there's a lot to it.

Being a Rendell book, there is a plot twist at the end, a twist so odd that Wexford must go on many pages to explain it all to his sidekick, Burden. Also, Wexford claims to have had much of the mystery cleared up for him the night before the explanation is given, despite that coming days after the arrest.

I read the Pantheon Press edition, published in the US in 1981. It's awful and makes the book even worse. It reads as if Rendell polished the book off quickly, counting on the publishers to correct some mistakes, and then they didn't. She twice refers to the time difference between California and England, and each time gets it wrong, but by different amounts. "Dessert" is spelled "desert." The sound of Wexford's supervisor chewing him out is described as coming from the mouthpiece of his phone (no wonder he was taken aback).

This is the first time I've been unable to recommend a Rendell book.

[Sanjay Sanghoee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Rendell is widely regarded as one of the premier English mystery writers of the 70s and 80s, and I can see why. Death Notes is my first book by her and my first introduction to Chief Inspector Wexford, more of a Columbo than Sherlock Holmes but with equally strong effect. The story revolves around a straightforward accident by drowning of a famous flautist (flutist in America), which Wexford starts to realize might actually be murder. The various characters that dance in and out of this drama are sketched lightly by with emotional depth by Rendell, and the plot is just complicated enough to keep your interest. There are some good twists that Rendell foists on the reader with skill and the ending is definitely unexpected. Having said that, I want to read a few more Wexford mysteries before deciding whether Rendell's books are truly exceptional or just good murder mysteries.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intricate and gorgeous as all of her books are, this Ruth Rendell/Inspector Wexford novel is full of memorable characters and takes us to California (imagine!) and the south of France, in addition to spending lots of time in Kingsmarkham. A world-reknowned flautist is dead, but was he murdered? Is his estranged daughter really who she says she is? Who is telling the truth? Wexford, bless him, becomes obsessed with learning what has really happened.

It turns and twists and turns again; the end, as always, offers a surprising resolution. It's delightful, vintage Rendell.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoofdinspecteur Wexford en Burden vechten tegen de bierkaai. Ze zijn overtuigd dat er een moord werd gepleegd en kennen de dader, maar ze worden overal tegengewerkt, tot er van hogerhand zelfs een uitdrukkelijk bevel komt om het onderzoek te stoppen.
Ruth Rendell heeft hiermee een erg frustrerend boek afgeleverd. Tot, zoals gebruikelijk, de dit keer wel heel erg verrassende ontknoping.
De cover geeft de moordscène weer, erg gestileerd weliswaar. Tegen een winters sneeuwlandschap zien we een lege dikke winterjas liggen en een eindje verder een Duitse herder lopen.
in de eerste hoofdstukken wordt dit in zijn context geplaatst.
Een oude muzikant van wereldfaam laat zijn hond uit aan een grote, dichtgevroren vijver bij zijn landhuis ver verwijderd van de andere bewoners van de streek. De hond gaat lopen (daar krijgen we nooit een degelijke verklaring voor, ook niet waarom die zijn baas niet komt verdedigen) terwijl de baas het ijs op de vijver stukslaat. Hij is slechtziend en bijna doof, een "bewegende boom" duwt hem onder water waar hij sterft.
Een ongeluk, tot zijn 50-jaar jongere bijna-bruid twijfel komt zaaien bij Wexford. Die start een moordonderzoek. Eerste verdachte is de na negentien jaar teruggekeerde dochter van de vermoorde en zijn uitspraak dat dat zijn dochter niet is.
Wexford en Burden hebben hun verdenkingen maar alle bewijzen zijn tegen hen.
Wexford gaat voor de eerste keer in zijn leven met zijn vrouw op reis naar de Verenigde Staten, niet zo toevallig naar de streek waar de verloren dochter de vorige 19 jaar heeft geleefd.
In Engeland is er een klein groepje betrokkenen, meest familie maar geen erfgenamen van de vermoorde. Sheila, de dochter van Wexford, zal een aktieve rol spelen omdat zij een gevierde actrice is en contacten heeft in de filmwereld die Wexford zelf ontbreken.
Mooi zijn de tegenstellingen tussen het rurale Engeland en het platteland in de Verenigde Staten. Ook het weer, winter in Californië is nog stees warmer dan de zomer in Engeland, zorgt voor een mooi contrast.
Zoals in de eindontknoping zal blijken is dit vooral een verhaal van foutieve uitgangspunten, foute conclusies en foute verdenkingen. Alles, maar dan ook letterlijk alles, blijkt op verkeerde veronderstellingen gebaseerd. Ondanks dat zal Wexford toch de moord oplossen, want die moord is wel degelijk echt.
Dit is misschien wel het vreemdst boek over Wexford dat Rendell geschreven heeft, maar het zet hem wel in een zeer menselijk daglicht.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are numerous reasons to immerse yourself in the Inspector Wexford series if you've not yet done so. Believe it or not, many of those reasons have nothing to do with the plot of the books. Don't misunderstand: The plots are unfailingly excellent. But it's the other stuff--the characterizations, the descriptions, and a writing style that pulls you into the book and keeps you fully engaged and makes this series a timeless classic you can enjoy now or in years to come.

The community where Detective Inspector Wexford operates is not known for exporting celebrities. There are a couple of rare exceptions. One is an aging flutist, and the other is Wexford's daughter, Sheila. Sheila is an actress on a long-running BBC series. She is about to be married as the book opens, and because of the prominent part she plays in the series, she is increasingly recognizable by people in the community and elsewhere.

On a cold January day, someone finds the body of the flutist in a frozen river. It looks as if he toppled in and froze to death. Wexford wonders just how true that is. The dead man had been in a May-December relationship with a mousey girl 50 years his junior. She proved to be clearly in love with the old man. It wasn't about his fame or his money; it was real love for her. But initially, Wexford held her out as a suspect.

But the list of suspects grows longer the more you read. There’s a young woman in town who claims to be the old flute player's daughter. Wexford develops some doubts as to whether she is indeed related to the old man. The girl moves into his house rapidly after his death, and it isn't long before she has sold all the old man's possessions and placed the house for sale.

The plot will take Inspector Wexford from the small English village where he primarily does his business to far-flung places like northern California. You'll experience every upswing and downturn in the investigation, and because of the author's writing style, you will stay with the book with real interest.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first book to read by Ruth Rendell, although she is a prolific mystery writer. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, yet I felt I didn’t really get to know her Inspector Wexford. He is featured in many of her books and as this is number 11 in the series he may be more fully developed in earlier novels. This book explores the mysteries around the death of a retired famous flutist. Was it an accident or was it murder?

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have trained myself to only visit the bookshelves at my local charity shop(thrift shop) when there is a four for a £1 secondhand book deal. And I buy four whether I fancy them or not. I often get the opportunity to discover authors I would not normally come across, and this is one. I have read a Ruth Rendell in the past and it was very dark book which at the time I did not enjoy . This in contrast was an excellent pacey whodunnit with a great twist.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gustoume, pero pareceume unha historia un pouco pobre. O detective Wexford é unha personaxe moi interesante, e a súa filla tamén, pero o resto de protagonistas non me resultaron moi atractivos. Perdinme algo no desenrolo da trama, e certos feitos son algo inverosímiles (ou pouco probábeis)

2'5 sobre 5.

[Roshni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those wheels within wheels books that makes you keep reading.

[Franziska Self Fisken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever crime, clever idea, clever plot as satisfying as an Agatha Christie.

[David]

A lovely little identity twist in this one. People play strange games.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

More about Wexford and his family, which I always like, and Burden seems to have blossomed since the first 2 in the series. But I kind of got lost in the weeds with the many characters and plot lines and what I thought was an unnecessarily complicated resolution to the mystery. Rendell does a great job of making the secondary characters interesting in their description and quirks, tho. I may try one or two more. I did like this better than the Wolf to the Slaughter title.

[Robert Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find all of Rendell's writing engaging. Her observations of her characters are always witty and artfully presented, and the reader never really knows what characters will do, since it seems they are discovering their own capabilities as the story progresses. She delights in mischievous little eccentricities, which often turn into more serious transgressions, and even crimes. This does keep one a bit off-balance, but it also adds an element of suspense to even the most mundane of situations. Very British, very wry, and always spot-on.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A world-renown flautist, Manuel Camargue, is drowned in an icy lake on his estate in Kingsmarkham late one night just before his marriage to a much younger woman. His daughter, Natalie, whom he had not seen in 19 years, had appeared out of nowhere a week before his death, but he swore to his fiancee, Dinah, that the woman who visited him was definitely not his daughter. Now, the same woman who claims to be Natalie has moved into his estate and stands to inherit a not-insignificant amount of money, plus a rather sizable estate and its grounds.

But Chief Inspector Reg Wexford has his suspicions. The sad thing is, he can't prove them. Everyone who could identify Natalie as being who she claims to be does just that. Yet, still, Wexford's instincts, always so lamented by his stodgy boss Chief Constable Griswold (who is described as resembling the late General Charles de Gaulle), aren't dulled.

Then something happens that makes the questions of identity even more pressing than before, and suddenly more lives are on the line. Can Wexford make things come out right, together with his associate, Mike Burden?

So far, in the Wexford series, this is the most ingenious and labyrinthine plot Ruth Rendell's come up with to date. When all is revealed, you'll marvel at Wexford's dedication and willingness to do anything to seek justice while being reminded, as if you needed reminding, what a fierce talent Rendell possesses. She just gets better and better with each novel in the series.

NOTE: The book description here and on Amazon.com makes it sound as though Natalie Camargue comes back to Kingsmarkham 19 years after her father's murder. THIS IS INACCURATE. Her father, Manuel Camargue, HAS NOT SEEN Natalie for 19 years. She returns to Kingsmarkam a week before he is murdered.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second Inspector Wexford book, and I liked it a lot. I like Rendell's writing style, which is calm, thoughtful, and descriptive. The books remind me of some of those British TV police dramas we in the US often see on PBS. I like them too. There is nothing exaggerated or sensational.

Like the other book of hers I've read (Babes in the Woods), it is very complicated. There are lots and lots of characters. I find that I can't keep track of them without an ebook version that I can search quickly when a name pops up that I can't remember -- which is very often. I liked Wexford's excursion to California in the middle.

I predicted the main plot twist, which is revealed about 75% of the way into the book. But I couldn't keep track of all the California characters or sort them out.

There is a plot twist with passports that is similar to one in Babes in the Woods.

I did not like it that an important character is described and mentioned a few times, but we never meet the person. We are never present at any conversations with the person.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom has always extolled the merits of the “Detective Solves Murder Mystery” genre and for many years tried to convince me to share in that passion. Before a trip to South America, I acquiesced and packed Ruth Rendell's "Put on by Cunning" in my luggage. It is therefore with some pangs of filial guilt that I must knock this novel.

This novel is silly. For one, many unnecessary characters and events were included. I imagine that these are designed to act as “decoys” for the reader, but the actual effect is to bore the reader and water down the effect of the “big reveal”. Chief Inspector Wexford also doesn’t always give me the impression that he is all that bright — he often reaches conclusions many pages after it is made blatantly obvious to the reader. It is well-written though, and I have to give it credit for that.

This book did bring back memories of my childhood, watching movies in my country house while my mom read mystery novel after mystery novel. So for its nostalgic value I’m going to round my review up to 3 stars.

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Death Notes" was a bit of a surprise in two ways: I thought I had read all of the Inspector Wexford novels by Ruth Rendell and I found this one to be much less beguiling than any of the others. Rendell or Wexford (or both) seem uncomfortable with the mystery, the death of an elderly flautist, known throughout the world but long retired. The questions is not only one of whodunit but, for a while, whether Sir Manuel Camargue was murdered or had died accidentally. When, as it must, the verdict is returned that it was intentional homicide we are confronted with too many characters and sub-plots for a relatively short book.

I have enjoyed all of the Wexford mysteries until this one and must ask the question whether I simply picked it up at a particularly poor time to get into it.

[Richa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't have much hopes with this book, having inherited and not bought it. I took it up only to feed a curiosity. I was ready to speed read it, skipping pages and then go on to some other 'known' book. Well, I was mistaken.
This book is a very good mystery. Having finished with Agatha Christie's, I found Rendell's style refreshing.
The narrative style, the suspense, the clues, even the detective, was plausible. No 'quirks' here.
A mystery, plain and simple. There wasn't much humor in this one, but I am fine as long as it is a page turner. Which this book was.
There are adequate twists and turns, a proper puzzling feeling, and a curiosity that is sustained till the very end.
Which is simply marvellous!

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Rendell's best Wexford novels - not quite a 5. This is one where the journey is more fun than the mystery of who did it. There were enough red herrings and adventure to keep it fun. Visiting with Wexford is always a delight.

Recently, I happily discovered M. R. James: I can't believe it took me all these years to try his famous ghost stories - fantastic. But what to read next? Inspector Wexford, with his literary aspirations, seemed a nice transition from the Cambridge Don - and he was!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elderly (and famous) flautist drowns just before he is to be married. Was it an accident, or murder? His estranged daughter had recently sought a reconciliation--or had she? Many of the pivotal events turn out to have very simple explanations, and it makes the story very interesting. Intricately written, as always!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death Notes is a short mystery packed with red herrings, dead ends and lose threads, all the elements of a good mystery. Then a realistic twist explains part of the mystery at the end. Somehow, though I claim realism and plausibility make for the best mysteries, I found this disappointing.