The Babes In The Wood

It's been a long time since I read a Ruth Rendell mystery but I felt I needed a diversion. My good friend Chief Inspector Wexford has aged in the interim and I found myself impatient with him in the way younger people lose patience with the old and out of touch. Only I'm not so much younger; he's not yet reached retirement age, after all.Wexford's stodginess is certainly part of the appeal of the series, though.

It rains a lot in this book, buckets and buckets day after day. Two teenagers go missing along with their 30ish caregiver and it is initially assumed that they drowned. Throughout the course of the investigation all sorts of family dysfunction is unveiled, even within Wexford's own family. In fact damp dysfunction permeates. There is a wideranging cast of characters: fundamentalist wackos, an absent minded professor, a dope smoking granny, a female pedophile, a sexually precocious teen, etc. There are also a number of subplots, most interesting is that involving Wexford's daughter. The plot unfolds with just the right number of twists to keep one turning the pages.

Reading this was sort of like putting on a comfortable pair of slippers - a perfect way to unwind in the midst of the hectic holiday season.