Deep Water

I read the Ripley series by Patricia Highsmith many years ago after watching the film adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, set in Italy, which features Tom Ripley, a sociopath on his way to becoming a serial killer. Her novel Deep Water, published in 1957, is a psychological thriller that reveals the domestic drama that existed beneath the upper middle class veneer of mid-century suburban life. Set in a small, close-knit Massachusetts town it tells the story of Vic and Melinda Van Allen who are trapped in a loveless marriage. Ted is an unassuming small publisher whose hobby is raising and mating snails. His wife is younger, attractive, a heavy drinker who is in the habit of having affairs which she flaunts outrageously. His friends can't understand why Vic puts up with her. Beneath the surface though he is murderously angry. At a dinner party he jokes about killing one of Melinda’s former lovers. He is tired of being a pathetic cuckold and decides to do something about it. I found myself rooting for Vic, the psychopath, and compelled to stay up very late to find out where the story would end. This novel has aged well like a very good bottle of wine.