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peterrrrr2's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
malongorose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
bookishsteph1's review against another edition
4.0
Book 57 of 2017 - A Spot of Folly by Ruth Rendell. I gave this one, which is published on October 5th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. .
This was my first time reading anything by one of the queens of crime, Ruth Rendell, and I was very pleasantly surprised by this set of ten and a quarter tales, including stories with themes of crime, murder, hauntings and the end of the world. .
What I found so great about this collection is that the stories are quite dark and dastardly, with every character getting their comeuppance or eloquent ending and that they fail to, as Sophie Hannah writes in the introduction, "make the imaginative leap from knowing what they're capable of to working out that others might be capable of similar immorality". .
Each story is really well written and atmospheric with some twists and turns along the way making them a bit unpredictable and able to elicit a few evil chuckles from me. I do love a dark story with an unhappy ending for particularly unlikeable characters. Speaking of characters, all the cast of these stories were well developed and I didn't feel cheated out of a longer story. Rendell definitely perfected the short story format, which is shown perfectly in the 'quarter' of a story, Never Sleep in a Bed Facing a Mirror, which is only three paragraphs long but works really well. .
If you like Agatha Christie or the short stories of Daphne du Maurier then you should read this one! .
This was my first time reading anything by one of the queens of crime, Ruth Rendell, and I was very pleasantly surprised by this set of ten and a quarter tales, including stories with themes of crime, murder, hauntings and the end of the world. .
What I found so great about this collection is that the stories are quite dark and dastardly, with every character getting their comeuppance or eloquent ending and that they fail to, as Sophie Hannah writes in the introduction, "make the imaginative leap from knowing what they're capable of to working out that others might be capable of similar immorality". .
Each story is really well written and atmospheric with some twists and turns along the way making them a bit unpredictable and able to elicit a few evil chuckles from me. I do love a dark story with an unhappy ending for particularly unlikeable characters. Speaking of characters, all the cast of these stories were well developed and I didn't feel cheated out of a longer story. Rendell definitely perfected the short story format, which is shown perfectly in the 'quarter' of a story, Never Sleep in a Bed Facing a Mirror, which is only three paragraphs long but works really well. .
If you like Agatha Christie or the short stories of Daphne du Maurier then you should read this one! .
kiwi_fruit's review against another edition
4.0
A fine collection of short stories from this prolific crime writer, I enjoyed most of them. I thought the audio version with the different narrators was well done too. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Never Sleep in a Bed Facing a Mirror 2.5 stars
A Spot of Folly 3 stars
The Price of Joy 3.5 stars
The Irony of Hate 3.5 stars
Digby’s Wives 3 stars
The Haunting of Shawley Rectory 3 stars
A Drop Too Much 4 stars
The Thief 3.5 stars
The long Corridor of Time 2 stars
In the Time of his Prosperity 2 stars
Trebuchet 3.5 stars
Never Sleep in a Bed Facing a Mirror 2.5 stars
A Spot of Folly 3 stars
The Price of Joy 3.5 stars
The Irony of Hate 3.5 stars
Digby’s Wives 3 stars
The Haunting of Shawley Rectory 3 stars
A Drop Too Much 4 stars
The Thief 3.5 stars
The long Corridor of Time 2 stars
In the Time of his Prosperity 2 stars
Trebuchet 3.5 stars
maccymacd's review against another edition
4.0
What a shame that Ruth Rendell, along with PD James are no longer with us and therefore cannot release anymore short story collections to have us quaking in our boots. Rendell's stories are terrifying and strikingly articulate in equal measures. Where she got her ideas from I will never know, but I thoroughly recommend her and she has a wonderful imagination.
camerontrost's review against another edition
4.0
Another excellent collection from Ruth Rendell, and her last. Ten and a quarter tales (and that quarter one packs a punch) ranging from good to outstanding. There are several clever suspense stories, naturally enough, but also one of the best ghost stories I've read in quite a while and a memorable apocalyptic tale. If you love Rendell, you'll love this, and if you're not a fan, you probably shouldn't bother reading any of my reviews of suspense fiction.
alexandrabhenry's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. Many of them I would give 5 stars to however one were better than others and so I settled on 4 stars.
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