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perednia's review against another edition
3.0
Ruth Rendell is, along with P.D. James, the jewel in the crown of British crime fiction after the first Golden Age. Her Inspector Wexford novels, stand-alones and deliciously creepy tales written as Barbara Vine have garnered fans and favorable critical attention for decades.
In recent years, she has enlarged her range to include stand-alone novels taking place on various London streets. THE ST. ZITA SOCIETY takes place among the posh and would-be posh. Set on Hexam Place, it's an "Upstairs, Downstairs"-style novel in which those in service, and those roped into doing for others, gather at the local.
June has been lady's maid for more than 60 years to Princess Susan, who came by the title from a long-abandoned Italian prince. June forms the St. Zita Society, which she says is named after the patron saint of domestic servants, as a way for the downstairs group to congregate, discuss issues and perhaps go to a show.
Although most of the others don't mind congregating at the local, they're not that interested in any type of society or causing trouble. It's not that they're cowardly. It's that most of them are too wrapped up in themselves or the onus their employers place upon them.
Take Henry, for example. Lord Studley's valet is sleeping with both Lord Studley's wife and his daughter.
June has to walk the dog but her employer, the princess, is taken with June's nephew, Rad, who acts on a TV soap. Preston Still's wife also is taken with Rad. But it's the Stills' au pair, Montserrat, who has to let him in and out off the house across from where June and the princess live. At least Preston and Lucy Still's children are diligently cared for by Rabia, whose traditional Muslim father wants the young widow to get married again. But Rabia also lost her children and Thomas is such a lovely baby who adores her. Thea isn't in service but her landlords seem to think she works for them without pay.
Then there's Dr. Jefferson. His driver, Jimmy, doesn't work too hard but he does put up with Dex the gardener. Dex killed someone once because a voice commanded him to get rid of that evil spirit. Most people don't have faces to Dex, but there is the voice of Peach, sometimes found by dialing random numbers on his mobile, to guide him.
Rendell sets up these dominoes and, with one push, sets them all into inevitable motion. The rest of the novel is a delightfully devilish discourse on how some people get away with things, how some people only seem to get away with things and how some people are doomed.
Along the way, Rendell is as great as ever with her wicked ability to skewer those who need it, add just the right touches of pathos and the occasional moment of genuine sweetness.
If the set-up seems to take a bit, hang on. It's worth it when those dominoes begin to fall.
In recent years, she has enlarged her range to include stand-alone novels taking place on various London streets. THE ST. ZITA SOCIETY takes place among the posh and would-be posh. Set on Hexam Place, it's an "Upstairs, Downstairs"-style novel in which those in service, and those roped into doing for others, gather at the local.
June has been lady's maid for more than 60 years to Princess Susan, who came by the title from a long-abandoned Italian prince. June forms the St. Zita Society, which she says is named after the patron saint of domestic servants, as a way for the downstairs group to congregate, discuss issues and perhaps go to a show.
Although most of the others don't mind congregating at the local, they're not that interested in any type of society or causing trouble. It's not that they're cowardly. It's that most of them are too wrapped up in themselves or the onus their employers place upon them.
Take Henry, for example. Lord Studley's valet is sleeping with both Lord Studley's wife and his daughter.
June has to walk the dog but her employer, the princess, is taken with June's nephew, Rad, who acts on a TV soap. Preston Still's wife also is taken with Rad. But it's the Stills' au pair, Montserrat, who has to let him in and out off the house across from where June and the princess live. At least Preston and Lucy Still's children are diligently cared for by Rabia, whose traditional Muslim father wants the young widow to get married again. But Rabia also lost her children and Thomas is such a lovely baby who adores her. Thea isn't in service but her landlords seem to think she works for them without pay.
Then there's Dr. Jefferson. His driver, Jimmy, doesn't work too hard but he does put up with Dex the gardener. Dex killed someone once because a voice commanded him to get rid of that evil spirit. Most people don't have faces to Dex, but there is the voice of Peach, sometimes found by dialing random numbers on his mobile, to guide him.
Rendell sets up these dominoes and, with one push, sets them all into inevitable motion. The rest of the novel is a delightfully devilish discourse on how some people get away with things, how some people only seem to get away with things and how some people are doomed.
Along the way, Rendell is as great as ever with her wicked ability to skewer those who need it, add just the right touches of pathos and the occasional moment of genuine sweetness.
If the set-up seems to take a bit, hang on. It's worth it when those dominoes begin to fall.
daphne538's review against another edition
1.0
This.was.horrible.
I had to read this book for an assignment for school. And I'm never reading it again!
This book was so extremely boring I could almost not make it through the first 5 pages. And there were sooo many characters like how do you expect me to remember all these people??
I hope that not all thrillers are like this but I'm certainly never again reading a book of Ruth Rendell.
I had to read this book for an assignment for school. And I'm never reading it again!
This book was so extremely boring I could almost not make it through the first 5 pages. And there were sooo many characters like how do you expect me to remember all these people??
I hope that not all thrillers are like this but I'm certainly never again reading a book of Ruth Rendell.
lbrex's review against another edition
4.0
I was reminded that I had this book shelved somewhere in my department when I read an article comparing the treatment of LGBT characters in the works of the recently deceased P. D. James and Ruth Rendell. So I decided to check this out for some end-of-the-semester relief. This was really a fun, distracting read, as it traced the lives, sexual habits, and murders of a group of servants and residents living in Hexam Place, a fictional square in London. The reviews on here seem scored a bit low...I guess maybe folks feel that other Rendell books are better? Still, worth a look, especially for fun.
jakobmarleymommy's review against another edition
2.0
This is the second Ruth Rendell book I've read. I found the first to be rather dull, so I'm not really sure why I decided to read a second one. This book followed the same formula as the first; introducing a host of slightly odd characters who live in the same neighborhood. These neighbors have varying degrees of interactions with one another, and eventually one of them is murdered.
The plot was amazingly predictable, the characters dull and unlikable, and the plot moved at a snails pace.
Pure stubbornness made me see this book through to the end. I've given Ms. Rendell her second chance; there won't be a third.
The plot was amazingly predictable, the characters dull and unlikable, and the plot moved at a snails pace.
Pure stubbornness made me see this book through to the end. I've given Ms. Rendell her second chance; there won't be a third.
cancermoononhigh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
sireno8's review against another edition
4.0
RR is the best. I don't know how she continues to write such consistently brilliant material. This one once again shows her mastery of intricate plots set tight knit communities where obsession rules and every action triggers a reaction often leading to even more dire actions. Reminded me vaguely of THE LAKE OF DARKNESS which was the first book of hers I read and made me a lifelong fan.
marystevens's review against another edition
4.0
An upstairs downstairs view of an upscale block in present day London. The St Zita Society comprises all the help on the street. Ruth Rendell has the most marvelous off hand way of making insane and sinister and saintly people seem perfectly normal and reasonable.
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2239374.html[return][return]The Saint Zita Society features at its core those who work for the rich in one particular exclusive street, mostly immigrants from various parts of Europe and the Commonwealth. A rich white man kills his wife's black lover, perhaps accidentally, and though only the au pair knows about it, the secret tears apart the social microcosm of the street's inhabitants (again, it's a crime novel rather than a mystery novel - we can see that first death coming from miles away, and the interest is in seeing how everyone copes, or fails to). There is a gratuitous psychopath, who I found a bit of a distraction in plot terms, but otherwise it is well done and well observed.
anna_hepworth's review against another edition
I have a love-hate fascination with Rendell's writing. Sadly, this was on the 'hate' end of the spectrum, with a cast of unloveable and very literary characters, and an incomprehensibly wooden plot line. I got about 2/3 of the way through, and then skipped forwards a few times, and then gave up.