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annenelissen's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
julietejames's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
julie7's review against another edition
4.0
Not usually a lover of short stories but really enjoyed this. Only one tale that I wasn't so keen on.
Tried to guess the twist at end of every story.... I didn't do too badly
Tried to guess the twist at end of every story.... I didn't do too badly
ceeemvee's review against another edition
5.0
Previously, I read Asta’s Book by Barbara Vine, which is a pseudonym used by Ruth Rendell. Asta’s Book was a mystery shrouded in family secrets, with rich and full characters. The plot, with multiple storylines and timespans, was masterfully handled.
This book is even better! It is subtitled Ten and a Quarter New Tales of Murder and Mayhem and each story is suspenseful, with some being downright spine-tingling. There are tales of the supernatural, psychological suspense and outright doom. She gets right to the point with the stories, starting with the first sentence, and as the stories are short, each word serves a purpose.
This was a thrilling read, and I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.
https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/
This book is even better! It is subtitled Ten and a Quarter New Tales of Murder and Mayhem and each story is suspenseful, with some being downright spine-tingling. There are tales of the supernatural, psychological suspense and outright doom. She gets right to the point with the stories, starting with the first sentence, and as the stories are short, each word serves a purpose.
This was a thrilling read, and I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.
https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/
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! .
bronnyb's review against another edition
2.0
I don’t mind short story collections having a theme to them, but this just got repetitive and I very quickly lost interest after the overly long story ‘The Thief’ and skimmed the last few stories
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