A review by batbones
Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith

5.0

Highsmith's dapper sociopath is a fascinating creature. In this novel it is not opportunity that finds him, but a loose end that he has to return to tie up which turns out to be a more elaborated and knotted affair than he could have anticipated. It was rather nice to find him married; Heloise was not dull, materialistic, opinionated, clever in her own way, not a forced side character at all, and very much like Ripley, who seems for once to express emotions akin(?) to affection. A fascinating point was how often Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream was being mentioned, which led to this reader paying more attention to Ripley's very vivid surroundings, the texture of the narrative that surrounds him and in which he walks. There is more love than most mystery/thriller novels that has been poured into these pages describing the galleries of London, Tom's beautiful country home in Villeperce-sur-Seine, the lavish hotels and elegant living arrangements, the coffee and the lobster sandwiches served by Mme Annette, Tom's housekeeper. No contempt was managed for Tom Ripley, on the contrary he was a quick little marvel, something akin to character-and-mystery-author in one body, laying out the details to prevent detection in another riveting reverse mystery. In the Ripley novels, it seems the murders are only the beginning.