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A Novel
by Ruth Rendell
A spectacularly compelling story of blackmail, murders both accidental and opportunistic, and of one life's fateful unraveling from Ruth Rendell—"one of the most remarkable novelists of her generation" (People)—writing at her most acute and mesmerizing.
When his father dies, Carl Martin inherits a house in an increasingly rich and trendy London neighborhood. Carl needs cash, however, so he rents the upstairs room and kitchen to the first person he interviews, Dermot McKinnon. That was colossal mistake number one. Mistake number two was keeping his father's bizarre collection of homeopathic "cures" that he found in the medicine cabinet, including a stash of controversial diet pills. Mistake number three was selling fifty of those diet pills to a friend, who is then found dead.
Dermot seizes a nefarious opportunity and begins to blackmail Carl, refusing to pay rent, and creepily invading Carl's space. Ingeniously weaving together two storylines that finally merge in one shocking turn, Ruth Rendell describes one man's spiral into darkness—and murder—as he falls victim to a diabolical foe he cannot escape.
This is masterful storytelling that gets under your skin, brilliant psychological suspense from Ruth Rendell. "No one surpasses Ruth Rendell when it comes to stories of obsession, instability, and malignant coincidence" (Stephen King).
"Starred Review. Everything that makes Rendell's work so memorable—gothic but believable people and plots,simple yet vivid prose, peerlessly rendered settings, and fear and despair as the twin 'parents' of violence—is in evidence here." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. A worthy addition to the canon... Rendell once again exhumes the depths of obsession and traces each step in a sympathetic character's downward spiral... This is stunningly suspenseful and often downright creepy." - Booklist
"A spectacularly creepy and macabre tale from Rendell." - Entertainment Weekly
"Dark Corners, Ruth Rendell's final mystery novel, ranks among her best… As a longtime fan of Rendell's, I naturally wanted to give Dark Corners a positive review, and luckily it deserves one…Let me finish by saluting the late Baroness Rendell in the proper British fashion: Well done, my lady." - The Washington Post
"[A] deliciously diabolical tale on a favorite theme: one person's devouring of a weaker person's identity…Carl may be sitting pretty, but he's just the sort of weak-willed milquetoast Rendell enjoys tearing into little bits." - The New York Times Book Review
"The late Ruth Rendell put a permanent stamp on crime fiction with 65 novels of screw-twisting suspense, written under both her own name and the pseudonym Barbara Vine. The posthumously published Dark Corners is a worthy final entry in her body of work." - The Wall Street Journal
"Dark Corners provides lovers of intimate and intelligent fiction with a final bequest from a writer who ranks among the best and whose body of work likely will be read and re-read for many years."- The Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Rendell's delicious, quasi tongue-in-cheek atmosphere is so finely-tuned and tightly wound that it manages to be menacing and mesmerizing while harboring a nearly over-the-top element of the melodramatic." - The Boston Globe
"I'm so sad that there will never be another new Ruth Rendell mystery to look forward to, but I'm so glad she had this last one in the pipeline…these standalones full of uneasy menace will all be missed." - The Charlotte Observer
"Every aspect of Ruth Rendell's dark art is splendidly showcased in Dark Corners. One can't say she saved the best for last, because a great many books by Ms. Rendell and her alter ego Barbara Vine are so splendid, but it's among the best. You won't put it down. I loved it." - Stephen King
This information about Dark Corners was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ruth Rendell was born February 17, 1930 in Essex, England. During her 50-year writing career she wrote over 60 novels, both under her own name and using her pseudonym, Barbara Vine.
Rendell was credited with bringing a social and psychological dimension to crime fiction, which led to considerable commercial and success and critical praise. Many of her books were were adapted for both movies and television, especially including the Inspector Wexford series.
Rendell was awarded three Edgars for best novel by the Mystery Writers of America, as well as the Grand Master Award. In England, the Crime Writers' Association honored her with two Gold Dagger awards for best novel, a Silver Dagger, and a Diamond Dagger for outstanding contribution to the genre. She lived in London.
Ruth ...
Name Pronunciation
Ruth Rendell: ren-DELL
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