by Ruth Rendell
First published 1979
Inspector Wexford discovers a wallet inside a murder victim's handbag. The wallet belongs to Grenville West, a writer who crafts violent melodramas filled with bloodshed and grand passion. Wexford begins hunting for West, but the writer has vanished without a trace. The investigation takes an unexpected turn when a second man named Grenville West surfaces. Now Wexford must untangle which West connects to the murder. Each possibility opens new questions about motive and opportunity. The inspector faces multiple suspects and conflicting scenarios as he works to separate truth from deception. Wexford must determine whether coincidence or calculation brought two Grenville Wests into the same case.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: multiple-suspects, unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th-Century
344 pages · Hardcover · G. K. Hall