The Bridesmaid

Superb and suspenseful story that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the night. About a situation when you fall in love with someone and find out too late that your life along with innocent others will never be the same again. This was my first Ruth Rendell thriller and cannot wait to read more of her work.

One of Rendell's greatest gifts is her ability to show what happens when a normal person crosses paths with a sociopath. The hero has no idea what he's met up with because he's too decent to think that way; he and his girlfriend talk past each other in the most chilling way. It's like watching a slow-motion train wreck. I couldn't disagree more with the reviewer who says the ending is dull and disappointing; it's the most dramatic and horrifying ending I've ever read. The last three pages are a tour de force of writing; it just doesn't get any better. "They [the police] would come for this, though. They'd come for this." Gives me chills every time!Do yourself a favor--read it!

Ruth Rendell's books always pack a punch. Or several. And in "The Bridesmaid," Rendell stays true to form, basically. While most Rendell fans recognize her as the author of the fascinating Inspector Wexford series, she also writes other thrillers. She also writes even chillier thrillers under the name of Barbara Vine. Regardless of which nom de plume she uses, it is difficult to find a writer who can explore--even reveal--the psychological pathways with the effectiveness of she demonstrates.Philip Wardman, destined it seems, meets the mysterious Senta Pelham, an actress, most childlike, at Philip's sister's wedding. Theirs is a relationship that is made in you-know-where. Senta's affections do not come without a price. To "prove" their love, she insists that each of them must kill someone. Not your everyday pre-nuptial agreement, to be sure, and certainly not a characteristic of the genteel English society circles they live in!Certainly, "The Bridesmaid" is a disturbing work and Rendell sees to it that the reader is not comfortable with the situation. The author's craft and technique are clearly demonstrated here and reverberate with a force that is both chilling and sensational. Queasy too. An uncomfortable--yet powerful--read. ([email protected])

Not since Rendell's Master of the Moor have I read a more disturbing, more gripping book by her. Senta Pelham is an enigma; beautiful, amoral, and as not-of-this-world as the statue of the goddess Flora she resembles. The narrative teases us by resisting closure all the way till the last five or so pages; we are never sure about the veracity of Senta Pelham's stories, and like her victim/boyfriend Philip Wardman we keep hoping that the stories are fantasies, especially when these claims to truth become more frightening. If you've never read Ruth Rendell, start with this one. You'll be hooked.

NOT MANY THINGS TO SAY ABOUT SUCH A MAGNIFICENT BOOK.THE MORE YOU READ IT THE MORE YOU LIKE IT.YOU WILL THANK ME FOR SUGGESTING IT WHEN YOU READ IT.

Rendell again gets inside the heart and mind of her characters, she knows from the inside out what its like to be obsessed, and shows the gradual pulling-in of peoples lives around their obsession, until, as always the faint whisper of both madness and danger hovers in the air. She is the most marvelous chronicaler of the lives of the disaffected, the too intense, and the ones struggling to make more out of life than just fish and chips, and beer on Saturday nights, coupled with a quick roll in the hay with the nearest available soul. Her compassion towards her characters shines through every book!