36: The Minotaur by Barabara Vine

I can't believe I didn't know Ruth Rendell wrote under the name Barbara Vine. Though why I should have known, I'm not sure.

I first discovered Ruth Rendell when my mum used to watch Ruth Rendell mysteries. As is typical of most crime shows set in modern times, Ruth Rendell's mysteries always seemed to have what I'll call dark twists. Let's just say they're not exactly the sort of thing I feel comfortable watching with my parents. Probably for that reason, Ruth Rendell isn't my favorite mystery writer. But when I read a reivew of Minotaur, I was intrigued. I logged on to amazon where Minotaur is alternately described as "a sort of blend of Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Trollope" and Brontesque.

I gobbled this book up in less than a day and was delighted to see that Rendell as Vine has written several other novels. In fact, I see that many of Minotaur's reviewers call this one of Vine's weaker books. Let's hope they're right, because I can't wait to read more!