The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

This is the thread for discussing A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell. Nancy will moderate this thread. A separate thread has been set up for spoiler comments. Enjoy your June!

Hello to everyone who's planning on reading Judgement in Stone!

Just a couple of things:
1) FYI, reading Rendell's standalones might be a bit frustrating because they can be what I call slow burners. But hang in there.

2) Please remember that we have a separate spoiler thread for this book.

Have fun, and enjoy.

I finished reading it this weekend. I liked it. Definitely a slow burn, though.

I'm almost halfway through, should finish next week sometime. I don't mind the slow burn. Rendell is a terrific writer and is developing the characters nicely. It's interesting that she tells us the ending of the book right up front then allows the story to explain how and why things happened the way they did - it reminds me of The Secret History by Donna Tartt in that sense.

aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "I finished reading it this weekend. I liked it. Definitely a slow burn, though."

That's great, aPriL! I'm just rereading it -- two weeks ago I was ill, now the spouse has it so it's crazy here.

RJ from the LBC wrote: "I'm almost halfway through, should finish next week sometime. I don't mind the slow burn. Rendell is a terrific writer and is developing the characters nicely. It's interesting that she tells us th..."

Yes, I agree. She is a master of character development, at least in the standalones, and she has this knack of getting down to what is happening in each major player's psyche. She does that to very good effect here and in her Adam and Eve and Pinch Me, and especially when she's writing as Barbara Vine.

I meant to start this yesterday but

a) my neighborhood is flooded and I have lakes where my front and back yards normally are
b) I'm dealing with a sick spouse and
c) my poor dog is literally on her last legs and my husband and I are beyond stressed, as is my other dog, who has no clue what's happening.

I do not plan to ask myself "what could possibly happen next."

Anyway...

Just made it through chapter 4. So many missteps already that may have changed this family's destiny, and Eunice ... whew!

Nancy wrote: "I meant to start this yesterday but

a) my neighborhood is flooded and I have lakes where my front and back yards normally are
b) I'm dealing with a sick spouse and
c) my poor dog is literally on..."

I'm already ready for 2020 to be over.

Who isn't???😷

I only just realized 2020 stress mean't I am reading much more - I met my reading goal in five months....

I started yesterday. After I put my dog down. We are all taking it pretty.

aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "I only just realized 2020 stress mean't I am reading much more - I met my reading goal in five months...."

I can't read when stressed. I can't focus. I clean or I bake.

Linda wrote: "I started yesterday. After I put my dog down. We are all taking it pretty."

We're at the point of having to make that decision. I'm so sorry, Linda.

Thank you Im sorry for you as well.

Into chapter 9 nine now, where we find out about Joan's background. I almost choked on my coffee with the mention of Elroy Camps of the Epiphany People -- it reminded me immediately of L. Ron Hubbard.

I swear -- these two women, Eunice and Joan ....

Yep, Joan is the wild card in the deck.

Sort of meh, I am finally at the part where the murders happens, approx 80% and I am pretty indifferent towards it. It is not necessarily badly written but it simply is not interesting. Dorothy B Hughes or Tana French, depending upon whether you prefer classics or contemporary would have made this story flow better. April mentioned In Cold Blood in another thread, a true crime book might be a better comparison. It basically recreates a mindless crime in astonishing detail. It understands what made the players tick but because you know how it plays out from the start, it is never gripping.

I will come back here to post once I am done with the book. Anyway a couple of observations - This does not really need a separate spoiler thread because Rendell herself will do all the spoiling you can handle. And this is not really a crime book. I will call it a drama. Calling this a crime book is a bit like calling 12 Angry Men a whodunit, sure murder drives the narratives but these are character studies. Not that genre decides what is good but I am saying this, so you don't go in with the wrong set of expectations.

Aditya wrote: "Sort of meh, I am finally at the part where the murders happens, approx 80% and I am pretty indifferent towards it. It is not necessarily badly written but it simply is not interesting. Dorothy B H..."

I'm finding it quite interesting; then again, I'm more interested in the psychology of it all, as I usually am. I read looking at human nature, and in my opinion, Rendell does this well. We know they're all going to die but the question is one of what is going to be that little spark that explodes everything? What moment do all of these lives turn on?

Aditya wrote: "Sort of meh, I am finally at the part where the murders happens, approx 80% and I am pretty indifferent towards it. It is not necessarily badly written but it simply is not interesting. Dorothy B H..."

Aditya: I am a big fan of Ruth Rendel, but agree that Judgement in Stone is not among her best. Neither is it very typical of her (large) production, as most of her books have excellent plots as well as surprise endings. I do hope that you will give Rendel a second chance.

For this particular book, it may help if you look at it this way: there are bigger questions at work here aside from plot. We know the plot from the start, so right away you know she's focusing elsewhere.

Nancy wrote: "For this particular book, it may help if you look at it this way: there are bigger questions at work here aside from plot. We know the plot from the start, so right away you know she's focusing els..."

It's sublime. Rendell is breaking down all the little factors that led to the crime, rather than presenting it as just one occurrence. There is some subtle commentary on the English social class system as well.

Finished it, Rendell's structure could not support her ambition. She should not have started with the ending, a chronological telling of the story would have been more suspenseful. Though Rendell's characterization is detailed, we don't really get into their heads. It is specially a problem for Eunice. The point where she finally goes from slightly sheltered angry at the world housekeeper to homicidal maniac needed a bit more selling. Lots of smaller things work but on the disappointing side of things.

My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Nancy wrote: "I'm finding it quite interesting; then again, I'm more interested in the psychology of it all, as I usually am. I read looking at human nature, and in my opinion, Rendell does this well. We know they're all going to die but the question is going to be that little spark that explodes everything?..."

I would love to see what you think of it after you are done. I was enjoying it at first too, lots of nice little lines and character building. Joan Smith shoving her apology down other people's throat and feeling superior is a wonderful beat of characterization.

But none of it translated well into the actual murder, that just felt like the characters doing something crazy simply because the book was ending. Ultimately a character driven narrative should not really use people going insane as a character motivation. This is not really a spoiler because someone else might read it as characters being consistent to how they were written thus far but I can't help feel Rendell messed up in that key area of the narrative.

Tone wrote: "Aditya: I am a big fan of Ruth Rendel, but agree that Judgement in Stone is not among her best. Neither is it very typical of her (large) production, as most of her books have excellent plots as well as surprise endings..."

I plan to read Rendell again, I will try one of her Barbara Vine books. I loved some of her insights delivered in an understated manner. How the true eccentrics feel everyone else is odd or how selfishness is not doing what you want but making others do what you want. So I will undoubtedly read one of her other books.

Aditya wrote: "Nancy wrote: "I'm finding it quite interesting; then again, I'm more interested in the psychology of it all, as I usually am. I read looking at human nature, and in my opinion, Rendell does this we..."

I'll comment again tomorrow, after I've read a bit more.

Aditya wrote: "Tone wrote: "Aditya: I am a big fan of Ruth Rendel, but agree that Judgement in Stone is not among her best. Neither is it very typical of her (large) production, as most of her books have excellen..."

I'm pleased that you're not giving up on Rendell - she deserves to be read. The psychological thrillers she has written under her pen name, Barbara Vine, are my personal favourites, but some of her Inspector Wexford books are also well worth reading.

just about finished ... I'm reminded of the phrase folie à deux here.

I'm finally finished with this one. It shouldn't have taken me ten days, but I haven't had too much reading time lately. I'll be making comments in the spoiler thread this afternoon.

Ruth Rendell is a master at dropping hints about what's to come without being overbearing about it. Many writers these days do this in a very obvious way - they're practically winking at the reader, saying, 'please please PLEASE keep reading - trust me, it will pay off.' I couldn't get through The Lying Game, despite liking another book by the same author, for this reason - practically every page had some cryptic allusion to something that would be explained in the future if the reader would just be patient. Rendell does it really well because she doesn't overuse the technique and she doesn't wield the reader's ignorance of what's to come as a weapon

Rob wrote: "Ruth Rendell is a master at dropping hints about what's to come without being overbearing about it. Many writers these days do this in a very obvious way - they're practically winking at the reader..."

I completely agree. Here, I think, she wants to take you to that moment where it all came together like the perfect storm, but sets you a path from the very beginning in getting there. She does this to greatest effect in her A Dark-Adapted Eye (as Barbara Vine).

Nancy wrote: "Rob wrote: "Ruth Rendell is a master at dropping hints about what's to come without being overbearing about it. Many writers these days do this in a very obvious way - they're practically winking a..."

Thanks for the recommendation!