The Vault
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Chief Inspector Reg Wexford has retired. He and his wife, Dora, now divide their time between Kingsmarkham and a coachhouse in Hampstead, belonging to their actress daughter, Sheila.Wexford takes great pleasure in his books, but, for all the benefits of a more relaxed lifestyle, he misses being the law.But
… More »Chief Inspector Reg Wexford has retired. He and his wife, Dora, now divide their time between Kingsmarkham and a coachhouse in Hampstead, belonging to their actress daughter, Sheila.Wexford takes great pleasure in his books, but, for all the benefits of a more relaxed lifestyle, he misses being the law.But a chance meeting in a London street, with someone he had known briefly as a very young police constable, changes everything. Tom Ede is now a Detective Superintendent, and is very keen to recruit Wexford as an adviser on a difficult case.The bodies of two women and a man have been discovered in the old coal hole of an attractive house in St John's Wood. None carries identification. But the man's jacket pockets contain a string of pearls, a diamond and a sapphire necklace as well as other jewellery valued in the region of £40,000. It is not a hard decision for Wexford. He is intrigued and excited by the challenge, and, in the early stages, not really anticipating that this new investigative role will bring him into physical danger.
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Add a CommentI found this a bit dull to be honest and it seemed to me that Rendell can't bring herself to leave Wexford behind so we now get Wexford as a private detective. Also I would recommend re-reading Rendell's A Sight For Sore Eyes first as this is a sort of sequel.
Retired from the police force, Wexford is asked to help work on a murder case involving 3 dead bodies found in an underground coal hole beside a house when the owner wanted to dig a basement for his house. We tediously follow not only the clues that Wexford leads us to as he solves the crime, but we also endure the unfortunate events surrounding his older daughter's love life. Many interviews with many characters whose interactions only become evident at the end and the continual reminder of Wexford's retirement status decreased the reading enjoyment for me. Even Wexford himself is tired of it all and yearns for a holiday to get away from it all. Hence my 3 stars for a top notch novelist's mystery.
Not one of her best. I guess she's a grande dame of the crime writing establishment but someone needs to be more stringent with editing.