From Doon with Death

Dazzling psychological suspense. Razor-sharp dialogue. Plots that catch and hold like a noose. These are the hallmarks of crime legend Ruth Rendell, “the best mystery writer in the English-speaking world” (Time magazine). From Doon with Death, now in a striking new paperback edition, is her classic debut novel -- and the book that introduced one of the most popular sleuths of the twentieth century. There is nothing extraordinary about Margaret Parsons, a timid housewife in the quiet town of Kingsmarkham, a woman devoted to her garden, her kitchen, her husband. Except that Margaret Parsons is dead, brutally strangled, her body abandoned in the nearby woods.

First sentence: 'I THINK YOU'RE GETTING THINGS A BIT OUT OF proportion, Mr Parsons,' Burden said.

Year

1998

Language

English

Publisher

Ballantine

Editions

25

Pages

186

ISBN

9780091742867

Data source: Wikidata