The Babes in the Wood
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 First edition cover |
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| Author | Ruth Rendell |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Inspector Wexford #19 |
| Genre(s) | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Hutchinson |
| Released | 2002 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 323 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0091794463 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | Adam and Eve and Pinch Me |
| Followed by | The Rottweiler |
The Babes in the Wood is a 2002 novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. It is the 19th entry in the popular Inspector Wexford series, and is set, as usual, in Kingsmarkham. The novel received somewhat of a luke-warm response from both fans and newcomers alike, and is thought of by many as one of the weaker novels in the series. This view, however, is by no means universal: when the book was published in the US in 2003, it was selected by the New York Times as one of the top five crime novels of the year.
[edit] Plot summary
There hadn't been anything like this kind of rain in living memory. The River Brede had burst its banks, and not a single house in the valley had escaped flooding. Even where Wexford lived, higher up in Kingsmarkham, the waters had nearly reached the mulberry tree in his once immaculate garden. The Subaqua Task Force could find no trace of Giles and Sophie Dade, let alone the woman who was babysitting them while their parents are away, Joanna Troy. But Mrs Dade was convinced her children were dead. This was an investigation which would call into question many of Wexford's assumptions about the way people behaved, including his own family...
