Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
München : Goldmann, [1995]. Taschenbuch
279 S.
Description
It's impossible to forget the violent bludgeoning to death of an elderly lady in her home. Even more so when it's your first murder case.Wexford believed he'd solved Mrs Primero's murder fifteen years ago. It was no real mystery. Everyone knew Painter, her odd-job man, had done it. There had never been any doubt in anyone's mind. Until now ...Henry Archery's son is engaged to Painter's daughter. Only Archery can't let the past remain buried. He wants to prove Wexford wrong, and in probing into the lives of the witnesses questioned all those years ago, he stirs up more than old ghosts.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lsh63
This is an early Inspector Wexford, third in the series I believe.
It's the story of Inspector Wexford and Burden's bad attitude when Reverend Avery pays them a visit asking them about a 16 year old murder case which, according to the Inspector, "the right man was hung for it."
The Reverend's son
As is often the case in Ms. Rendell's books, who actually committed the crime is not the primary focus, rather, it is the psychological profiles of the parties involved and the wonderful character devlopment which really tells the true story.
It's the story of Inspector Wexford and Burden's bad attitude when Reverend Avery pays them a visit asking them about a 16 year old murder case which, according to the Inspector, "the right man was hung for it."
The Reverend's son
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wants to marry the murderer's beautiful daughter, but as a clergyman, he is a bit skeptical about her marrying into their family. The girl's mother vehemently denies that her father committed this crime even though all the evidence indicates otherwise.As is often the case in Ms. Rendell's books, who actually committed the crime is not the primary focus, rather, it is the psychological profiles of the parties involved and the wonderful character devlopment which really tells the true story.
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LibraryThing member smik
In many ways this is vintage Rendell. It is nearly as good as Rendell's best, and yet it is only #2 in her Wexford series. And yet it goes back 16 years to when Wexford was new in the job. It was his first investigation on his own.
We had been listening to it in the car, and I had to bring it inside
The Reverend Archery is at first bitterly opposed to his son's marriage to the daughter of a hanged murderer but he comes to a point where he desperately wants to prove Wexford was wrong.
The structure of the novel is interesting: at the beginning of each chapter there is a biblical quotation, in keeping with the fact that Reverend Archery is playing the role of amateur sleuth. Wexford pops in and out of the story, even takes a weekend off during Archery's investigation. Wexford's offsider Burden plays a couple of cameo roles. It is Archery who reveals the final story.
An interesting picture emerges of Wexford: incorruptible, sympathetic, the detective who relies on logic not feelings. There are some heavy psychological threads in this novel - almost a presage of what Rendell would achieve in her Barbara Vine books.
The murder had long term effects on Painter's own child, and on the child who found the body. They were not to meet again for 16 years. Both titles are a play on words. Normally we talk about " a new lease of life" but what does re-opening an old murder case do but give death a new lease?
The second title SINS OF THE FATHERS is also ambiguous, for there is more than one father who has sinned. How much should the children pay? Does the gene that makes you murder pass on into the children?
Deut. 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me...
We had been listening to it in the car, and I had to bring it inside
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to finish the final CD - that's how good it is. The characters are strong, and beautifully depicted by Nigel Anthony's narration. There's a feeling of the empathy that filters through in the author's description of her characters.The Reverend Archery is at first bitterly opposed to his son's marriage to the daughter of a hanged murderer but he comes to a point where he desperately wants to prove Wexford was wrong.
The structure of the novel is interesting: at the beginning of each chapter there is a biblical quotation, in keeping with the fact that Reverend Archery is playing the role of amateur sleuth. Wexford pops in and out of the story, even takes a weekend off during Archery's investigation. Wexford's offsider Burden plays a couple of cameo roles. It is Archery who reveals the final story.
An interesting picture emerges of Wexford: incorruptible, sympathetic, the detective who relies on logic not feelings. There are some heavy psychological threads in this novel - almost a presage of what Rendell would achieve in her Barbara Vine books.
The murder had long term effects on Painter's own child, and on the child who found the body. They were not to meet again for 16 years. Both titles are a play on words. Normally we talk about " a new lease of life" but what does re-opening an old murder case do but give death a new lease?
The second title SINS OF THE FATHERS is also ambiguous, for there is more than one father who has sinned. How much should the children pay? Does the gene that makes you murder pass on into the children?
Deut. 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me...
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LibraryThing member Marie-Clare
A bit disappointing after the Barbara Vine book. Inspector Wexford was a peripheral character, the main being a rather annoying vicar.
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
The second Inspector Wexford adventure. A clergyman sets out to re-open an old murder case, hoping to prove that the man executed for the crime was not guilty, thereby removing what he perceives as an insurmountable obstacle to his son's marriage to the convict's daughter. Lots of thorny moral
September 23, 2014
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dilemmas, soul searching and red herrings. Not at all a bad place to start if you've never read Rendell before.September 23, 2014
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LibraryThing member JalenV
So, did Inspector Wexford botch his first solo murder investigation, or is he correct in saying that the right man, Painter, was hanged for the brutal murder?
Painter's little girl, Tess, has grown up into a beautiful young woman who is in love with, and loved by, a clergyman's son. Archery, the
Archery is looking into the case. Early on he meets the young woman who found the body when she was five years old. She tries to drink her memories away. Sadly for a pedestrian, she drives her car after, if I recall correctly, drinking SEVEN double whiskeys.
Archery meets the nephew of the slain woman and his beautiful wife. Charles finds a way to interview the nephew. Did the nephew do it? They bring the information to Wexford.
The girl who found the body (Elizabeth?) and her mother do not have a healthy relationship. The more we learn about the mother, the more despicable she seems. In the last CD, the daughter describes what she saw and couldn't process when she was five. It's horrible.
Yes, there will be another murder before the book is over.
I didn't particularly like Archery or Charlie, but they weren't insufferable.
Turn up your CD player -- otherwise making out what characters are saying when they're speaking softly might be a problem.
Painter's little girl, Tess, has grown up into a beautiful young woman who is in love with, and loved by, a clergyman's son. Archery, the
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vicar, is sadly under the impression that he might have to watch for murderous tendencies in his grandchildren should his Charles marry Tess. Tess doesn't want to bring shame upon the Archery family in case the old scandal is uncovered, even if she has been reared by a very good man, her stepfather. Tess's mother has been telling her that her father wasn't a murderer, but how could she know?Archery is looking into the case. Early on he meets the young woman who found the body when she was five years old. She tries to drink her memories away. Sadly for a pedestrian, she drives her car after, if I recall correctly, drinking SEVEN double whiskeys.
Archery meets the nephew of the slain woman and his beautiful wife. Charles finds a way to interview the nephew. Did the nephew do it? They bring the information to Wexford.
The girl who found the body (Elizabeth?) and her mother do not have a healthy relationship. The more we learn about the mother, the more despicable she seems. In the last CD, the daughter describes what she saw and couldn't process when she was five. It's horrible.
Yes, there will be another murder before the book is over.
I didn't particularly like Archery or Charlie, but they weren't insufferable.
Turn up your CD player -- otherwise making out what characters are saying when they're speaking softly might be a problem.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1967
Physical description
279 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
3442425832 / 9783442425839