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Talking To Strange Men

Talking To Strange Men

  • a compelling, dark and disturbing psychological thriller from the award-winning Queen of Crime that shows why adults should never indulge in child’s play…

From multi-million copy and SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author Ruth Rendell, this is a strange, seductive and suspenseful psychological thriller with a cunning final twist that will get right under the skin. Perfect for fans of PD James, Ann Cleeves and Donna Leon.

'She is incapable of writing a sentence that is not invested with mystery and fear... I was totally transfixed. If you read it, you will not sleep well. And it is a marvellous piece of work' -- Today
'Difficult to put down... she begins with the everyday, the ordinary and transmutes it into an almost Gothic tale of suspense and quiet terror' -- Daily Express
'Probably the greatest living crime writer in the world' -- Ian Rankin
'Ruth Rendell's mesmerising capacity to shock, chill and disturb is unmatched.'-- The Times
'Pure genius' -- ***** Reader review
'Gripping throughout' -- ***** Reader review
'Possibly her best' -- ***** Reader review
'A twisted, strange, compelling piece of brilliance' -- ***** Reader review

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Safe houses and secret message drops, double crosses and defections - it sounds like the stuff of sophisticated espionage, but the agents are only schoolboys engaged in harmless play, unaware of the danger awaiting them if their messages were intercepted...

John Creevey doesn't know the truth behind the mysterious codes he is reading. To him, the messages he decodes with painstaking care are the communications of dangerous and evil men.

As he comes face to face with the reality of his beloved wife Jennifer's defection, he begins to see a way to get back at the man she left him for, a man with a disturbing connection to the schoolboys...

And soon the schoolboys are playing more than just a game.

Reviews

  • Strange, disturbing, seductive

    Newsweek

  • Stunningly clever - another notable example of Miss Rendell's ingenuity and versatility

    Spectator

  • Rendell knows how to make your hair stand up straight on your head

    Maeve Binchy

  • The mistress of mystery

    Daily Mirror

  • Ruth Rendell is not only the finest crime novelist there is, but one of the finest novelists writing in the English language

    Scotsman

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About the Author

Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell was an exceptional crime writer, and will be remembered as a legend in her own lifetime. Her groundbreaking debut novel, From Doon With Death, was first published in 1964 and introduced the reader to her enduring and popular detective, Inspector Reginald Wexford, who went on to feature in twenty-four of her subsequent novels. With worldwide sales of approximately 20 million copies, Rendell was a regular Sunday Times bestseller. Her sixty bestselling novels include police procedurals, some of which have been successfully adapted for TV, stand-alone psychological mysteries, and a third strand of crime novels under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. Very much abreast of her times, the Wexford books in particular often engaged with social or political issues close to her heart. Rendell won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for 1976’s best crime novel with A Demon in My View, a Gold Dagger award for Live Flesh in 1986, and the Sunday Times Literary Award in 1990. In 2013 she was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer. Ruth Rendell died in May 2015. Her final novel, Dark Corners, was published in October 2015.

Ruth Rendell

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Features

Ruth Rendell: A life in writing
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Features

Editor Selina Walker on Ruth Rendell's Dark Corners

The story behind the publication of Ruth Rendell’s final novel, Dark Corners, is as intriguing as the book's plot. Selina Walker, Ruth’s editor, reveals how the book was found, and her part in bringing it to publication.

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