A Judgement In Stone

A Judgement In Stone

a chilling and captivatingly unsettling thriller from the award-winning Queen of Crime, Ruth Rendell

Summary

A gripping tragedy of crime and class, widely regarded as one of multi-million copy and SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author Ruth Rendell's seminal masterworks and a crime fiction classic. Fans of PD James, Ann Cleeves and Donna Leon will not be disappointed.

'One of her masterpieces' -- Telegraph
'A classic' - The Times
'Quite possibly the best crime book I have ever read' -- ***** Reader review
'One hell of a book' -- ***** Reader review
'An altogether engrossing book' -- ***** Reader review
'A compelling and addictive read' -- ***** Reader review
'An absolute classic - can only be described in superlatives' -- ***** Reader review

*****
'Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write.'

Eunice, the Coverdales' housekeeper, guns down four of her employers in the space of fifteen minutes one Valentine's Day. None of them suspected anything. Her motive remained hidden.

As the police investigate, Eunice schemes to escape the blame - desperate to preserve the terrible secret of her illiteracy.

But Eunice's blindness to a crucial aspect of the world throws her plans into jeopardy...

Reviews

  • One of her masterpieces.
    Jake Kerridge, Telegraph

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.
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