As I started listening, I realized I'd heard this book before. I kept at it because I couldn't remember all the book's many characters and subplots. I normally don't do this but found it much easier to follow while multi-tasking. This Inspector Wexford mystery was still enjoyable the second time around. It's always interesting to remember the many continuing characters and running plots in the Wexford books. I may re-read, that is, re-hear, more books now. ( )

As I started listening, I realized I'd heard this book before. I kept at it because I couldn't remember all the book's many characters and subplots. I normally don't do this but found it much easier to follow while multi-tasking. This Inspector Wexford mystery was still enjoyable the second time around. It's always interesting to remember the many continuing characters and running plots in the Wexford books. I may re-read, that is, re-hear, more books now. ( )

The first situation is rather odd. A 16-year old and an 18-year old are picked up by a woman when they look as if they could use a ride. They are then taken to a house and made to do housework – cleaning, cooking and mending. The two that are returned are deemed unsuitable. But for what? And who is Jerry, the silent companion of the woman? Turns out that this woman house-sits for people and brings her captives to these houses. The woman has late-stage cancer and won’t last much longer. Jerry is her nephew and he’s severely mentally disturbed. She’s been taking care of him and she is trying to find a replacement for herself for after she’s dead. Weird. Neither girl would talk about what happened and where she’d been taken, but for different reasons. The 16-year old because she’s slow and really believes the threats the woman makes after letting her go. The 18-year old because she stabbed Jerry in the chest (only wounding him superficially though).

The pedophile’s return was a study in mob psychology and mob violence. The neighbors put signs up protesting his residence among them and then delirium set in. The 70+ year old guy barely stirred out of his chair, much less his house but reports of him ogling children from his window lead to a bunch of adults throwing bricks at the house. Later he’s taken into protective custody and the same mob of half-wits storm the police station demanding that they turn him out of his cushy prison cell. Someone throws a Molotov cocktail and a police officer is killed. No one knows who threw it and very few of the attackers actually feel anything approaching remorse.

The wife-beater is a true vicious bastard and no one – virtually no one is sad to see him dead. Both the wife and one of his sons report that a man came to the door that morning and asked to see the man. This statement was given to the police before the son and mother had a chance to see each other so it is taken for true. When they can’t find any evidence of this at all, the find out that it really was the wife who killed him and the son just made up the same story by coincidence. The woman pleads guilty to manslaughter by reason of temporary insanity and her sentence is probation. It’s a good thing that she did kill him – he was a right sick asshole who would have killed her eventually.

Character confusion and a weak ending but in my opinion one of her better books ( )

Good Wexford, I find it hard to distinguish between the characters on the Muriel Camperdown estate but love the development between Wexford and his daughter Sylvia. (And the allusion to The Franchise Affair). ( )