04 September, 2005

The Minotaur (Barbara Vine)

I enjoy Barbara Vine (also known as Ruth Rendell). While as Rendell, the author concentrates on crime, Vine writes psychological mysteries/crime/thrillers. And while I'm not an great aficionado of crimes and mysteries, I like them as books I can race through in one or two sittings.

The Minotaur is a gripping story. Kerstin, a Swedish nurse, is employed by a very strange English family to take care of a schizophrenic son in his thirties. The character of Kerstin is a wonderful narrator, and this story is almost claustrophic in its tension. The inevitable ending spirals tighter and closer throughout the novel so that when you finally put it down, it's almost a relief to be finished.

So, while I'm not passionately attached to stories like this - I don't feel the urge to race out and buy it so that I can read it again whenever I like - they're still great reads. A 4/5 book.

No comments: