Tree of Hands (Ruth Rendell)

I enjoy Ruth Rendell's work a lot, but I do tend to read her books for relaxation, rather than because I'm utterly absorbed in the story. No, I take that back - I become very absorbed in her books, but they don't tend to stay with me - when they finish, they drop out of my mind, which is why I consider them light reading, despite their regularly depressing content.

Tree of Hands is the story of Benet, her son James, and her mother Mopsa, and another family, Carol, Barry and Carol's three children, some of whom are in care. Mopsa, who has always been somewhat mentally disturbed, is the connection who brings these families together in an unexpected way. Events tumble onward through the novel, bring disaster after disaster to its characters - even Benet's gradual reawakening is shadowed by the reader's foreboding of eventual disaster.

Rendell is known for delving into the darker parts of the human psyche, and she does it immensely well - you sympathise with her most unsympathetic characters because you recognise parts of yourself in their desperate greed and meanness. I imagine if you're a fan of psychological thrillers, then Tree of Hands will linger in your thoughts longer than it did in mine - it is an excellent book, afterall.