Learning Strategies

The Rottweiler is another excellent book in Ruth Rendell’s collection of thrillers (as distinguished from her Wexford detective novels). There is a richly developed cast of characters, including one who is the favorite suspect of the police but who the reader knows is not the serial murderer. This character has Fragile X Syndrome, which I had never heard of before. But, as any good book does, The Rottweiler motivated me to learn more. Just Google it and you’ll find out what you need to know.

Anyway, in standard thriller fashion (as opposed to detective stories), Rendell reveals the murderer’s identity to the reader early on. Actually, it’s about a hundred pages in, and it could easily have been earlier. But you don’t read this sort of book for suspense; you read it for the character development, the setting, and the evolving discovery of the truth. Rendell succeeds in all three areas. I found it totally absorbing. The novel creates a believable world with a cast of believable characters. Humorous subplots help lighten what would otherwise be a rather somber plot. Read it!

Labels: books