Hardcover

It's not fair to give only two stars to this and the other book by Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell) - they are what they are: the very definition of psychological thriller. You know immediately whodunit, and where and when; the only question explored is why. These books just aren't to my taste; I'm not one for unreliable narrators. ( )

This book was excellently written and deserves a high rating, but if I'm rating it based on my enjoyment then 3 stars is accurate. I struggled getting through it, mostly due to the characters and my lack of interest in their story. ( )

(27) I think this is only the second Ruth Rendell I have read (the first being 'Dark Adapted Eye') but I do think I have found my new favorite mystery writer. I think she does the literary modern gothic mystery thing just perfectly for the two selections I have read. Foreshadowing, family secrets, an old house that is almost a character in its own right, murder, secrets, lies, of course.

In 'House of Stairs', Elizabeth, haunted by the specter of Huntington's chorea, that hangs over her head after her mother died from the same disease - adopts a new mother of sorts in the rich, eccentric, generous, Cosette - a matronly woman of her mother's age whose mid-life crisis propels the characters to live in the titular house. The house with 106 stairs becomes a meeting place for all types of free love, free-loaders, including the enigmatic Bell Sanger and eventually her handsome brother Marc. Now, I won't say more about the plot so as not to spoil but it is fabulously rendered in painstaking detail with lots of literary allusions, in particular, Henry James' 'Wings of a Dove.' I think readers who have read this novel are one step ahead of the game and can figure out some of the twists. The story also toggles back and forth between the present when Elizabeth spots Bell on the street fourteen years later, and the events of the past.

My only quibble is the ending and it caused a whole star deduction. Not that I don't like ambiguity. I do. I just think it could have been written tighter. I am guessing I know what the author intends us to struggle with - the two possible endings for Elizabeth - but I am not sure I am interpreting things correctly. Maybe my own shortcoming, but still, I found it disappointing. Overall though - this did not mar my enjoyment. I am going to go right now and probably Kindle another one of hers for the best type of escapist summer read. ( )

Lizzie is the main character. The book is written through her perspective and flashes back throughout the novel. I had a hard time putting this book down, but I won't describe, so I don't ruin it. ( )