Teddy was born in squalor. Now he is a craftsman determined to banish ugliness from his life. Harriet is a beautiful, bored trophy wife who employs a series of repairmen for her sexual satisfaction. And Francine is a college student who witnessed her mother's murder and now must free herself from her father's manipulative second wife. Connected by strands of chance, their lives intersecting in the strangest of ways, these three people are on a journey that will bring them to each other--and to a beautiful ivy-covered home with at least one dead body in the basement.... Ruth Rendell is... "The best mystery writer in the English-speaking world." -- Time "A phenomenon." --Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Times Book Review Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award A Sight For Sore Eyes is... "Harrowing...a flawless piece of craftsmanship." -- The New York Times Book Review "Stunning." -- The Washington Post Book World "Bold, imaginative...spare and unforgiving." -- The New York Times Book Review "No one can match Rendell, chill for chill." -- Chicago Tribune "Unequivocally, the most brilliant mystery novelist of our time." --Patricia Cornwell "One of the most remarkable novelists of her generation." -- People Teddy was born in squalor. Now he is a craftsman determined to banish ugliness from his life. Harriet is a beautiful, bored trophy wife who employs a series of repairmen for her sexual satisfaction. And Francine is a college student who witnessed her mother's murder and now must free herself from her father's manipulative second wife. Connected by strands of chance, their lives intersecting in the strangest of ways, these three people are on a journey that will bring them to each other--and to a beautiful ivy-covered home with at least one dead body in the basement.... Teddy was born in squalor. Now he is a craftsman determined to banish ugliness from his life. Harriet is a beautiful, bored trophy wife who employs a series of repairmen for her sexual satisfaction. And Francine is a college student who witnessed her mother's murder and now must free herself from her father's manipulative second wife. Connected by strands of chance, their lives intersecting in the strangest of ways, these three people are on a journey that will bring them to each other -- and to a beautiful ivy-covered home with at least one dead body in the basement.... Ruth Rendell's many writing awards include three Edgars and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America as well as four Golden Daggers from England's Crime Writers Association. She is also the author of Harm Done , Road Rage , The Keys to the Street , Simisola , The Crocodile Bird , and many more acclaimed novels. She lives in England. In 1997 she was named a life peer in the House of Lords. They were to hold hands and look at one another. Deeply, into each other's eyes. "It's not a sitting," she said. "It's a standing. Why can't I sit on his knee?" He laughed. Everything she said amused or delighted him, everything about her captivated him from her dark red curly hair to her small white feet. The painter's instructions were that he should look at her as if in love and she at him as if enthralled. This was easy, this was to act naturally. "Don't be silly, Harriet," said Simon Alpheton. "The very idea! Have you ever seen a painting by Rembrandt called The Jewish Bride?" They hadn't. Simon described it to them as he began his preliminary sketch. "It's a very tender painting, it expresses the protective love of the man for his young submissive bride. They're obviously wealthy, they're very richly dressed, but you can see that they're sensitive, thoughtful people and they're in love." "Like us. Rich and in love. Do we look like them?" "Not in the least, and I don't think you'd want to. Ideas of beauty have changed." "You could call it 'The Red-haired Bride.' " "She's not your bride. I am going to call it 'Marc and Harriet in Orcadia Place'--what else? Now would you just stop talking for a bit, Marc?" The house they stood in front of was described by those who knew about such things as a Georgian cottage and built of the kind of red bricks usually called mellow. But at this time of the year, midsummer, almost all the brickwork was hidden under a dense drapery of Virginia creeper, its leaves green, glossy and quivering in the light breeze. The whole surface of the house seemed to shiver and rustle, a vertical sea of green ruffled into wavelets by the wind. Simon Alpheton was fond of walls, brick walls, flint walls, walls of wood and walls of stone. When he painted Come Hither outside the studio in Hanging Sword Alley he placed them against a concrete wall stuck all over with posters. As soon as he saw that Marc's house had a wall of living leaves he wanted also to paint that, with Marc and Harriet too, of course. The wall was a shining cascade in many shades of green, Marc was in a dark-blue suit, thin black