After weeks of rain, Chief Inspector Wexford has just finished moving his books and furniture upstairs to protect them from the rising waters when the telephone rings. Two local teenagers and their babysitter have gone missing. Wexford isn’t particularly worried, since these things usually sort themselves out. But as hours stretch into days, he begins to suspect he has a kidnapping on his hands. The stakes get even higher when a member of the missing trio turns up dead in the woods nearby. In the course of his investigation, Wexford must deal with a neighbor whose alibi is questionable, a religious cult and its sylvan rituals, someone close to the children’s family who nurses a terrible secret, and the babysitter’s ex-husband, who reveals the woman’s hidden penchant for violence. In The Babes in the Wood , Ruth Rendell draws the reader into a riveting story that alternates between Chief Inspector Wexford’s domestic life—his worries about the security of his home and his daughter’s odd new boyfriend—and his determination to see through a kaleidoscope of lies and bring a murderer to justice. Although this isn't the Inspector Wexford novel to give readers new to the series, fans of the detective won't have any trouble picking right up on the Wexford family dynamics or Wexford's relationships with his fellow officers. And once again, Rendell trots out some sharply drawn characters to grab attention (including, of course, the clever, rather curmudgeonly detective himself) and uses the mystery as the catalyst for the characters' growth. Even the miserable rain soaking Sussex becomes a player in this puzzle, adding not only atmosphere but also serving as a takeoff point for the mystery. A teenage brother and sister have gone missing along with their weekend sitter. Have they drowned in the rising floodwater? Have they been kidnapped? When the body of the sitter is discovered alone in her car, the parents are hopeful that their children may be alive. But as time passes, hope dims. Then, suddenly, the daughter surfaces, prompting still more questions: Why did she come back? Where's the boy? And why did the children leave? Wexford gets to the bottom of it all, but readers won't have a clue until the final pages. Stephanie Zvirin Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “The Wexford books clearly display Rendell’s great mastery of storytelling at its best.” -- Sunday Telegraph “Ruth Rendell has quite simply transformed the genre of crime writing. She deploys her peerless skill in blending the mundane, commonplace aspects of life with the potent, murky impulses of desire and greed, obsession and fear.” -- Anthony Clare, Sunday Times “Ruth Rendell is not only the finest crime novelist there is, but one of the finest novelists writing in the English language.” -- Gerald Kaufman, Scotsman After weeks of rain, Chief Inspector Wexford has just finished moving his books and furniture upstairs to protect them from the rising waters when the telephone rings. Two local teenagers and their babysitter have gone missing. Wexford isn t particularly worried, since these things usually sort themselves out. But as hours stretch into days, he begins to suspect he has a kidnapping on his hands. The stakes get even higher when a member of the missing trio turns up dead in the woods nearby. In the course of his investigation, Wexford must deal with a neighbor whose alibi is questionable, a religious cult and its sylvan rituals, someone close to the children s family who nurses a terrible secret, and the babysitter s ex-husband, who reveals the woman s hidden penchant for violence. In The Babes in the Wood , Ruth Rendell draws the reader into a riveting story that alternates between Chief Inspector Wexford s domestic life his worries about the security of his home and his daughter s odd new boyfriend and his determination to see through a kaleidoscope of lies and bring a murderer to justice. After weeks of rain, Chief Inspector Wexford has just finished moving his books and furniture upstairs to protect them from the rising waters when the telephone rings. Two local teenagers and their babysitter have gone missing. Wexford isn’t particularly worried, since these things usually sort themselves out. But as hours stretch into days, he begins to suspect he has a kidnapping on his hands. The stakes get even higher when a member of the missing trio turns up dead in the woods nearby. In the course of his investigation, Wexford must deal with a neighbor whose alibi is questionable, a religious cult and its sylvan rituals, someone close to the children’s family who nurses a terrible secret, and the babysitter’s ex-husband, who reveals the woman’s hidden penchant for violence. In The Babes in the Wood , Ruth Rendell draws the reader into a riveting story that alternates between Chief Inspector Wexford’s domestic life—his worries about the security of his home and his daughter’s odd new boyfriend—and his det