A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES

Ruth Rendell is queen of the psychological suspense thriller, and this story is a fine example of her work. Three lives come together: a gently if narrowly brought up young girl, an aging beauty who seeks workmen for casual affairs, and a handsome sociopath who murders for convenience, not pleasure. Veteran reader Donada Peters conveys the sense of fate and looming disaster one feels as these lives converge. Her gently bred voice makes the unthinkable real. Her characters are well defined but not exaggerated. Her depiction of the cloying, clinging and really quite mad stepmother is truly inspired. Listen to this story to understand how evil and justice work themselves out. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 00]