Just Finished Reading Ruth Rendell's Sins of the Fathers

In recent weeks I have become a fan of the late English novelist Ruth Rendell, having now read five of her books.  The latest one is the second book in her Inspector Wexford mystery series, published in 1967 and titled Sins of the Fathers (formerly A New Lease of Death).  The setting is once again the English town of Kingsmarkham where Reginald Wexford is the Chief Inspector for the local police.  He works with Inspector Mike Burden...the two teamed up in the first book, too...to tackle a nagging murder case from sixteen years back.  A brutish, violent man named Herbert Painter had been convicted of killing his 87-year old employer in her house and was hanged for the crime.  Although Wexford, who investigated the case back then, is utterly convinced of Painter's guilt, the verdict is now questioned by Reverend Henry Archery, whose son is engaged to marry Painter's daughter...at the time of the murder just a little girl.  The story involves the murdered woman's housekeeper, neighbors, and children as Archery surprisingly assumes the role of lead protagonist in what appears on the surface to be a "whodunit" tale but evolves into a different sort of mystery involving why the characters turned out the way they did.  Archery comes across as very sympathetic while Wexford continues to be somewhat cantankerous and blunt.  Okay, I didn't like him in the first book either, but now I'm seeing that Rendell was creating this persona of a police detective with a deceptively callous-appearing personality, but who is, underneath it all, wily and perceptive.  Yeah, I think this dude might even be likeable, a few more books down the line...

Ruth Rendell is probably best known for this Inspector Wexford series...which I plan to continue reading in its chronological order of publication...but I have so far gotten the most from her "single" novels that are complete in themselves.  Stories like Portobello, The Crocodile Bird, and Gallowglass (written under the pen name Barbara Vine) go deep into their characters' psyches and histories as well as providing a detailed look at life in England.  I don't see why I can't eventually read all of her books...I'm just a little sad I didn't know about her until just recently, a little more than a year after she died...