Just Finished Reading Ruth Rendell's The Best Man to Die

The Best Man to Die is the fourth book in the late English mystery writer Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford series.  As has been the case in all of her books I've read so far, this book is very England-centered and goes deeply into that country's culture...and often different vocabulary.  Once again, Kingsmarkham's Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford teams up with his deputy inspector Mike Burden to go after a couple of mysteries, this time the late night murder of a suddenly-prosperous lorry ("truck") driver and a fatal car crash, one of the victims unexplained by her presence and identity.  We get to know the inspector's family better, with his daughter coming to town...and dumping her boyfriend's dog on him to take care of for a while.  And against his own wishes, a lift ("elevator') is installed in his police station...guess what happens when he finally decides to ride it alone?

The Best Man to Die, for me, was the most satisfying of the Inspector Wexford novels I've yet read.  We have here the red herring suspects, problematic disappearances, and seemingly inexplicable situations that are staple fare in mystery stories.  And that "lift" ride plays its own role in how it all is resolved at the end.  A short, fun sleuthing mystery!  Now onward to the next book in this series...