Ruth Rendell's 1970 mystery novel A Guilty Thing Surprised is one from her Inspector Wexford series, which centers around a small English town and is very, very British in its orientation and vocabulary: for example the characters in this tale often refer to carrying torches, which is what they call flashlights on that side of the Great Pond. I was shopping last year in a Pine Mountain, Georgia antiques/used book store with Melissa and searching in vain for some James Michener novels...instead I discovered this book and purchased it although it took me a while to finally start reading...I had misplaced it at home and only recently came upon it. I enjoyed Rendell's story as I typically do of her writing...she was truly a master at her craft. Its setting is an English estate owned by an early middle aged, affluent couple, Quentin and Elizabeth Nightingale. There are the housekeeper, the gardeners and an au pair taking care of their home. Quentin's cynical writer/brother-in-law Denys stays in a separate building on the grounds because he maintains that's the only place he can write...in spite of the fact that he is married and his own home is nearby. In the middle of this setting, after the various main characters have been introduced, a murder occurs and Inspector Wexford, along with his Doctor-Watson-like assistant Mike Burden, are there to try and put all the pieces of the mystery together. The resolution reminded me somewhat of the House of Lannister in George R.R. Martin's opening book A Game of Thrones of the A Song of Ice and Fire series he seems to have abandoned finishing...
The paperback book was only 166 pages, so it's a quick read and pretty enjoyable at that. Yes, I intend to keep on exploring Ruth Rendell's long list of works...
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