A literary phenomenon. * Guardian * By any measure, she was an enormously talented writer. * Telegraph * A superb demonstration of Rendell's talent for spotting the contradictions in human nature. -- Barry Turner * Daily Mail * Every [story] is a gem ... shines as a superb epitaph to Rendell's talent, reflecting the breadth and richness of her unique ability to turn seemingly ordinary everyday situations into suspenseful masterpieces ... the perfect book to curl up with in front of a log fire with a glass of wine. * Daily Express * Wickedly macabre ... these strong, atmospheric stories convey a sardonic message. * Observer * Rendell, that most missed of crime writers, seems to have a rare and uncanny ability to understand what people are really like; and every so often there comes an unnerving moment when you feel her all-seeing gaze has expanded to encompass not just her characters but you yourself. * Daily Telegraph * Deliciously riveting ... Miraculously "hookish" -- Sarah Perry * The Guardian * She was a remarkable writer, who recorded the pain of the unhappy, the ungenerous and unloved. -- Natasha Cooper * TLS *