One Across, Two Down
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3.9 • 8 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Two things interest Stanley Manning: crossword puzzles, and the substantial sum his wife Vera stands to inherit when his mother-in-law dies. Otherwise, life at 61 Lanchester Road is a living hell. For Mrs. Kinaway lives with them now—and she will stop at nothing to tear their marriage apart. One afternoon, Stanley sets aside his crossword puzzles and changes all their lives forever...
In One Across, Two Down, master crime writer Ruth Rendell describes a man whose strained sanity and stained reputation transform him from a witless loser into a killer afraid of his own shadow. Mischievously plotted, smart, maddeningly entertaining, One Across, Two Down is a dark delight—classic Rendell.
Customer Reviews
Great laugh
Not sure why this is listed under thrillers, this is definitely a comic novel, and an excellent one at that, proving just how versatile Rendell is.
It is the tale of a layabout husband tormented by his elderly mother-in-law and tolerated by his long-suffering wife. When he discovers his mother in law wants to get her own back on him by changing her will and leaving everything to her daughter, he plans to finish her off before she has a chance to change the will. the story has a wonderful air of farce about it,
The book was first published in the UK in 1971, and like all of Rendell's books, has stood the test of time.
If you love Ruth Rendell's writing, as I do, and fancy a break from Wexford or her psychological thrillers, do give this a go.