Piranha to Scurfy
And Other Stories
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Nine deliciously frightening and exquisitely crafted tales of psychological terror from Ruth Rendell.
A self-appointed critic reads books only to catch out their errors of fact and usage, which he points out to their authors in vicious letters: Then one day he comes upon a book that attacks him. An elderly woman finally avenges herself on the man who raped her sixty years before. An idyllic village in the English countryside offers newcomers its own peculiar kind of hospitality and exacts a terrible price on those who reject it. Delivering high-voltage shocks with the elegance of a Henry James, Piranha to Scurfy is further evidence of Ruth Rendell’s mastery of any form she puts her hand to.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Multiple Edgar and Gold Dagger award winner Rendell displays her mastery of spine-tingling suspense in her first short story collection since Blood Lines (1996). In the scary title tale, a solitary, arrogant, self-appointed fault-finder is haunted by memories of his dead mother. Although the twist is soon obvious, Rendell adds a dimension that holds the reader to the end. Mythology and fairy tales come to life in "High Mysterious Union," a novella in which a man's increasing obsession with a young woman places him under a spell that almost leads to his death. Irony plays a strong role in most of the nine tales here. In "Walter's Leg," the title character learns that people don't change, even over a lifetime. "The Professional" is about a young man who thinks he witnesses a murder, talks himself out of it, then too late realizes he was right. In "Fair Exchange," a man's doubts about a healer who helps his sick wife are his undoing. Rendell is such a good writer that all these subtle and witty stories succeed, but they are superficial compared to her far more complex and satisfying novels.
