A Sleeping Life by Rendell, Ruth - 2000

Vintage, 2000. Paperback. Near Fine. Rhoda Comfrey's death seemed unremarkable; the real mystery was her life. In A Sleeping Life, master mystery writer Ruth Rendell unveils an elaborate web of lies and deception painstakingly maintained by a troubled soul. A w allet found in Comfrey's handbag leads Inspector Wexford to Mr. Grenville W est, a writer whose plots revel in the blood, thunder, and passion of drama s of old; whose current whereabouts are unclear; and whose curious secretar y--the plain Polly Flinders--provides the Inspector with more questions tha n answers. And when a second Grenville West comes to light, Wexford faces a dizzying array of possible scenarios--and suspects--behind the Comfrey mur der. Brilliantly entertaining, exceptionally crafted, A Sleeping Life evokes the dark realities, half-truths, and flights of fancy that constitute a life.