Try free for 30 days

  • Thirteen Steps Down

  • By: Ruth Rendell
  • Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
  • Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (48 ratings)

A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook free.
1 credit/month after trial—to buy any title you like, yours to keep.
Listen all you want to a selection of thousands of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Thirteen Steps Down cover art

Thirteen Steps Down

By: Ruth Rendell
Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
Free with 30-day trial

$16.45/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Mix Cellini (which he pronounces with an S rather than a C) is superstitious about the number 13 and has always felt dogged by ill-luck. In the house where he lives, there are 13 steps down to the landing below his rooms. His landlady lives her life almost exclusively through her library, blind to the neglect and decay around her. However, Mix is obsessed with the life of the notorious John Christie, who lived in the same Notting Hill neighbourhood at 10 Rillington Place. He is also infatuated with a beautiful woman who lives near-by, a model who wouldn’t look twice at him. Both landlady and lodger are caught up in their own psychologically twisted parallel worlds. But when reality intrudes into Mix's life, a long pent-up violence explodes.

©2004 Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Thirteen Steps Down

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow .. this book was deeply disturbing yet entertaining

This is yet another amazing Ruth Rendell book
With amazing complexity and depth to the 2 main characters it kept me enthralled throughout

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful story

Another marvellous story from Ruth Rendell that captivated me from the beginning to the end.
I can only highly recommend this book to everyone. Brilliantly narrated by Rick Jerrom.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

One of her best, thoroughly enjoyed it.
This book mentioned placed near where I lived in the 80s

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So many dysfunctional peoples

This is one of the first Ruth Rendell books I have read. Will be interested to know if they are all as convoluted as this one. I did enjoy it, but my goodness so many people with serious illusions

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a real writer

Ruth Rendell hangs her quirky psychological explorations on a murder mystery. But her real interest is in the ramblings and everyday delusional world people live inside. I like the way she flicks from one odd character to the next, dropping each character at a critical point and world of fantasy another character inhabits. characters are Dickensian, plots ludicrous, and chance and circumstances are the moving engines of events. She is funny and profound.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous...classic Rendell

Ruth Rendells passing away broke many hearts ... she was an incredible woman, super smart and nobody can imitate her writing as to engage us as deeply she did. Fantastic expert at psychological crime drama. We "know" people really exist like her quirky ...often unwell characters. Narration was 10/10. Thank you Audible for a great listen!!! 💖💖💖

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.