The Babes in the Wood cover art

The Babes in the Wood

A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery

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The Babes in the Wood

By: Ruth Rendell
Narrated by: Nigel Anthony
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About this listen

 With floods threatening both the town of Kingsmarkham and his own home and no end to the rain in sight, Chief Inspector Wexford already has his hands full when he learns that two local teenagers have gone missing along with their sitter, Joanna Troy. Their hysterical mother is convinced that all three have drowned, and as the hours stretch into days Wexford suspects a case of kidnapping, perhaps connected with an unusual sect called the Church of the Good Gospel. But when the sitter's smashed-up car is found at the bottom of a local quarry - occupied by a battered corpse - the investigation takes on a very different hue.

For her 19th Chief Inspector Wexford mystery, Ruth Rendell tells a story that is as taut and atmospheric as anything she has ever written. Ruth Rendell has won many awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger.

©2004 Ruth Rendell (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Crime Thrillers Mystery Police Procedural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Thriller Crime

Critic Reviews

"The plot....marches efficiently to its unguessable dénouement while demonstrating Rendell's grasp of the psychological dynamics of seduction and exploitation which lie at the heart of the case." ( The New Yorker)
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The only irritating character in this audiobook is the mother...dubbed an 'hysteric'. Perhaps it is just the shrill enactment so reading the print version may not be so grating? I did wonder if this kind of extreme character can actually be found in real life but I guess anything is possible. However, the story is a page turner and all other characters are plausible. A good read.

Cleverly constructed

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Once again, i thought i had this figured out and I got some of it but was still surprised at the end.

Another great listen

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I enjoyed the mystery but didn’t like what actually happened, once it was revealed, so while I enjoyed listening to the book I was left with a bad taste

enjoyable

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The narration and production by BBC look forward to some more of the same genre

Good deceive story well narrated

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A bit slow moving but well performed. Not many twists or surprises. very descriptive characters.

Babe in the Woods

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A decent mystery. The characterisation of women & the impact of domestic abuse is pretty poor though.

A bit plodding but with a decent twist

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A little slow but worth the time. Well done Ruth! I will continue listening to the series.

Great plot

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story line wasn't exciting enough and story teller was to old to listen too. Story didn't have enough action in the story line.

boring

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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.