Ruth Rendell introduces here Chief Inspector Wexford, who, along with Inspector Burden, will have to solve the murder of a housewife named Margaret Parsons in the quiet English town of Kingsmarkham. Also, there is no Hastings or Watson to romanticize the proceedings, and given how much I hate both characters, I'm adding a star just for that.

Murder Being Once Done Wexford is drawn to the case of a young woman found murdered in a London cemetery vault. Whether the reader is surprised by where the novel goes, I think the appeal of the book is in the very competent execution of those ideas. Margaret Parsons is the flip side of extraordinary; no enemies, lives in somewhat of a rut, and has no sordid qualities about her whatsoever. Finally, books belonging to that lady are inscribed with the titular name and we strive to suss out who that is. Add him to my list of preferred readers, pleasantly British, expressive, with good variation between different characters.

Although Ruth Rendell does use certain stereotypes, it is clear that she has laid down a great basis for further books - Wexford is plain talking, intelligent and not easily swayed by a pretty face; Burdon a great sidekick and the small town of Kingsmarkham well described. Indeed, From Doon With Death, the first Wexford novel, focuses on the mystery of the death of a somewhat rather dowdy housewife who goes missing and then turns up dead.

From Doon with Death was Ruth Rendell’s debut novel and concerns the disappearance of a fairly modest, conservative housewife and the subsequent discovery of her body in a wood, strangled to death. It is not so much that this story could not be told today but that it would be told differently and our sympathies might be expected to be somewhat different.Read all Margaret Parsons, a fairly ordinary housewife who, with her water board official husband Ron, has recently moved to Kingsmarkham, is found murdered in a field. The novel introduced her popular recurring character Inspector Wexford, who went on to feature in 24 of her novels. I always say that a little flattery of the reader by an author is a surefire way to gain a readership. There is a strong sociological commentary throughout, in this book in particular as far as class differences and sexual politics go and author's attitude is stunningly, notably progressive for the time. However, I do agree strongly with other reviewers that this kindle book had a large number of typos, which is very disappointing.

The story is decent as mentioned, it definitely has some intriguing moments, but overall it's a little bit flat and dull. A man reports his wife missing, and the police don't take him very seriously because she's only been missing a few hours. But good awkward because the book is a snapshot of its time and it’s nice to see how society has changed. However, no one would accuse a career as prolific as Rendell's as lazy and there is something very appealing about her work. From Doon with Death (the origin of the 'Doon' nickname is never explained in the book as far as I noticed) was quite a clever mystery with a radical (for its time) twist in its reveal ending.One of my favourite books is A Sight for Sore Eyes, a standalone by Ruth Rendell, a mystery where she masterfully took a few storylines that ultimately converged. How is it possible that a woman who had led such a quiet, respectable, unspectacular life could have met such a death of passion and violence? It seemed grimmer and more adult than the Christies and Chestertons I was used to, and the twist surprised me. It will be interesting to see Rendell's style develop as I continue with the series as part of a group read. While it is a manipulative move designed to try to add power to his explanation at the end, I think that information is only needed if something does not occur to the reader that they might figure out for themselves.