Special Super-Delayed Review Editions, Vol. 1

The Chimney Sweeper's Boy, by Barbara Vine

The blurb describes "The Chimney Sweeper's Boy" as "one of the finest, most accomplished and chilling tales of psychological suspense ever written." While this is an exaggeration I think the most apt word is "accomplished". Barbara Vine aka. Ruth Rendell is an exceptionally experienced writer who really does know her craft. She always keeps the plot moving at just the right pace and her writing style, while not particularly exciting, has plenty of nice touches.

That said, I found the book unsatisfying. The symbolism (like the butterflies) was a bit heavy-handed and there were a few too many passages which were obviously just put in as clues to the mystery. The general outline of the solution to the mystery is pretty easy to see coming, though the details were unexpected (to me anyway). The strongest part of the book is the characters, who all have believable, slightly strange habits and flaws that still seemed realistic. Nobody's actually normal in real life are they? The plot itself is a bit more artificial but I could certainly imagine it happening.

I think the main thing that let down the book as a whole was the lack of much deep insight. Vine may have been just a bit too obsessed with building a story about a Serious Issue and let that get in the way of making a well-rounded story. I've never read any other Ruth Rendell but from this book I imagine her straight crime novels are really great examples of the genre. I think she certainly deserves credit for writing something much more ambitious and morally complex than a typical mystery book, and while it didn't work perfectly I did find it a good read.