The Best Man to Die

An Inspector Wexford Mystery

By: Ruth Rendell

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Who could have suspected that the exciting stag party for the groom would be the prelude to the murder of his close friend Charlie Hatton? And Charlie's death was only the first in a string of puzzling murders involving small-time gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women. Now Chief Inspector Wexford and his assistant join forces with the groom to track down a killer....

Investigate more cases with Inspector Wexford.©1969 Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd. (P)1991 Recorded Books, LLC

Wexford is back again and in fine form!

Inspector Wexford is back again and in fine form! Along with his ever present, righteously repressed, dour partner Burden, they plod along to solve yet another puzzling murder. For Wexford fans its a must "listen."

very engaging story with excellent narration.

very engaging story with excellent narration. kept me interested and guessing right up to the end

Plot swings dominate

Dialogues shifting from nits to leaps makes an unearned fog that clears only due to an import.

A bit slow

This is my first Inspector Wexford mystery. I enjoyed the narrator very much. Davina Porter always does a great job distinguishing the characters.

However, I found the plot to be just average and a bit tiresome. The dialogue between the detectives on the case grew weary. Perhaps because it was obvious midway thru who the culprit was. I felt like the clues were obvious to the reader but less obvious to the detectives, which made for slow progress.

Also, I didn’t care much for the main characters. They were all very shallow and I could not relate to them.

Classic who-dunnit

What did you love best about The Best Man to Die?

Ruth Rendell writes in the classic mystery style, where the clues get revealed progressively with solid good work by the police. inspector Wexford is an old-fashioned inspector who solves the mystery through getting to understand the suspects' lives and motives. In this one, there are two cases which don't initially seem to have anything in common, though of course, they do.

I would also like to say that Davina Porter was great as narrator. I've listened to a couple that I felt she didn't do as well, so was not sure if I would enjoy this one. But she was perfect! Great job bringing life and interest to the reading and also differentiating the voices. This could have been a dull book read by someone less talented. I'm really happy that I can sing her praises here. The ones I heard and didn't care for so much must (I'm delighted to say) have just been flukes.

Highly recommend both book and reader!

Formulaic British Murder Mystery

Would you try another book from Ruth Rendell and/or Davina Porter?

No

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Make the main characters more interesting

Do you think The Best Man to Die needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. This is a crime formula book, a modern day Hercule Poirot without the panache and flair

Good story

Liked the characters and the weaving of plot and people. Anchored in time and place, it is an absorbing read.

Great

Great story as always from Ruth rendall But this is an early Wexford novel, possibly her first. Wexford at this point is not the compassion kind man he is in later novels. And his wife is simply called Mrs Wexford with no personality at all.

Meh...

I kept trying to find interest but there did not seem to be any it was very standard Fare... standard writing standard character standard plot standard narration. Just didn't move me sorry your mileage may vary 🙄