The Monster in the Box - Ruth Rendell

In The Monster In The Box (Scribner, $26), the 22nd installment of Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford series, an aging Inspector unravels a tangled web, and along the way, readers are introduced to a young, single Police Constable Wexford, investigating his first murder case—and meeting a suspect who, with no hard evidence against him, reappears on the edge of various cases throughout Wexford’s career.  As the book moves back and forth between past and present, we see Wexford’s suspicions grow but go unsatisfied, as the sleuth is continually frustrated in his effort to substantiate his instinct. A great fan of Ms. Rendell’s work, I consider this page-turner one of her best.