Jump to content

An Unkindness of Ravens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs) at 17:14, 13 August 2016 (References: recat using AWB). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

An Unkindness of Ravens
First edition (UK)
AuthorRuth Rendell
LanguageEnglish
SeriesInspector Wexford #13
GenreCrime / Mystery novel
PublisherHutchinson (UK)
Pantheon Books (US)
Publication date
15 April 1985
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages269 pp
ISBN0-09-160200-9
OCLC59083767
Preceded byThe Speaker of Mandarin 
Followed byThe Veiled One 

An Unkindness of Ravens is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. It was first published in 1985, and features her popular protagonist Inspector Wexford, and is the 13th entry in the series. On American publication, it was shortlisted for the MWA Edgar Award, alongside another Rendell novel, The Tree of Hands, meaning she has the remarkable distinction of being one of only two authors in the award's history to have had two novels on the shortlist in any one year (the other being Charlotte Armstrong). Ravens was adapted as a play by theatre professor Joel Fink.[1]

Plot summary

When Wexford does a favour for his wife—to look into the disappearance of one of their neighbours' husbands—everything he finds seems to confirm his first inkling: that this is simply another case of a bored middle-aged man having run off with a younger woman. However, when Rodney Williams is found dead, and another local man is stabbed in his car, Wexford finds himself thrown into an investigation involving a militant feministic organisation known as "Arria", who have taken the raven as their symbol.

References