The Vault
The twenty-third Wexford novel published by Hutchinson in 2011
I was sitting in the room where there are a lot of books and I saw the various titles of mine and I saw A Sight for Sore Eyes. I thought well, you could do a sequel to that. It’s not a Wexford, of course. But it could be — it is as if Wexford walks into some sort of fantasy land, in a way. And I thought, well, why not have Wexford called in to do it?
Chief Inspector Reg Wexford has retired. He and his wife, Dora, now divide their time between Kingsmarkham, and a coach house in Hampstead, belonging to their actress daughter, Sheila.
Wexford takes great pleasure in his books, but for all the benefits of a more relaxed lifestyle, he misses being the hand of the law. A chance meeting with an old acquaintance in a London street changes everything. Tom Ede is now a Detective Superintendent and is keen to recruit Wexford as an adviser on a difficult case.
The bodies of two women and a man have been discovered in the old coal hole of an attractive house in St John’s Wood. There is no identification, but the man’s jacket pockets contain jewellery worth £40,000.
Wexford is intrigued and excited by the challenge but unaware that this new investigative role will bring him into extreme physical danger.
Notes
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Ruth Rendell talks about her craft in this original video from Open Road Media.
George Baker 1931 - 2011:
He was not just an unforgettable actor but the most wonderfully warm and vibrant person.
Dreda Say Mitchell and Ruth Rendell discuss Wexford’s new role in The Vault.
Fay Weldon, Joanne Harris, Lesley Pearse and Ruth Rendell discuss whether sexism exists in the publishing industry.
Ruth Rendell hits out at government public spending cuts.
Authors condemn Suffolk libraries axe.
Ruth Rendell names baby elephant.
Contemporary Reads 2
Peter Ackroyd - London Under
M. J. McGrath - White Heat
Fred Vargas - An Uncertain Place
Philip Kerr - Prague Fatale
Anna Smith - The Dead Won’t Sleep
Elena Ferrante - My Brilliant Friend
Footnotes
In conversation with Charles Taylor, Barnes and Noble 2011. ↩︎
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