On any other day when the body of a woman turns up in the underground car park of the main shopping center in Kingsmarkham Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford would quietly and methodically piece together all the elements of the case, breaking down alibis and ferreting out all the secrets people have squirreled away in the dark corners of their lives, ably assisted, more or less, by Inspector Mike Burdern. On this particular day, however, Wexford pulls out of the very same car park, before the discovery of body, and is at home visiting with his actress daughter who has come up from London and who has a legal problem of her own, arrested during a demonstration against the Ministry of Defense. He needs to head back to the shopping center, her problem will have to wait till later in the evening, but she is parked behind him...no problem, he'll back it out of the way and put it in the garage. A shifting of gears, a sensation that something is not quite right, an instinctive leap that he cannot quite remember later...light...noise...darkness. Much later, Wexford wakes up in hospital, realizing he is lucky to have survived the bomb someone placed in his daughter's auto, and Inspector Burdern realizes that the task of finding out who garroted Gwen Robson rests squarely upon his own shoulders.Fans of Ruth Rendell's long-running detective series have no doubt wondered from time to time if Burden's association with Wexford has held him back. Perhaps it's time for the stalwart assistant to take command? After "The Veiled One," I found myself wondering if perhaps Detective Inspector Burden might not be better off as Detective Sergeant Burden. Two traits which have always served Wexford well are his ability to examine details while still maintaining a wide vision, and his ability to empathize with the people in a case while remaining detached from them. Burden is diligent and meticulous and possesses good interrogation skills (though he is more proficient in listening to what people say rather than understanding what they mean), but when he narrows his focus to Clifford Sanders, the emotionally disturbed young man who discovered the body, nothing can shake him from it, and what ensues is a psychologically fascinating game of cat and mouse between Burden and Clifford. As the interrogations grind on, they become something more than mere interrogations, roles begin to shift, and the reader will soon see the terrible transformation long before it dawns upon Burden.Fortunately for all concerned, Wexford cannot sit on the sidelines, cannot endure the absolute rest his doctor has prescribed. Nor can he tolerate the cramped temporary housing provided by the Chief Constable...in addition to destroying his daughter's car and banging him up something awful, the bomb also left less than half of Wexford's home still standing. At first on the sly, then later less covertly, Wexford begins chatting up the witnesses and suspects, working behind the scenes until he is found out. The two-pronged investigation of the murder starkly reveals the different strengths and weaknesses of the two men, and after a confrontation the two detectives will discover what the reader has known all along--they work better than apart.Fans of the British police procedural novel will likely enjoy "The Veiled One" a bit more than Miss Rendell's fans, if only because the fans will be distracted by the division between the two men, while readers new to the series will be fascinated by the differences in technique, the interplay between the all-too-level-headed Burden and the obviously sociopathic Clifford, and the way Wexford overcomes his personal problems and brings the mystery to a close.
I started The Veiled One with some apprehension. I am not a big fan of psychological mysteries, recently biting the dust after reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which was high on psychology and very low on twists and thrill. And, as Rendell is known for her psychological mysteries, more for her ‘why-done-it’ than the ‘who-done-it’, I started this book cautiously, not sure what to expect. But, by the end, I was panting, out of breath, and trying to tell everyone that what a great crime novel I had just finished.I can spare only one line for the plot, anything more would take away the pleasure of the discovery of the motive or the culprit. A woman is found garrotted to death in a shopping mall car park, and Wexford along with Burden is called upon to investigate the death.The characters were richly drawn. Rendell had spent a lot of words on her characters. Even those with small parts were given an identity of their own. But, she did it in such a way that they never obstructed the flow of the plot. In fact, they became a part of the main plot. It was almost that if the reader didn’t go through these characterisations, the mystery would remain incomplete.The plot, as well as the book started off at a moderate speed. But, as the book progressed, especially after 3/4th had gone by, I was disappointed and was ready to give the book a 2 star rating. But, then the twists started coming, hard and fast, and I was hooked. I was hooked and I had decided to give the book a minimum of 5 stars.A highly enjoyable book. Highly recommended to any reader who loves a traditional British mystery with a dose of twist, and a gentleman detective with a sidekick, present to solve the case.
What do You think about The Veiled One (1989)?
Re-reading this Chief-Inspector Wexford novel by my favorite author. When it comes to Rendell, the Wexfords take third place for me, behind the Barbara Vines and the Rendell stand-alones - this isn't to say that I haven't read and enjoyed all of them, and that I don't read each new one as soon as it appears - they're quite good, and I've read most of them twice. 6/03: This one stands out not only as an excellent entry in the Wexford series, but as the kind of novel of psychological suspense that Rendell does so well, in fact, better than just about anyone. At the heart of the novel are parental feelins: particularly twisted mother/sun relationship, and a father's protective love for a daughter. Rendell has said she doesn't believe very much in psychoanalysis (at least for herself) but she makes good use of some of its theories here.I caught up with the TV version of this one on YouTube (few of the Wexfords have been broadcast in the US) - basically it was a botch-up, eviscerating the novel, and actually including a visual interpretation of the title at one point, rather than allowing the Jungian theory of "the Veiled One" to be discussed by the therapist, as in the novel. But his role, like several others, was minimized in the TV version.
—Philip
Only one word came to my mind when I finished reading it last night; solid! This is a solid psychological mystery. It was a sheer pleasure to read Ruth Rendell's The Veiled One. I always find it hard to resist psychological mysteries and psychological element is good enough for me to like a mystery book but Veiled One has added bonus; this book is just perfect! It has everything a mystery book should have; tight plot, red herrings, lots of suspense, thorough characterization, twists and turns, realistic ending, everything....A middle-aged housewife is garrotted and her body is left in the parking garage of a suburban shopping mall. Chief Inspector Wexford and Mike Burden step in and find it a challenging case.Some readers might find it bit slow but it is not tedious at all. If you love fast-paced action packed suspense thriller, this book is not for you. This book is for those who find pleasure in meaningful words and do not mind slow pace of story. In addition, if you were a perfectionist when it’s about mystery books, you would not be able to find any faults in the plot. Ruth Rendell is on my favourite authors list now.
—Neena
Another in the Inspector Wexford series by Ruth Rendell. I absolutely loved this, one of her best.In this one the good inspector is nearly blown up (early in the story, no spoilers here) and is rendered more than little under the weather, so his partner/sidekick fills in, Mike Burden. The mystery here isn't really who tried to kill the good inspector, but who killed a middle-aged woman found dead in a parking garage. There's a slew of potential leads and suspects, as well as red herrings and false leads galore. There's also one of the most diabolically perfect, richly fleshed-out characters in any of Rendell's books. (If you read this one you'll know exactly what I mean.) All I can say is 'Olive Kitteridge to the tenth power.') (If you've read Olive Kitteridge you'll really know what I mean. :D )The settings are garish, groteseque, intriguing, fully drawn out. Who knew a dirty old cement parking garage could be so interesting? Or a house in which most of the furniture is stored upstairs? Or that numerous minor characters could be so entertaining, so vividly realized? Burden is pushed to the edge, psychologically; Reg Wexford is pushed to a different sort of edge in a sub-plot involving his TV-actress daughter. I re-read some passages over again, the writing was simply so spot-on and things as simple as a line of trees against a horizon so impeccably described.Five stars.
—Jaksen
