Shake Hands Forever by Ruth Rendell - Review

I haven't read much by Ruth Rendell before, but I know my mum really rates her. I haven't read any of the Inspector Wexford novels before but this one had ended up in my posession and I found it when we unpacked the books. It's an original from 1976, it's very battered and worn and I love it. It's only a small book so when Lee and I went to Greece I took it with us as it didn't weigh very much. I ended up really liking it and asked my mum if she had any more for me to borrow, and she found one. Maybe I'll save that for Christmas, love a murder mystery at Christmas! I'll also have to keep an eye out for these in charity shops and so on. 

So, Robert Hathall picks up his cold, disapproving mother from the station and takes her home for the weekend. He is married to his second wife, Angela, who is a little younger than him. When they get to the house though, they find Angela strangled to death in the bedroom. The house has been cleaned meticulously, except for a handprint near the body. There's a distinctive scar on the handprint and they reckon it belonged to a woman (not sure how they knew this but the answer is probably well, it was the 1970s). There are a number of suspects for the murder, including Robert himself, and his ex wife. 

Robert seems a bit unpeturbed by the death of his wife and doesn't cooperate with Wexford as he's investigating. He left his first wife for Angela and owed her a lot of money, which has meant he and Angela have had to downsize. He is estranged from his daughter. Robert has an alibi though and so does his ex. 

Eventually Wexford is warned off the investigation and it is declared closed. But he can't stop thinking about it and knows there was something odd about the case. He annoys his seniors by keeping on thinking about it, and eventually he does get to the bottom of it. I loved the mystery and thought it was really good! I also really liked looking at a crime novel from before forensics were so advanced. It felt like proper old fashioned policing! I'm giving this four out of five. It was perfect to read lying round the pool in Greece!