Barbara Vine

A deft, insightful, and compulsively readable exploration of obsessive desire—and the dark twists of fate that can shake the lives of even those most insulated by privilege, sophistication, and power.
Ivor Tesham is a handsome, single, young member of Parliament whose political star is on the rise. When he meets a woman in a chance encounter—a beautiful, leggy, married woman named Hebe—the two become lovers obsessed with their trysts,...

Ruth Rendell has held her place atop the world of mystery writers for decades, writing dozens of books that have won numerous awards, captivated countless fans, and collected widespread critical acclaim. Writing as Barbara Vine, she is the Edgar Award-winning author of such books as Chimney Sweeper's Boy and King Solomon's Carpet. Young Clodagh Brown loves to climb, especially the giant electrical pylons that form a neat row outside her parents' home....

Kerstin Kvist, a young nurse fresh out of school has been hired for a position with the Cosway family, residents of the Old Hall in Essex for generations. She is soon introduced to her "charge," John Cosway, a thirty-nine-year-old man whose strange behavior is vaguely explained by his mother and sisters as part of the madness that runs in the family. Bitter wrangling among Julia Cosway and her four grown daughters becomes increasingly evident. But...

When their grandmother dies, Grace and Andrew Easton inherit her sprawling, book-filled London home, Dinmont House. Rather than sell it, the adult siblings move in together, splitting the numerous bedrooms and studies. The arrangement is unusual, but ideal for the affectionate pair--until the day Andrew brings home a new boyfriend. A devilishly handsome novelist, James Derain resembles Cary Grant, but his strident comments about Grace's doctoral thesis...

Saved from suicide by a mysterious stranger called Sandor, Little Joe becomes an abject servant to his rescuer's maniacal whims and a part of Sandor's plan to kidnap one of the world's most beautiful women.