Product DescriptionIn traditional fairytales the handsome prince rescues the beautiful princess from her wicked stepmother, and the couple live happily ever after. But in Ruth Rendell's dark and damaged contemporary universe, innocent dreams can turn into the most terrible living nightmares.Teddy Brex emerges from a loveless, isolated childhood as a handsome but autistic young man. Francine Hill, emotionally and mentally scarred by the murder of her mother, grows into a beautiful young woman, who must endure the overprotectiveness of an increasingly obsessive stepmother.Teddy Brex does ride to her rescue, but he is a man who has already committed two murders. In Rendell's dark criminal London, can anyone be trusted?Review"Rendell weaves the interlocking desires into a frightening tapestry of warped minds ... A tale as chilling as any Rendell has written to date" (Marcel BerlinsThe Times)"Masterfully spooky. Don't read this alone" (Red)"The most brilliant mystery novelist of our time... mesmerizing" (Patricia Cornwell)"Ruth Rendell is the ultimate anatomist of the human psyche, probing behind public facades to reveal private torment and distorted visions that change the way we view the world around us" (Val McDermid)Book DescriptionTraumatised by the murder of her mother, a young woman discovers her rescuer may have a dark past of his own. A terrifyingly vivid portrayal of the murderous impulses hiding in the squalor of North London, from the world's best living crime writer and author of bestselling psychological thrillers including Thirteen Steps Down.About the AuthorRuth Rendell was an exceptional crime writer, and will be remembered as a legend in her own lifetime. Her groundbreaking debut novel,From Doon With Death, was first published in 1964 and introduced the reader to her enduring and popular detective, Inspector Reginald Wexford, who went on to feature in twenty-four of her subsequent novels.With worldwide sales of approximately 20 million copies, Rendell was a regularSunday Times bestseller. Her sixty bestselling novels include police procedurals, some of which have been successfully adapted for TV, stand-alone psychological mysteries, and a third strand of crime novels under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. Very much abreast of her times, the Wexford books in particular often engaged with social or political issues close to her heart.Rendell won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers? Association Gold Dagger for 1976?s best crime novel withA Demon in My View, a Gold Dagger award for Live Flesh in 1986, and theSunday Times Literary Award in 1990. In 2013 she was awarded the Crime Writers? Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer.Ruth Rendell died in May 2015. Her final novel,Dark Corners, is scheduled for publication in October 2015