Some Lie and Some Die is a mystery novel by Ruth Rendell, the 8th book in the Inspector Wexford series.   The setting is a music festival in Kings Markham.    A woman is found in a quarry, a murder victim, and Wexford’s team need to investigate.    There are lots of interviews with witnesses and suspects, lots of checking up, and a number of meetings, often in pubs, to discuss their findings and develop some theories.    This is standard detective fiction, but Ruth Rendell’s books always have a lot of in-depth character development, an unravelling of secrets, and some dark behaviors.    In her books, the criminals are not usually villains.     They and their friends and families are ordinary people, many with personal problems or relationship issues, and crimes are a result of trauma, obsession, and ill will.   Some of her books are called psychological thrillers.

Some Lie and Some Die is a solid story, not her best, but she sets a high standard in the crime novel genre.    Recommended, but there are some better Ruth Rendell stories to start with.    4.3 stars/5