A Sleeping Life is the tenth book in the Inspector Wexford series of mystery novels by Ruth Rendell.   She is a master of the craft of storytelling and she does not disappoint with this book.    It is a police procedural format, with Wexford and his team investigating the murder of a woman in their territory.      What makes this mystery different is the lack of clues and the hidden lifes of the victim.    There are lies, secrets, and deceptions that stymie the  investigation and lead them to make mistakes and pursue false leads.

The truth is darker and more complex than Wexford anticipates and we continue to read to find what has occurred, not hazarding any guesses ourselves.   Woven into the narrative are some modern themes on the roles of women, sexual identity, and alternate norms in society.   Wexford deals with the crime, but also with conflicts in his family and work, always challenged as we all are to cope and achieve.

Ruth Rendell’s  (and her pseudonym Barbara Vine’s ) books are strong in well-developed characters, with details of their lives, motivations, psychological profiles, and their flaws.   She finds some level of humanity in all characters and places them in a story that may have elements of crime, mystery,  psychological dilemmas, and often with a thriller aspects.    She has won all of the awards of her genre, some many times.

Although this book is not her best, it is still recommended.  4.4 out of 5.0 stars4.4

And, an audibook excerpt sample: