This was one of the first Rendell books that I read, and it absolutely knocked me out. I was recovering from a cold, lying in bed and enjoying it nicely, when it took a turn that made me sit up straight and go, "SAY WHAT? " I forgot the cold, forgot everything but following this hypnotic tale to its strange end. I've now read it three times, and each time it got more impressive. By present standards of sex and violence, it may seem understated. Somehow, in these days of excess, that just makes it more powerful. Rendell is the empress of the accidental, the queen of chaos theory. Something tiny happens, and something else tiny happens, and somehow, inevitably, chance becomes destiny or whatever passes for it. Oh, her books are lovely, dark, and deep. Open this one up, and you'll have miles to go before you sleep.