La supuesta infidelidad conyugal de Louise North es el blanco de todas las habladurías en el vecindario. Sólo Susan Townsend prefiere quedar al margen del chismorreo. Sin embargo, es precisamente ella quien encuentra los cadáveres de Louise y su amante Bernard. En apariencia Bernard ha matado a Louise y después se ha suicidado, o al menos a esa conclusión llaga la policía. Pero David Chadwick, amigo de Bernard, descubre una serie de curiosas coincidencias que desmienten esa versión, y gracias a la decisiva colaboración de Susan los verdaderos culpables serán desenmascarados...

I love Ruth Rendell. Her standalone works are unique and quite creepy, and compelling reads.

This one sadly depicts how inaccurate our perceptions of others can be. A young-ish woman is closely observed by her neighbors. Why is that man’s car at her house so much? Ah! She must be having a clandestine affair; how awful of her!

Meanwhile the poor woman hasn’t got a clue about what’s going on. And neither do the neighbors.

Read this for another twisty story you’ll try hard to figure out. ( )

Abbastanza scontato: vittime e assassini si indovinano già dalle prime pagine, l'unico elemento che resta un po' nebuloso fino a quasi la fine del libro è il movente. ( )

La supuesta infidelidad conyugal de Louise North es el blanco de todas las habladurías en el vecindario. Sólo Susan Townsend prefiere quedar al margen del chismorreo. Sin embargo, es precisamente ella quien encuentra los cadáveres de Louise y su amante Bernard. En apariencia Bernard ha matado a Louise y después se ha suicidado, o al menos a esa conclusión llaga la policía. Pero David Chadwick, amigo de Bernard, descubre una serie de curiosas coincidencias que desmienten esa versión, y gracias a la decisiva colaboración de Susan los verdaderos culpables serán desenmascarados...

The Secret House of Death is one of Ruth Rendell's earlier books,published in 1968. It is the story of Susan Townsend, living with her son Paul, recently divorced from her husband. All the women in the neighborhood are gossiping about Louise North and her alleged lover, the central heating salesman, who is always seen at Louise's house during broad daylight. Susan has the misfortune of finding the bodies of her neighbor Louise and her alleged lover, in Louise's house.

Louise;s husband Bob, begins spending a lot of time with Susan who starts to realize that all is not quite right with Bob, and that he may have played a hand in his wife's death, even though she begins to develop feelings for him.

I enjoyed this book, as I have every other one that I have read by this author. ( )