An Unkindness of Ravens

Ruth Rendell's thirteenth Wexford procedural begins as a missing-person case — a middle-aged Kingsmarkham man apparently walked out on his wife — and escalates into a murder investigation complicated by the revelation of bigamy and a local radical-feminist teen group with a taste for violent retribution. The bigamy twist is genuinely surprising, and Rendell's psychological sharpness keeps even a mid-series entry absorbing. The honest caveat is that the feminist subplot has aged awkwardly; Rendell herself acknowledged she was 'having a go at dotty militant feminism,' and the portrayal feels caricatured by current standards. Adult mystery readers who enjoy British procedurals will find this a competent, intriguing entry in a reliably excellent series, even if it is not among Wexford's very finest.