A good read. A policeman is murdered almost on page 1. Three family members are murdered a few pages later. They're unconnected events of course. Or are they? It's the 3 murders however which occupy most of the book. The deceased are a woman, her husband, her daughter. Her granddaughter, though injured in the massacre, survives.

Several suspects, so little to go on. Inspector Wexford follows several false trails. The characters, even minor ones, are well drawn, and so when the murderer is revealed, on almost the last page, it's a real surprise.... but a believable one

( )

El asesinato de un policía en el atraco de un banco y la muerte violenta de tres miembros de una acaudalada familia en su mansión señorial, dos casos en apariencia inconexos, perturban la monótona quietud de una pequeña ciudad de provincias y son el punto de partida de Un beso para mi asesino, de Ruth Rendell.

Bei der Untersuchung des Mordes an einer sozialitären Familie ist Inspektor Wexford gezwungen, sich seinen eigenen tiefsten Gefühlen zu stellen. Er wird als "eine der dunkelsten und subtilsten Charakterstudien Rendells" (SF-Chronik) bezeichnet.

3.5 Stars This book was just slow for me for some reason. I had a hard time concentrating. It was just boring. Im not sure why?? ( )

In Kissing the Gunner's Daughter, long-time supporting character Sergeant Martin gets a first name. His adventure in chapter one might have been the author's argument against arming British police officers. I feel very sorry for his young son.

There's a new addition to the Kingsmarkham police force: Detective Barry Vine (named for Ms. Rendell's nom de plume, Barbara Vine?). He's a good man and Wexford appreciates his work. Does that make up for the fact that Reg is again stuck with the pathologist he doesn't want around instead of the one he respects?

Dr. Basil Sumner-Quist doesn't even come close to vexing Reg as much as his favorite daughter, Sheila. Another book that came out the same year as this book was Maybe He's Just a Jerk by Carol Rosen. It would have been a suitable gift for Sheila, especially with a bookmark in the right chapter. Reg would have had to send it anonymously. Sheila won't hear a word against her new man. Dora has more patience with writer Augustine Carey than Reg has. Perhaps she would be as apprehensive for their daughter as her husband is if she'd read the book. Besides setting off jerk alarm bells, Sheila's new love struck me as an 'Emperor's New Clothes' author: praised because critics and readers are afraid to admit they don't understand his books. I suspect that's because they're rubbish.

Another writer has been murdered, along with her husband and daughter. The granddaughter manages to make it to the phone and get help in time to avoid bleeding to death.

It's a frustrating case. The employees' houses are too far away from the main house for them to have heard the gunshots. All the houses are in a wood that combines new growth with ancient. Daisy, as the granddaughter is called, gives a description of the masked man who shot her. It resembles one of the few suspects, a respectable young man.

As usual, there are more than enough false trails Wexford and the readers get led down. Two persons were responsible for that bloody night. One of them was easy to figure out, but the other took me by surprise.

I wish that Ms. Rendell had bothered to include Sylvia's married surname in this book. Her husband and father-in-law have cameo roles, so there was opportunity for that. (If it was mentioned in one of the earlier books, I don't remember.)

The descriptions of Tancred House, where the murders take place, and the surrounding Cheriton forest are beautiful -- aside from the actual murders. Squeamish readers would probably have preferred less details there.



I'm afraid we have to wait until chapter 27 to find out where the title comes from, but it's an interesting expression. ( )