Perfect for fans of PD James, Ann Cleeves and Donna Leon, this haunting insight into the mind of a pathological criminal is one of multi-million copy and SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author Ruth Rendell's most terrifying novels...

'Rendell is unrivalled at depicting psychologically warped people and at creating unease through the simplest things. This is another triumph' -- Observer
'Wonderful at exploring the dark corners of the human mind, and the way private fantasies can clash and explode into terrifying violence' -- Daily Mail
'Brilliantly written' -- ***** Reader review
'Absolutely fantastic!' -- ***** Reader review
'Mesmerizing' -- ***** Reader review
'Intensely absorbing' -- ***** Reader review
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Arthur Johnson doesn't look like a murderous psychopath; he is a mild-mannered man who has never known how to talk to women.

Years of loneliness has warped his mind, turning his desire for a woman's love and respect into a pathological need for carefully controlled violence. Locked in the cellar of his building is the perfect willing victim, a woman who can be murdered over and over again, a woman who waits for Arthur every night...a mannequin in the form of a female.

But when a young scholar of psychopathic personalities moves in downstairs and Arthur's mannequin disappears, where will he turn to satisfy his urgent craving for violence?

A chilling portrayal of pathological violence, from the world's greatest living mystery writer and author of bestselling crime thriller, Thirteen Steps Down. Winner of the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger award for Best Crime Novel of the Year in 1976. One of Rendell's most terrifying works, A Demon in My View was made into an award-winning film starring the man who brought Hannibal Lector to life: Anthony Hopkins.

About the Author

Ruth Rendell was an exceptional crime writer, and will be remembered as a legend in her own lifetime. Her groundbreaking debut novel, From Doon With Death, was first published in 1964 and introduced the reader to her enduring and popular detective, Inspector Reginald Wexford, who went on to feature in twenty-four of her subsequent novels.

With worldwide sales of approximately 20 million copies, Rendell was a regular Sunday Times bestseller. Her sixty bestselling novels include police procedurals, some of which have been successfully adapted for TV, stand-alone psychological mysteries, and a third strand of crime novels under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. Very much abreast of her times, the Wexford books in particular often engaged with social or political issues close to her heart.

Rendell won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for 1976's best crime novel with A Demon in My View, a Gold Dagger award for Live Flesh in 1986, and the Sunday Times Literary Award in 1990. In 2013 she was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer.

Ruth Rendell died in May 2015. Her final novel, Dark Corners, was published in October 2015.

Reviews
As well as being a classic of suspense, this book marks the high point of Rendell's gift for seeing the comedy in tragedy. Her portrayal of the pompous and pious bachelor Arthur Johnson and his struggles to control his regrettable inclination towards serial murder is as hilarious as it is disturbing. -- Jake Kerridge * Telegraph *
Wonderful at exploring the dark corners of the human mind, and the way private fantasies can clash and explode into terrifying violence * Daily Mail *
The best mystery writer anywhere in the English-speaking world * Boston Globe *
Rendell is unrivalled at depicting psychologically warped people and at creating unease through the simplest things. This is another triumph * Observer *


Awards
Winner of CWA Gold Dagger for Fiction 1976.



Book Information
ISBN 9780099148609
Author Ruth Rendell
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Arrow Books Ltd
Publisher Cornerstone
Weight(grams) 125g
Dimensions(mm) 178mm * 110mm * 14mm