The Rottweiler

I have read a few other books by Ruth Rendell, but this is the best one so far. An expertly developed, fully dysfunctional slice of life in one apartment building, above the landlady's antique store. Widows, beautiful schemers, mentally challenged adults, upper crust gentlemen, and sketchy eastern European ladies - all present and accounted for. Oh, and a serial murderer. The characters are in turn plucky, horrifying, and bittersweet. The structure allows the reader to spend a lot of time in the murderer's mind - wonderfully unpleasant! And the title provides an ironic twist to the story.

Yes I would I found this story engaging and really enjoyed the story the characters and also the narrater.

As a friend's grandmother used to say, "Everyone has a story." Or, as Atticus Finch might say, you can't understand a person until you've walked in their shoes. Ruth Rendell understands this very well. (Full disclosure: She is my favorite author.) She's great at depicting the inner lives of people from all backgrounds and psychological make ups, and specializes in putting you in the mind of even "worst" person, making him or her, if not sympathetic, understandable.A suspense story and multiple character study all at the same time.

When, long before the book's climax, the killer is revealed. I wasn't so much shocked by the revelation, but admired the author's ability to make this just one more plot point in the story.

Terrific variety of voices - all perfectly suited to the characters. He did a great job.

Yep. Usually save audiobooks for car, but had to bring this one inside because I couldn't wait to continue listening to it.

I especially enjoyed the relatively minor character of Becky. A very well drawn and sympathetic portrait of a young woman who feels trapped by circumstance and can't always do the "right thing" as she sees it.

The narrator and the story. Both were absolutely wonderful. It's Ruth Rendell in her "crazy intertwined neighborhood" mode.

Yes! As Alexander Gibbons sorted things out, things definitely got more and more interesting. And the twist with the strong box and the perfume counter were genius.

Freddy Perfect and Suzanne/Zenab's mother. Freddy Perfect was absolutely amazing.

"What do you know about your upstairs neighbor?"

I'm an unabashed Rendell fan, so I give this 5 stars all around.

The characters were comic/tragic with a twist of pure malice. I took an interest in the fiture of all of them.

I would say one of the top ones. The characters were ones I could relate to, with their little quirks of personality.

This was a good Ruth Rendell, typical of her. It included many moments that made me smile. I can't really compare it to anything else I've read.

He was brilliant with his voices. They were all very distinctive.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator did a really good job, and the story itself was great. I also enjoyed this because I was not left with that feeling of doom I can sometimes feel after reading a Ruth Rendell book.
I definitely recommend for listeners of mystery books.