Título en español: Dedicatoria mortal
Título original: From Doon with Death
Autor/a: Ruth Rendell
Año:1964 (Reedición 1 Oct 2009)
Saga: Wexford
Nº de páginas:240 pages
Editorial: Arrow Books Ltd
Encuadernación: Tapa Blanda / Bolsillo
Dimensiones:19.6 x 13 x 1.8 cm
ISBN: 978-0099534785
Sinopsis:
Margaret Parsons is dead. She appeared to lead a very dull life. She had been a "good" woman. Religious, old-fashioned, and respectable, her life had been as spotless and ordinary as her home, as unexciting and dependable as her marriage.
However, it was not because of her life that Chief Inspector Wexford got involved, but her death... How is it possible that a woman who had led such a quiet, respectable, unspectacular life could have met such a death of passion and violence? To Wexford, it simply does not make sense, until he begins to slowly uncover the layers of Margaret Parsons' real life...
This, the first Wexford novel and Rendell's debut in the world of the published writer, is a remarkable crime novel, for several reasons. Firstly, and most importantly of course, it is an excellent mystery; a brilliant puzzle, worthy of Agatha Christie. The investigation twists and turns down unexpected paths, and the diligent Inspector Wexford follows each clue faithfully, until the entirely satisfying and surprising solution. However, unlike Christie, Rendell's mystery is more rounded. It is more socially conscious (although that's not at al to say that some of Christie's weren't; she was excellent at the divide between the upper- and lower-classes), the characters are more real, more developed, more human and thus more interesting. The writing is also better; more compelling, with greater clarity; precision.
Cuando regresó del trabajo el martes, el señor Parsons no encontró a Margaret en casa. Era la primera vez que ocurría en los casi seis años de matrimonio. El inspector Burden intentó calmarlo; pensó que el hombre estaba sugestionado por la literatura policíaca a la que era aficionado. Pero la esposa no regresó esa noche. Al día siguiente, el Departamento de Investigación Criminal de Kingsmarkham comenzó a indagar. Margaret era predicadora laica en la Iglesia; una mujer dedicada a su hogar que vestía de forma muy sencilla y nunca se maquillaba. El cadáver estaba junto a un árbol en un bosquecillo de las proximidades. Entre las hierbas, un lápiz de labios. Y en el desván del modesto hogar de los Parsons, varios libros de poesía en ediciones de lujo con dedicatorias manuscritas. Las firmaba Doon. El inspector jefe Wexford debía hallarlo.