A Guilty Thing Surprised

A Guilty Thing Surprised opens with the death of Elizabeth Nightingale, a woman accustomed to her peaceful evening walks through the woods near Myfleet Manor, found murdered on a quiet night. Chief Inspector Wexford and Inspector Burden must navigate the comfortable rural surface of the Nightingale household to find what lay beneath it, in a case that exposes the gap between the appearance of happiness and the reality of what people endure inside their own lives.

George Baker's narration has become synonymous with the Wexford series, his warm, considered voice perfectly suited to Rendell's English countryside settings. Baker brings a gentle authority to Wexford's investigations, conveying the inspector's intelligence and humanity without sentimentality. At under three hours, this entry is one of the series' leaner entries, and Baker keeps the pacing economical and satisfying.