House of stairs (Penguin Books)

"The House of Stairs" - an unputdownable crime classic from bestselling author Barbara Vine. Lizzie hasn't seen her old friend, Bell, for some fourteen years, but when she spots her from a taxi in a London street she jumps out and pursues her despite 'all the terrible things' that passed between them. As Lizzie reveals those events, little żeby little, the women rekindle their friendship, with terrifying results..."This is the third psychological thriller by Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine and when I say it surpasses the first two that's really saying something...Vine has not only produced a quietly smouldering suspense novel but also presents an accurately atmospheric portrayal of London in the heady 60's. Literally unputdownable". ("Time Out"). "The House of Stairs" is a modern masterpiece of the crime genre and will leave you gripped from the first page to the last. If you enjoy the novels of P.D. James, Ian Rankin and Scott Turow, you will love this book. "The Rendell/ Vine partnership has for years been producing consistently better work than most Booker winners put together". (Ian Rankin). "A superb and original writer". (Amanda Craig, "Express").Barbara Vine is the pen-name of Ruth Rendell. She has written fifteen novels using this pseudonym, including "A Fatal Inversion" and "King Solomon's Carpet" which both won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. Her other books include: "A Dark Adapted Eye"; "The House of Stairs"; "Gallowglass"; "Asta's Book"; "No Night Is Too Long"; "In the Time of His Prosperity"; "The Brimstone Wedding"; "The Chimney Sweeper's Boy"; "Grasshopper"; "The Blood Doctor"; "The Minotaur"; "The Birthday Present" and "The Child's Child".