Read the end and still enjoy the book
I grew to like this book more as I read it.
"Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write." Thus goes the first line of the book. The first chapter fills in details of who, how and when and that she gets caught. Reading the end just explains how she felt about being caught. BUT you have to read the entire book to find out why being illiterate led to murder.
Enjoyably reading the end was NOT enlightening. I had to read EVERY page to discover how her disability occurred; how it affected Eunice and others; how she coped; and how it led to the death of several people. Being Illiterate is a problem often ignored but is interestingly written about. Like most Rendell books the concept feels original.
I enjoy all Ruth Rendell books but I think this is my favourite.