Listen free for 30 days
-
From Doon with Death
- A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery, Book 1 (Unabridged)
- Narrated by: Terrence Hardiman
- Series: Inspector Wexford, Book 1
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £13.49
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A New Lease of Death
- A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery, Book 2
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Nigel Anthony
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wexford had every reason to remember the Painter case - it was the first murder he'd ever handled on his own. There had been no doubts about the case, until now. Someone wants the case reopened, and they want Wexford proved wrong.
-
-
Unmistakable Ruth Rendell
- By Susan on 24-08-09
-
Wolf to the Slaughter
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chief Inspector Wexford tries to solve a murder with no evidence, not even a body. Anita Margolis had vanished. There was no body, no crime - nothing more than an anonymous letter and the intriguing name of Smith. According to HQ, it wasn't to be a murder enquiry at all. In fact, Inspector Burden has no trouble seeing a pattern in the Margolis case. Anita was wealthy, flighty, and thoroughly immoral.
-
-
Poorly abridged
- By Saffy on 25-04-12
-
A Sleeping Life
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The body found under the hedge was that of a middle-aged woman, biggish and gaunt. The grey eyes were wide and staring, and in them Detective Chief Inspector Wexford thought he saw a sardonic gleam, a glare, even in death, of scorn. But that must have been his imagination, and imagination was almost all he had to go on. The woman was a stranger. Her handbag held little more than three keys on a ring and forty-two pounds in a new wallet.
-
Shake Hands for Ever
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most people would have screamed. Mrs Hathall made no sound. She had seen death many times before, but she had never before seen a death by violence. Heavily, she plodded across the room and descended the stairs to where her son waited. "There’s been an accident", she said. "Your wife’s dead." Chief Inspector Wexford could discover no motive, no reason and no suspect – all he had were his intuitive suspicions. Probably he was reading meaning where there was none; probably Angela Hathall really had picked up a stranger, and that stranger had killed her.
-
-
Great story, well told
- By sams247 on 27-04-17
-
Harm Done
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Christopher Ravenscroft
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the day Lizzie came back from the dead, the police and her family and neighbours had already begun to search for her body. She had been missing for three days. A short while later, another young woman disappears, just as a convicted paedophile is released back into the community.
-
Put on by Cunning
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sir Manuel Camargue, one of the greatest flautists of his time, was dead.Misadventure. An old man, ankle-deep in snow, he lost his foothold in the dark, slipping into water to be trapped under a lid of ice. Only a glove remained to point to where he lay, one of its fingers rising up out of the drifts. There’s nothing Chief Inspector Wexford likes better than an open-and-shut case. They’re so restful. And yet there are one or two niggling doubts – and the disturbing return of Camargue’s daughter, now a considerable heiress, after an absence of nineteen years.
-
A New Lease of Death
- A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery, Book 2
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Nigel Anthony
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wexford had every reason to remember the Painter case - it was the first murder he'd ever handled on his own. There had been no doubts about the case, until now. Someone wants the case reopened, and they want Wexford proved wrong.
-
-
Unmistakable Ruth Rendell
- By Susan on 24-08-09
-
Wolf to the Slaughter
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chief Inspector Wexford tries to solve a murder with no evidence, not even a body. Anita Margolis had vanished. There was no body, no crime - nothing more than an anonymous letter and the intriguing name of Smith. According to HQ, it wasn't to be a murder enquiry at all. In fact, Inspector Burden has no trouble seeing a pattern in the Margolis case. Anita was wealthy, flighty, and thoroughly immoral.
-
-
Poorly abridged
- By Saffy on 25-04-12
-
A Sleeping Life
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The body found under the hedge was that of a middle-aged woman, biggish and gaunt. The grey eyes were wide and staring, and in them Detective Chief Inspector Wexford thought he saw a sardonic gleam, a glare, even in death, of scorn. But that must have been his imagination, and imagination was almost all he had to go on. The woman was a stranger. Her handbag held little more than three keys on a ring and forty-two pounds in a new wallet.
-
Shake Hands for Ever
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most people would have screamed. Mrs Hathall made no sound. She had seen death many times before, but she had never before seen a death by violence. Heavily, she plodded across the room and descended the stairs to where her son waited. "There’s been an accident", she said. "Your wife’s dead." Chief Inspector Wexford could discover no motive, no reason and no suspect – all he had were his intuitive suspicions. Probably he was reading meaning where there was none; probably Angela Hathall really had picked up a stranger, and that stranger had killed her.
-
-
Great story, well told
- By sams247 on 27-04-17
-
Harm Done
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Christopher Ravenscroft
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the day Lizzie came back from the dead, the police and her family and neighbours had already begun to search for her body. She had been missing for three days. A short while later, another young woman disappears, just as a convicted paedophile is released back into the community.
-
Put on by Cunning
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sir Manuel Camargue, one of the greatest flautists of his time, was dead.Misadventure. An old man, ankle-deep in snow, he lost his foothold in the dark, slipping into water to be trapped under a lid of ice. Only a glove remained to point to where he lay, one of its fingers rising up out of the drifts. There’s nothing Chief Inspector Wexford likes better than an open-and-shut case. They’re so restful. And yet there are one or two niggling doubts – and the disturbing return of Camargue’s daughter, now a considerable heiress, after an absence of nineteen years.
-
End in Tears
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Christopher Ravenscroft
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A lump of concrete dropped deliberately from a little stone bridge over a relatively unfrequented road kills the wrong person. The driver behind is spared. But only for a while... It is impossible for Chief Inspector Wexford not to wonder how terrible it would be to discover that one of his daughters had been murdered.
-
The Monster in the Box
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Christopher Ravenscroft
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Wexford had almost made up his mind that he would never again set eyes on Eric Targo's short, muscular figure. And yet there he was, back in Kingsmarkham, still with that cocky, strutting walk.Years earlier, when Wexford was a young police officer, a woman called Elsie Carroll had been found strangled in her bedroom. Although many still had their suspicions that her husband was guilty, no one was convicted.
-
The Speaker of Mandarin
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
China both delighted and frustrated Wexford; the beauty, the history, all of that brought immense pleasure. But the unending attention of Mr Sung of the Chinese Tourist Board was hugely irritating – and that an old woman with bound feet should haunt him was puzzling and slightly frightening, without explanation. Back home, he found an answer to the last and then a whole new mystery opened up....
-
-
Enjoyable
- By sams247 on 03-11-19
-
The Tree of Hands
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Isla Blair
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the writer of the Wexford novels and read by Isla Blair. Once, when Benet was about fourteen, they had been in a train together, alone in the carriage, and Mopsa had tried to stab her with a carving knife. Threatened her with it, rather. Benet had been wondering why her mother had brought such a large handbag with her, a red one that didn’t go with the clothes she was wearing. Mopsa had shouted and laughed and said wild things and then she had put the knife back in her bag.
-
-
Abridged!
- By Elvira Coot on 05-11-21
-
A Demon in My View
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Julian Glover
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a gloomy cellar, the figure of a beautiful, pale woman makes no move when the man advances on her from the shadows, puts his hands around her neck and strangles her. Arthur Johnson is a mild-mannered, shy man who has never known how to talk to women. His resulting loneliness has twisted his yearning for love and respect into a carefully constructed predilection for violence and control.
-
-
A gripping story, a wonderful performance
- By Michael on 12-04-12
-
The Keys to the Street
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mary Jago had donated her own bone marrow to save the life of someone she didn’t know. And this generous act led directly to the bitter break-up of her affair with Alistair. For him, it was as though her beauty had been plundered. But the man whose life she had saved would change Mary’s life in a way she could never have imagined.
-
-
A Perfect Match
- By Olga the Owl on 15-11-12
-
An Unkindness of Ravens
- An Inspector Wexford Mystery
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: George Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a local Romeo goes missing and two more young men are attacked, Chief Inspector Wexford begins to suspect murder.Rodney Williams was neither handsome nor wealthy, but he had an unerring eye for a pretty girl and when he disappeared and two other men were later attacked by a young woman, Chief Inspector Wexford couldn’t help wondering if there was a connection. If there wasn’t, where was Rodney Williams and why had he vanished?
-
A Spot of Folly
- Ten and a Quarter New Tales of Murder and Mayhem
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble, Toby Longworth, Julian Rhind-Tutt, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Previously uncollected and unpublished: new short stories from a master of psychological suspense. New and uncollected tales of murder, mischief, magic and madness. Ruth Rendell was an acknowledged master of psychological suspense: these are 10 (and a quarter) of her most chillingly compelling short stories, collected here together for the first time.
-
-
Good, but not vintage Rendell
- By DartmoorDiva on 04-11-17
-
The Bridesmaid
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: William Gaminara
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Philip Wardman had more than just the ordinary squeamishness where death was concerned. Yet he could hardly avoid the suspicious disappearance of his sister's friend Rebecca Neave, especially when everyone was ascribing the cause to murder. Philip's feminine ideal is the statue of the Roman goddess Flora in his mother's garden. His marble Flora doesn't fade, doesn't alter, and doesn’t die.
-
-
Very scary and shocking!
- By Susan on 23-04-13
-
Talking to Strange Men
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Safe houses and secret message drops, double crosses and defections - it sounds like the stuff of sophisticated espionage, but these agents are only schoolboys engaged in harmless play. Not that John Creevey knows this. To him, the messages he decodes with painstaking care are the communications of dangerous and evil men, and as he comes face to face with the fact of his beloved wife Jennifer's defection, he begins to see a way to get back at the man she left him for.
-
-
Gripping and ingenious
- By Craftaddict on 02-05-21
-
The Killing Doll
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one would have described Manningtree Grove as fashionable. Few would have found it especially interesting. But it was not an unpleasant place to live: the old railway line lay in a valley, and the gardens looked onto it. It was the kind of place where nothing ever happened. Yet it was here that Peter Yearman first sold his soul to the devil....
-
-
The Killing Doll
- By Susan Random on 19-11-15
-
The Rottweiler
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Nigel Anthony
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first girl had a bite mark on her neck, but they traced the DNA to her boyfriend. But the tabloids got hold of the story and called the killer 'The Rottweiler' and the name stuck. The latest murder takes place very near Inez Ferry's antique shop in Marylebone. When the Rottweiler’s trinkets start showing up in the shop, suddenly, everyone Inez knows is a suspect, and the killer feels all too close.
-
-
The Rottweiler
- By Susan Random on 28-02-16
Summary
When Margaret Parsons disappears, it's assumed that she's run off with another man. But then the missing woman's body is found and a startling discovery is made when Mr. Parsons lets the police into his home....
More from the same
What listeners say about From Doon with Death
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- T
- 04-05-15
Convention-breaking period piece
This was Ruth Rendell’s first novel, and our introduction to her Inspector Wexford. For the modern listener, it's a little like getting into the mood and mores of an Agatha Christie novel because it is firmly set in another era. Apparently the dénouement was controversial and regarded a ground-breaking back in 1964 when it was first published. Most readers/listeners nowadays will have seen it coming, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good listen. It’s well read, a good story in itself and of course sets the scene for more than 20 further Inspector Wexford novels to follow.
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Kirstine
- 30-06-10
Vintage Rendell
It was interesting to listen to this book as I've seen the TV version a couple of times, but I'd forgotten the ending and so could enjoy the gradual detection process of Wexford's incisive mind. As with other Ruth Rendell novels, there's plenty of psychological disfunction and complex motivations displayed before the killer is revealed.
I believe this is either the first or one of the earliest Inspector Wexford novels. Wexford's character comes over strongly, but Inspector Burdon doesn't figure as prominently as he does in later books.
It's a well-crafted story with false trails but it all hangs together in a satisfactory way and the ending is a bit of a surprise, but not entirely implausible.
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Annie
- 11-05-16
The First Case!
In this book we first meet DCI Reg Wexford.
The lady disappears & a body is found.
Who did it?
This is the basic plot.
The reader did well, but having got to know Wexford on TV, it is hard to accept another voice.
I think that the books got better as the characters developed, but it's always worth hearing the first book in a series.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ZippyTip
- 28-11-19
An easy listen and a good story with nothing gory
Very nearly gave up on this book because of the irritating poetry at the start of every chapter, which I felt really didn’t add to the story. However, I’m glad I persevered with this book as it was a good easy listen and it gave an interesting insight into a bygone age.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vicuña
- 21-07-15
Slow and slightly dated but great characters
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, it introduces Wexford. It's slow in pace, but measured. A relaxing listen with a range of characters and a neat little murder mystery which explores motivation.
What was one of the most memorable moments of From Doon with Death?
The denouement.
What does Terrence Hardiman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
His narration is excellent, brings a different and recognisable voice to each character.
Any additional comments?
Surprised at how quickly this book has dated in terms of language and attitudes. The professional classes resent the interference of police interrupting dinner parties and cocktails. There are references to underlings. Having 'a gay countenance' and a 'queer turn' now have a different meaning. Despite the anachronistic feel, it's an interesting tale which meanders around a number of potential suspects as motives and alibis are explored. I enjoyed it and found it a gentle and relaxing tale of truth, lies and dark secrets.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Monica
- 01-06-15
Ruth Rendell RIP I need to start at the beginning
What made the experience of listening to From Doon with Death the most enjoyable?
I have read most of Ruth Rendell's books, but decided after her death to listen to the first Wexford story and was not disappointed
Who was your favorite character and why?
Always Wexford, he is my type of man
Have you listened to any of Terrence Hardiman’s other performances? How does this one compare?
This is the first Terrence Hardiman performance I have listened to but I really liked his voice.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Never judge a book by its inscription.
Any additional comments?
Nope
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Much Read Photographer
- 20-05-16
Really enjoyed!
Any additional comments?
It is difficult to find fault with any of Ruth Rendell's work and I especially love the Inspector Wexford series. This was up there amongst her best work.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Maryb
- 09-03-16
Typical Ruth Rendell. As always a good plot.
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Yes if you are a Rendell fan. Lots if subtle hints throuout.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
A subject not often spoken about back then.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
The husband interpretation made me laugh.
If this book were a film would you go see it?
Probably.
Any additional comments?
The voices were good but some were amusing. Made me lol.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- melissa
- 17-11-15
Great first book as all her books.
Liked the narrator. I have read many of her books but decided to read them in order now on audible. V enjoyable.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- bibliophile
- 04-08-15
Excellent!
The plot is well developed and the characterisation of Wexford and Burden heightens the interest. Expertly read, too!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- connie
- 12-03-11
It's worth starting here
I started Rendell with her later Wexford mysteries, but hesitated to spend a credit on this one because it was both older and shorter. I'm glad I finally tired it since it proved a well-wriiten and absorbing mystery made more enjoyable by Rendell's knack for capturing the setting and Wexford's dry wit. The narrator (not favorites Bailey or Anthony) delivers a different but apt voice for Wexford.
58 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nicole
- 09-07-12
From Doon with Death
Would you listen to From Doon with Death again? Why?
The first Inspector Wexford story, this story is a little dated as you'd expect as it's almost fifty years old. I surmised the murderer early but it was still satisfying to hear the story unfold.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kathi
- 12-02-14
First Inspector Wexford mystery
I enjoy Ruth Rendell's mysteries, have been reading them since the 60's when she began. I could not recall if I had read this one before, the first in which Inspector Wexford and his sidekick Mike Burden appear or not. But I am very happy to have just listened to it.
Although it is clear she has not yet hit her peak, still this is a good story, with good character development. Margaret Parsons, a quiet, unassuming wife, has gone missing. As the story unfolds, we get to see that she had more to her past than might have been first thought.
I have read some reviews that called this kind of so-so. In one way perhaps that is correct--at least by very modern mystery standards. In another, if you consider it for the time in which it was written, it actually reveals a solidly good story, and is helpful for better understanding future Inspector Wexford books. I liked both the story and the narration. Only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I know how she will go on to grow and develop herself as an author.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sarah
- 23-03-14
Spectacular Narration
Where does From Doon with Death rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
One of many absolutely amazing narrators - the reading really flowed. This is the first book I found truly compelling since the last James Lee Burke book I listened to. It was a good story but the ending situation was not well supported IMO. I was surprised, but a surprise has to be well developed - pretty tricky I guess to keep readers from guessing the ending too soon but not have the end seem to come out of nowhere.
I enjoyed the characters of Wexler and Burton (is that his name) and plan to get more from this series. I've always been a fan of Ruth Rendell and have probably read some of these years ago but this one was new to me. Thanks for including it, Audible!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kathy in CA
- 08-06-16
Engrossing
After decades enjoying various cozy mysteries, I don't know how I'd missed Ruth Rendell. I'm delighted to discover a whole new wealth of books to enjoy.
I'd say that these are comparable to TV's Midsomer Murders, though of a different time period.
I spotted the secret early but not the villain and enjoyed the way it gradually unfolded. Narrator is awesome, able to voice varied characters of both sexes transparently so that I felt as if it was a cast speaking.
I look forward to more in series.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Bull
- 17-10-12
A very pedestrian mystery
Early Ruth Rendell sounds a lot like an Agathy Christie impersonator. It's fine, it's entertaining, the plot is clever, the dialog is witty. But compared to the mature Rendell it is a pale shadow. Probably an essential read for folks who are interested in seeing the arc of a great mystery writer from her early beginnings. A lesser narrator than Terrence Hardiman would have moved this novel to one-star status.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Allison
- 16-03-16
Nice step back
I really enjoyed this calm story unfolding-other reviewers have said it's dated, but that was part of the attraction for me. The character development with thorough and well done, and I did not guess correctly whodunit which is another positive. It is short, but that wasn't a big deal.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Booklass
- 06-06-22
Excellent
This is my first Rendell book, but it definitely won't be my last. This was a really interesting and well narrated story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- A. Percival
- 20-05-21
Set in the 1960s
I was having a really hard time wrapping my head around this novel until I looked up the year it was published (1964) and then the pieces clicked into place. Going in knowing that, it is a pleasant enough police mystery. The POV seemed to bounce between Wexford and another detective, and I had trouble distinguishing between them. It felt rather old-fashioned and slow. I don't think I'll be continuing with the series.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Arlene Olsen
- 12-05-21
I like inspector Wexford
Like the book overall and the story, wasn’t my favorite narrator. I guess I have a hard time with change.