Thirteen Steps Down cover art

Thirteen Steps Down

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Thirteen Steps Down

By: Ruth Rendell
Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
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About this listen

Mix Cellini (which he pronounces with an S rather than a C) is superstitious about the number 13 and has always felt dogged by ill-luck. In the house where he lives, there are 13 steps down to the landing below his rooms. His landlady lives her life almost exclusively through her library, blind to the neglect and decay around her. However, Mix is obsessed with the life of the notorious John Christie, who lived in the same Notting Hill neighbourhood at 10 Rillington Place. He is also infatuated with a beautiful woman who lives near-by, a model who wouldn’t look twice at him. Both landlady and lodger are caught up in their own psychologically twisted parallel worlds. But when reality intrudes into Mix's life, a long pent-up violence explodes.

©2004 Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Crime Thrillers Mystery Psychological Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime Scary Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant

What did you like best about Thirteen Steps Down? What did you like least?

The narrator.

It took what appeared to be a very long time before something happened.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The ending, it sort of fizzled out.

Have you listened to any of Ric Jerrom’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Yes, loved him as Lord Peter Wimsey in Murder Must Advertise.

Was Thirteen Steps Down worth the listening time?

Yes, I listened to it a second time, so it can't have been as bad as it seemed to be the first time around.

Any additional comments?

I haven't read any of Ruth Rendell's books before, but decided to give this one a go seeing as it was narrated by Ric Jerrom. I would have liked the action to have begun a little earlier than it did, and not have ended with a whimper. Maybe I am asking too much, but I do like a bit more action.

Could have done better

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Yes, this book is dark -- it's about serial killers -- but it's also bloody funny. Rendell is commonly known for being a bit formal, buttoned up, but she can be wildly funny in the blackest variety. The final chapter in the book -- cited by some as disappointing -- is a brilliantly jaundiced endorsement of the kind of misanthropic attitude the author dramatises throughout. Rendell is a superb chronicler of human weakness, hence all the fantasists here, and how the best laid plans turn to la merde. A wonderfully jaded book.

Black comedy -- Rendell's most underrated quality

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I read the reviews, and still listened to the book.
It’s slow going, and nothing seems to actually happen. Most characters are delusional, the end is as other have said.
For newbies to her writings, pick something else, if you’re a Ruth Rendell fan you may enjoy.

Narration saved the book.

Thirteen steps down

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This although well narrated seemed to just go on and on not her best work

Too long goes nowhere

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I found all the characters interesting and engaging. The story has good pace and is exceptionally well narrated. Well worth the time spent on it

Great characters

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