Adam and Eve and Pinch Me

Title: Adam and Eve and Pinch Me

Author: Ruth Rendell

Published in: 2001

Date read: 11th May 2010

Score: 3/5

Genre: Crime, Thriller, Psychological

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
In this psychological crime thriller, Ruth Rendell weaves a dark, layered tale centred around Minty Knox, a reclusive and mentally fragile woman living in London. Minty is obsessed with cleanliness and order, and she spends her days tending to her home and conversing with the voices of her deceased aunt and other spirits she believes inhabit her house.

Minty's already disturbed world is turned upside down when she starts receiving phone calls and seeing visions of Jock, a charming conman she briefly dated before he mysteriously disappeared. Minty believes Jock is dead and that he’s trying to contact her from beyond the grave — but when she sees him alive and well, she becomes convinced she’s either going mad or experiencing a haunting.

As the story unfolds, we learn that Jock — whose real name is Jeff Leigh — is a manipulative serial fraudster who uses aliases to deceive vulnerable women and steal from them. He has been romantically involved with several women under different names, including Zillah, Fiona, and Melinda, all of whom eventually cross paths as they begin to unravel the truth about him.

The tension escalates when Jock’s deceptions start catching up with him, and one of the women is found dead. Minty’s psychological state continues to deteriorate, leading to a chilling and violent climax in which past and present collide — and the truth is finally uncovered.

Themes:
Mental illness and delusion
Deception and betrayal
The vulnerability of isolated individuals
Supernatural vs. psychological explanations
Justice and retribution

Comments:
I am at a loss with this book. Had I not found evidence that I had read it, I would not have believed it. I am currently going through this, almost 15 years after reading it, and it just does not ring a bell. I might be tempted to say that, as it did not drive me to buy more of her books after, it did not inspire me much, but I could not be so cold, I may have just been in an odd place, I was about to complete my teacher training qualification, I had a 3 year old son and my daughter was born 3 weeks after I finished it.

Books that we've read by Ruth Rendell (1):
Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (2001)