How easily it all comes tumbling down. And I know you always have to be prepared to suspend disbelieve to enjoy a murder mystery, but this time I felt the characters were just two implausible for the novel to work. Saint Zita Society by Ruth Rendell When millionaire banker, Preston Still, kills his wifes lover by pushing him down the stairs, he looks to the family au-pair to help him dispose of the body. Lucca is in Tuscany; and since the Third Order was widely propagated there after its founding, this holy servant girl of the thirteenth century would quite naturally join its ranks. I didn't find the novel slow-paced or boring and as usual, Rendell pulls you into the story with ease. Rendell is my favorite author and I had saved this book to read on my vacation, about two months after it was released. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The ending was really strange. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. To be honest, the idea of them all coming together (in the little spare time they had) to discuss dog excrement and smoking areas, didn't really work. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Put on by Cunning, An Unkindness of Ravens. INCLUDES AN EXCERPT OF RENDELL’S FINAL NOVEL, The Water's Lovely: A Suspense Thriller (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard), "The queen of the psychological thriller...an updated Downton Abbey with a higher body count." "[3] Writing for The Washington Times, Muriel Dobbin pointed out that the book was "less of a mystery than a social satire about rather ordinary people" and added: "All the doings of these busy characters are wrapped up in the book’s startling but satisfying ending ... Ms. Rendell, an expert craftsman, has delivered the goods again. The St. Zita Society is named after the patron saint of domestic servants and one of its members, as might be expected from the author of this book, is a psychopath called Dex. "[2], The Independent's Jane Jakeman also praised the book, writing: "The novel's plot forms a complex web in which power sways back and forth between employer and employed, where every coming or going has an observer, and it's not long before we anticipate at least two deaths on the way ... this [book] is a despairing look at the underbelly of London, but it has the ring of truth. This is a book about neighbourhood. Who would have thought you could do `that' with a roof top luggage pod? Indeed, this isn't Rendell's best but still, she is ten times better than most writers. Although there was a subsequent murder, the characters weren't interesting enough to make you care while not much was happening. Written by James Walton. The Saint Zita Society by Ruth Rendell (Hutchinson, £12.99) Rendell's take on contemporary "upstairs-downstairs" is a superbly executed ensemble piece set in … Saint Zita of Lucca (Santa Zita de Lucca). Please try your request again later. There are some good twists and plot turns at the end. Thankfully, there is a map on the inside cover of the book that shows each house and who lives where. Please try again. Please try again. The characters were just OK, quirky and somewhat confusing (which house or family did they belong to?). Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. There was a problem loading your book clubs. The Saint Zita Society is the 62nd novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell, a standalone novel. Rendell takes a great deal of care crafting her characters and in making them all sympathetic. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Zita (c. 1212 – 27 April 1272; also known as Sitha or Citha) is an Italian saint, the patron saint of maids and domestic servants.She is often appealed to in order to help find lost keys. I almost gave up on it (that would have been a first for a Rendell book), but slogged on and finished it. So I'd recommend that people skip this book. She continues her exploration of the fragility of our modern society and the weak, amoral grip too many people seem to have on it. Reading about the lives and the (generally pretty small) doings of the characters feels a bit like peering from a hidden vantage point at a set of lives in a posh neighbourhood, but without truly getting involved with them. Laura Wilson of The Guardian praised the book as a "superbly executed ensemble piece" in which "all the characters are kept in play without ever relinquishing the necessary suspense for a fascinating murder mystery. Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2012. In 1859, while Bosco was founding the Society of Saint Frances de Sales to educate boys, eventually all over the world, Francesco founded the Society of … A member of the House of Lords, she was one of the great literary figures of our time. Buy from one of these Booksellers: It is not part of her popular Inspector Wexford series. I usually enjoy her collections of misassorted characters whose lives collide with disastrous consequences before spinning off again on their own trajectories. Select Your Cookie Preferences. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, No Import Fees Deposit & $11.98 Shipping to Germany. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. The Saint Zita Society is the 62nd novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell, a standalone novel. The St. Zita Society is a deeply observed and suspenseful novel of murder in the quintessentially London world of servants and their masters. Without this (unless I was taking notes), I would have been very confused. I did enjoy this; I love Ruth Rendell, and greet each new title with eager anticipation. Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2012. So glad she is still writing! The hired help, a motley assortment of au pairs, drivers, and cleaners, decide to form the St Zita Society (Zita was the patron saint of domestic servants) as an excuse to meet at the pub and air their grievances. Her characters, both high and low, stubbornly maintain brittle facades of 'respectabilty' that rely too much on narrow perspectives, wishful thinking and sheer fantasy. The Saint Zita Society, by Ruth Rendell and A Private Business, by Barbara Nadel. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. Ruth Rendell, sweetly morphing further into Barbara Vine, as she gently ages, has a wicked eye for naughty possible uses of everyday items. Scribner; First American Edition (August 14, 2012). There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. When millionaire banker, Preston Still, kills his wife's lover by pushing … Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2012. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2012. June Caldwell has done for Her Serene Highness, Princess Susan Hapsburg, for nearly 60 years. For people new to Rendell, try her Inspector Wexford series, I have always enjoyed all of those. Reading about the lives and the (generally pretty small) doings of the characters feels a bit like peering from a hidden vantage point at a set of lives in a posh neighbourhood, but without truly getting involved with them. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2012. --. “The Saint Zita Society I knew from the start couldn’t be a Wexford or a Vine. Sometimes it seems as if Ruth Rendell’s heart just isn’t in all that killing any more. This book is the first time I have been disappointed by her. To be honest, the idea of them all coming together (in the little spare time they had) to discuss dog excrement and smoking areas, didn't really work. It is not part of her popular Inspector Wexford series. It's compelling - I just had to finish it - but I really can't say why, and writing this review a few weeks after finishing the book, I had to go back to it to remind myself what happened, and I discovered that the answer to that was "not very much". Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for The Saint Zita Society at Amazon.com. It is set in a few houses in a small and exclusive area and focuses on their inhabitants, the owners, the servants and those in between. Well prepare to be surprised. Buy a cheap copy of The Saint Zita Society book by Ruth Rendell. St. Zita was born into a poor but holy Christian family. I am a long-time Rendell reader, and have always enjoyed her psychological perceptions and great characters. I read all the books of Ruth Rendell so I would not have missed it but I am hoping for a bit more meat on the plot in her next offering. Zita herself always tried to do God's will obediently whenever it was pointed out to her by her mother. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. As a long time reader and huge admirer of Ruth Rendell's psychological thrillers, I always look forward to her new books, but I am afraid I didn't find this one to be as good as I'd hoped for. The Saint Zita Society is, however, a strange book. The St Zita Society are a group of servants working in an upmarket London Square - they are quite a diverse group of young and old home helps, drivers, gardeners, au pairs etc. The St. Zita Society is a modern-day "Upstairs/Downstairs" story, introducing us to the residents of ritzy Hexam Place, one of the top addresses in London, and to the people who work for them. True to form, Ruth Rendell again delivers her witches brew of odd characters skating on a thin ice of civilized world too ready to crack into murderous chaos. It was one of the first organizations of Lithuanian women. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. The poor mentally ill man seems improbably free to roam about thinking his cell phone is his God speaking to him-this is a bit far fetched to me as the physician is his guardian. The plot deals with the things we seem to be in control of verses the things we are not. The story revolves around the domestic help - the maids, drivers, nannies and gardeners. From Belgravia to Stratford, new London mysteries depict a city of extremes another great Ruth Randell Psychological thriller, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2014, An up to date Ruth Rendell thriller with the unique characterisation which she so excels at, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2014. “The St. Zita Society takes up residence in a picturesque London street and ever so slowly and delicately eviscerates the pretentious upper-middle-class residents…as often happens in Rendell’s novels of psychological suspense, characters are undone by their own obsessions. The St Zita Society are a group of servants working in an upmarket London Square - they are quite a diverse group of young and old home helps, drivers, gardeners, au pairs etc. The members of the St. Zita Society, named after the patron saint of domestic servants, serve functions as wide-ranging as their personalities. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. The Society itself is a group formed by the maids, nannies, companions,and drivers of Hexam Place, mainly to exchange complaints about their employers. The Saint Zita Society, then, may lack the old-style Rendell thrills, but the result is still a deft, entertaining and often quietly angry book. Perhaps about the history of the characters, the houses, and the area. "[4], "The Saint Zita Society, by Ruth Rendell", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Saint_Zita_Society&oldid=960625904, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 June 2020, at 00:31. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Zitos draugija) was a Lithuanian Catholic professional society of female servants and other workers active from 1905 to 1940. I kept waiting for something more significant to happen. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2013. Instead of exhausting the possibilities of her collection of plausible misfits, this group portrait leaves you longing for more. The St Zita Society are a group of servants working in an upmarket London Square - they are quite a diverse group of young and old home helps, drivers, gardeners, au pairs etc. The St. Zita Society by Ruth Rendell Baroness Ruth Rendell (also known as Barbara Vine) maintains her status as one of the world’s leading writers of mystery, suspense, police procedurals and thriller novels. A collection of fruit sounds innocent enough; Peaches are sweet and soft aren't they? The eponymous society is a loosely organized servant union that serves as little more than a chance for the servants to get together and talk. The Society of Saint Zita (Lithuanian: Lietuvių katalikių tarnaičių šv. Her remarkable career spanned a half century, with more than sixty books published. Saint Zita of Lucca was a member of the Third Order of St Francis. June Caldwell has done for Her Serene Highness, Princess Susan Hapsburg, for nearly 60 years. Certainly, her latest book, The Saint Zita Society (Hutchinson, £12.99), works best as a portrait of modern London, sharing many of the characteristics of novels like John Lanchester’s Capital and Sebastian Faulks’s A Week in December. Ruth Rendell (1930–2015) won three Edgar Awards, the highest accolade from Mystery Writers of America, as well as four Gold Daggers and a Diamond Dagger for outstanding contribution to the genre from England’s prestigious Crime Writers’ Association. He calls his cell phone 'Peach'. It was as if she was being paid by the word, or wrote it while on tranquilizers. The Saint Zita Society is an upstairs/downstairs-type story about the servants who live in Hexam Place, London. and the idea that a garden trowel would ever sharp enought to stab someone with. One of the pleasures in reading a book with no central character is that the writer can take you on a walk through the minds of others. This plot was both "busy" with many characters and drawn more lightly than past reads from this author. It is something of a masterpiece and repays rereading. reming=ds me a bit of Jean Luc Goddard's "Sympathy for the Devil" with the roads accumulating wrecked cars like litter, and the "civilized" jet setters so easily succumbing to stone age cannibalism when push comes to shove. The hired help, a motley assortment of au pairs, drivers and cleaners, decide to form the St Zita Society (Zita was the patron saint of domestic servants) as an excuse to meet at the local pub and air their grievances. I really enjoy Rendell's books. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. The Saint Zita Society is, however, a strange book. It's hard to believe in people with such unlikely names. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. The hired help, a motley assortment of au pairs, drivers and cleaners, decide to form the St Zita Society (Zita was the patron saint of domestic servants) as an excuse to meet at the local pub and air their grievances. Please try again. The St. Zita Society A Novel (Book) : Rendell, Ruth : The psychologically charged affairs between residents and servants on a posh London street escalate to violence involving a handsome valet who is sleeping with a lord's wife and daughter, an au pair who aids her mistress's affair, and a … Registered by AnonymousFriend of Wantirna South, Victoria Australia on 11/1/2020. Just expect to refer to the map a lot to learn who all the characters are. I'm a Ruth Rendell fan. But the plot was exceptionally plodding - not much happens until an accident, and then not much else afterwards. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Makes some kind of sense doesn't It? Feast Day – April 27. The title refers to the patron saints of domestic help. There is a sort of dream quality about the Vines, a thoughtfulness, a brooding on things. This information about The St. Zita Society shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Ploughing on, there were similarly jarring details like a car roof box made of wood (fibre glass or some mouldable plastic, surely?) But the au pair belongs to the Saint Zita Society, a self-formed group of drivers, nannies and gardeners, who are servants to the rich - and whose intentions are not entirely benign. It does shed insight into the medical system in the UK. Unable to add item to List. The Saint Zita Society by Ruth Rendell | Mystery & Thrillers | ISBN: 1451666683 Global Overview for this book. As if she herself were bored with the whole thing and just shut it off, leaving things dangling. "[1] Kirkus Reviews commented in a positive review: "Rendell has been returning to the stripped-down dyspepsia of her earliest work, adding freak-show sociology to her velvet nightmares. 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