Pretty standard mystery fare, including the resolution, though apparently the resolution was Very Shocking at the time. Finally, books belonging to that lady are inscribed with the titular name and we strive to suss out who that is. From long experience Burden knew that whatever may happen in detective fiction, coincidence is more common than conspiracy in real life. I have mentioned that at times I have found not having the appropriate context or period knowledge to be a barrier in solving an older crime novel but here I feel that not belonging to the mindset of that period makes it easier to predict where it was headed and lessens the power of the ending.

I know nothing much about Inspector Wexford or Mike Burden (who actually does decent work and doesn't go around contradicting or second-guessing his boss), just that they are the law.Wexford has only a few clues: a spent match on the ground, and inscriptions in some of Margaret's books that are signed "Doon. When someone frames it as being of wider sociological interest to do the exact thing I already love, you know I cannot resist. However, no one would accuse a career as prolific as Rendell's as lazy and there is something very appealing about her work. There is nothing extraordinary about Margaret Parsons, a timid housewife in the quiet town of Kingsmarkham, a woman devoted to her garden, her kitchen, her husband.

In one of these podcasts, Meredith had recommended the Inspector Wexford series to Louise Penny fans.

There is very little for Wexford to go on but for a discarded match and an inscription on some of Margaret's books signed 'Doon'. The husband describes their banal marriage and life, full of routine and absent of extravagances, as proof that her being missing is a big concern.