Call number
MYST REN
Collection
Genres
Publication
Crown (1993), Edition: 1st, 302 pages
Description
A psychological thriller about an isolated young woman and her murderous mother from the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Next Door. Far from London, the isolated estate called Shrove House looms over the English countryside. Inside, two women hide from the world. For sixteen years, Eve has protected her daughter, Liza, from the corrupting influence of modern life, never letting her outside, hiding her from those who visit, and killing to keep her safe. Raised in her mother's shadow, Liza has never questioned that this is the way things must be--until the night the police come to call, and Liza flees into the darkness. Alone in the world for the first time, terrified that her mother's murderous past may catch up with her, Liza does what she can to survive. Taking shelter with the groundskeeper, Liza delves into her own past, telling the story of her traumatic childhood as a way of finding a place for herself in this strange, terrifying new world. But she will soon find herself wondering how much like her mother she really is . . . Joyce Carol Oates called Ruth Rendell "one of the finest practitioners of her craft in the English-speaking world." In New York Times Notable Book The Crocodile Bird, this three-time Edgar Award winner shows the talent that made her one of the best.… (more)
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member Terzah
I loved this book, not because of the suspense story (though that was well-done, too) but because of the realistic and, at the end, bittersweet story of Liza and Sean. It was such a good portrait of first love, even leaving out Liza's extraordinary background. I felt those strong emotions again.
LibraryThing member lsh63
I loved this book! Liza and her mother Eve live on the isolated British estate Shrove House. Although Eve is more than slightly unbalanced, with an unnatural attachment to the estate, one senses that she loves her daughter.
Liza is not allowed to go to school to interact with other children, watch
In the manner of Scherazade, Liza recounts her life story to Sean and comes to realize she may be more like her mother than she thinks.
Great psychological thriller.
Liza is not allowed to go to school to interact with other children, watch
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television, or develop any other relationships besides the one with her mother. After committing several murders over Liza's lifetime, Eve's luck has finally run out and she is wanted by the police for her crimes. Liza is now sixteen and runs away with the garden hand and also her boyfriend Sean.In the manner of Scherazade, Liza recounts her life story to Sean and comes to realize she may be more like her mother than she thinks.
Great psychological thriller.
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LibraryThing member sarah-e
This book holds sinister secrets. A woman keeps her daughter shut off from the outside world. She has an unnatural attachment to Shrove, a house she doesn't own - a bond greater than she shares with any other person. She will do anything to keep her daughter sheltered within the semi-abandoned
This is not a straightforward mystery and it isn't creepy in an upfront way either. The story reveals itself slowly, to shift your perception of good and evil in the characters and what terrible things they remember.
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estate and refuses that there could be consequences in hers or her daughter's later life.This is not a straightforward mystery and it isn't creepy in an upfront way either. The story reveals itself slowly, to shift your perception of good and evil in the characters and what terrible things they remember.
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LibraryThing member Smiler69
Liza, a young girl of sixteen must flee from her secluded home, the gatehouse of a great mansion, to avoid being questioned by the police about a crime that her mother Eve has just committed. She makes her way to her lover and proceeds to tell him, in the style of The Arabian Nights, the story of
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how she came to be in this situation, in the process revealing a life story full of intrigue and horror. Until then, Eve had tried her best to shield Liza from the world and all it's modern amenities, and most of what Liza knows about life is gleaned from the 19th century books available in the mansion. Liza looks just like Eve, and must find out whether she is a an exact copy of her mother in deed as well as in looks, or whether she can exercise her own free will. I found this tale quite gripping, enough so to include it among my favourite reads of the year, and the narration by Juliet Stephenson was of course excellent. Show Less
LibraryThing member berrenss
One of my favorite books! Ruth Rendell's novels are always suspenseful, but what I think she is best at is creating fascinating and complex characters that are all...a bit creepy. This story is about a young girl whose mother has secluded them in an isolated cottage away from essentially all
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contact with society. There are few people that visit... and half the ones that do are never to be seen or heard from again. A great mystery! Show Less
LibraryThing member jayne_charles
An interesting scenario, dragged out a bit, and with a bit of a limp ending. Liza's early journey to the caravan got the story off to a good start and the mystery was set up well, but once we were back in the cottage the book's landscape seemed a bit limited.
LibraryThing member JohnGrant1
No time for more than a brief note, alas.
Liza Beck was raised by her mother Eve in isolation from the world, living in the gatehouse to a stately home, Shrove, tucked away miles from anywhere in the English countryside. The day the cops arrive to take Eve away is the day Liza, by now 16, flees to
When I picked the book up I was unaware that I'd read it many years ago, probably not long after it first came out. Within a few pages, obviously, I realized. But by then Rendell had pulled me in just as she had the first time, and anyway I'd forgotten enough of the details that I was still surprised in all the right places. This is one of the best of her books that I've read; much recommended.
Liza Beck was raised by her mother Eve in isolation from the world, living in the gatehouse to a stately home, Shrove, tucked away miles from anywhere in the English countryside. The day the cops arrive to take Eve away is the day Liza, by now 16, flees to
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the arms of her itinerant-gardener lover Sean, in whose arms and in whose caravan she tells her story, Scheherazade-like -- her story of the obsession Eve bore for Shrove, and the men she murdered in order to keep herself and Liza safe from outside interference. Intermingled with Liza's reminiscences is the tale of her life with Sean in the present, as she tries to adapt to an outside world she's never known, and he tries to adapt to her.When I picked the book up I was unaware that I'd read it many years ago, probably not long after it first came out. Within a few pages, obviously, I realized. But by then Rendell had pulled me in just as she had the first time, and anyway I'd forgotten enough of the details that I was still surprised in all the right places. This is one of the best of her books that I've read; much recommended.
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LibraryThing member bakersfieldbarbara
In The Crocodile Bird:, author Ruth Rendell writes a mesmerizing story of the obsessive love between Eve and her daughter, Liza. One day the police take Eve away and Liza finds refuge with a young drifter. Liza tells him of three who came to Shrove House and never left alive.
The author writes this
I heartily recommend all of Ms. Rendells' novels for distinguished literature.
The author writes this
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most chilling and powerful novel and is unrivaled as a master of psychological suspense. Her storytelling should be read by anyone, who enjoys a brilliant mystery. I heartily recommend all of Ms. Rendells' novels for distinguished literature.
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LibraryThing member lynetterl
This was fascinating, revealing a world of such protection and isolation that a young girl of 16, Liza, flees her home as her mother is arrested for murder and she has literally never been on her own or even outside of the immediate grounds.
As it unfolds, it is unclear whether Eve, her mother, is
As Liza tells her story to her boyfriend, we see his horror at what she reveals, and her lack of understanding about why he is horrified. I liked that he is an honest young man who wants to do right although he has had an uneducated background. They seem like a poor fit, though, and this becomes more apparent as time goes on. We're never too sure whether Liza is basically psychologically OK, or if she mirrors some of the issues evident with her mother.
It was an interesting read, a bit creepy at times, but the love of the two was evident and I found myself liking Eve more than I expected I should. I like books that make me think about the characters after the book is done, and this one did.
As it unfolds, it is unclear whether Eve, her mother, is
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criminally insane or just has had certain circumstances happen that have led her to protect herself and her daughter from harm. The protection goes so far as to have her daughter never see a television, read any books other than 19th century novels, and see any people outside of a handful that were on the isolated property. As Liza tells her story to her boyfriend, we see his horror at what she reveals, and her lack of understanding about why he is horrified. I liked that he is an honest young man who wants to do right although he has had an uneducated background. They seem like a poor fit, though, and this becomes more apparent as time goes on. We're never too sure whether Liza is basically psychologically OK, or if she mirrors some of the issues evident with her mother.
It was an interesting read, a bit creepy at times, but the love of the two was evident and I found myself liking Eve more than I expected I should. I like books that make me think about the characters after the book is done, and this one did.
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LibraryThing member rainpebble
The Crocodile Bird by Ruth Rendell; (4*); Kindle; Brit lit; fiction; mother-daughter relationships; mystery; suspense; (1993)
Liza tells her story over several nights and in the process finds salvation. After the police question her mother about the death of the owner of Shrove House, 16-year-old
Liza learns early that others may have something to fear from her mother but that she does not. Credibility never flags as Edgar Award winning Rendell reveals the specifics of Liza's increasing contact with the world. She creats suspense in the gradually shared details of Liza's mother's intense attachment to the estate and of her determination to protect Liza from the outside world.
This was a page-turner for me. And I would like to find more of Rendell's writings. I really liked this one.
Liza tells her story over several nights and in the process finds salvation. After the police question her mother about the death of the owner of Shrove House, 16-year-old
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Liza runs away with Sean, the young gardener. It is to him, over the course of 101 nights, that Liza gradually reveals her strange upbringing. She lived alone with her mother in the gatehouse of the estate. She was schooled by her mother and isolated from all society except the mailman, groundskeeper and the few men whom her mother admits into their lives. Liza learns early that others may have something to fear from her mother but that she does not. Credibility never flags as Edgar Award winning Rendell reveals the specifics of Liza's increasing contact with the world. She creats suspense in the gradually shared details of Liza's mother's intense attachment to the estate and of her determination to protect Liza from the outside world.
This was a page-turner for me. And I would like to find more of Rendell's writings. I really liked this one.
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LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
Well, this is how it's done. A cracking good story, well told. 16-year-old Liza knows next to nothing about the world outside Shrove, the estate she's grown up on, with only her mother Eve for companionship. Eve has educated her well, within bounds that do not stretch far into the 20th century.
Review written October 2014
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Liza does not know about television, understands little of math or science (beyond the natural world), and her concept of society is formed by reading mainly 19th century novels. Yet she is fluent in Latin, knows much of Shakespeare by heart, and has seen her mother shoot a man. The older she gets, the more the modern world seeps into her consciousness, despite all her mother can do to keep it out. This is mighty good stuff, with hints of Jane Eyre, Shirley Jackson, Scheherazade, and Blue Beard. I wanted to read it to the exclusion of everything else I was meant to be doing. I thought I saw the end coming, and I was wrong. Damned near 5 stars.Review written October 2014
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LibraryThing member TanyaRead
Creepy, creepy but ends in a believable way.
LibraryThing member Matke
Oh dear. Another book I’ve read but forgot I’d read it.
Often that’s why I write a brief review: so I’ll remember the book, or at least can check to see if I liked it.
Liza, who is 16, has been raised and educated by her mother, Eve, in nearly total isolation. They live in the gatehouse of a
But the world intrudes even here, and Eve takes drastic steps to keep her haven.
This is a slow-moving, atmospheric book, with lush descriptions of Shrove’s natural beauty and the mostly calm, rather idyllic way that Liza and Eve live. But Edens can’t exist forever; Satan or some other evil intrudes and the respite is left in ruins.
My opinion (you know, the one I can’t remember) has improved from my first reading four years ago. I became completely immersed in Liza’s world: it all seemed believable, if odd. I was prepared to give this a full five stars, but the ending was, for me, facile. I don’t want to spoil it for any other readers so I’ll just leave it there.
Recommended to those who love gothic novels. This is an excellent modern rendition of that genre.
Note: The one scene I remembered was about two-thirds of the way into the book, and was quite brief. It’s intriguing to me that what sticks in one’s memory is often rather inconsequential to the rest of the book.
Often that’s why I write a brief review: so I’ll remember the book, or at least can check to see if I liked it.
Liza, who is 16, has been raised and educated by her mother, Eve, in nearly total isolation. They live in the gatehouse of a
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beautiful estate, Shrove. Eve loves Shrove to the point of distraction, partly because it’s her childhood home, and partly because it provides her and Liza with a quiet and peaceful haven from the world. For the world has been cruel to Eve, and she is determined that Liza won’t be hurt.But the world intrudes even here, and Eve takes drastic steps to keep her haven.
This is a slow-moving, atmospheric book, with lush descriptions of Shrove’s natural beauty and the mostly calm, rather idyllic way that Liza and Eve live. But Edens can’t exist forever; Satan or some other evil intrudes and the respite is left in ruins.
My opinion (you know, the one I can’t remember) has improved from my first reading four years ago. I became completely immersed in Liza’s world: it all seemed believable, if odd. I was prepared to give this a full five stars, but the ending was, for me, facile. I don’t want to spoil it for any other readers so I’ll just leave it there.
Recommended to those who love gothic novels. This is an excellent modern rendition of that genre.
Note: The one scene I remembered was about two-thirds of the way into the book, and was quite brief. It’s intriguing to me that what sticks in one’s memory is often rather inconsequential to the rest of the book.
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Awards
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1994)
Pages
302
ISBN
0517595761 / 9780517595763