Ambientada en los años sesenta, en una pequeña localidad cercana a Londres, esta novela narra una inquietante historia de frustraciones y engaños. Alice Whittaker, rica solterona de carácter retraído, se casa con Andrew Fieldign, nueve años más joven que ella. Alice duda de su propio atractivo físico y vive angustiada por la diferencia de edad con su marido. Pero la angustia se convierte en horror cuando se mejor amiga, Nesta Deage, quien ha intentado seducir a Andrew, desaparece misteriosamente. ¿Acaso su joven marido ha asesinado a Nesta para que nada se interponga en su objetivo de, como sospecha Alice, apropiarse de su fortuna?¿Tan ciegamente se comportó Alice que no supo adivinar los inconfesables motivos por los que Andrew accedió a casarse con ella?

Not one of my favorite Rendells. It was a pretty good read for the first 2/3 or so...then I began to suspect there was less going on than met the eye, especially the eye of the very wealthy, slightly paranoid woman from whose point of view we see things. Alice Whittaker and her brother Hugo are heirs to a substantial fortune rising from a successful business currently run by their uncle. On the very brink of perpetual spinsterhood, Alice has married a handsome man 9 years her junior, who treats her well and shows every sign of being truly in love with her. Perhaps she can't be blamed for wondering if it was really her money and her prospects...but when her more out-going and somewhat man-hungry friend Nesta seems to have disappeared, when Alice herself begins suffering mysterious bouts of violent illness, her suspicions grow wildly and she sees murderous intent not only in Andrew, but in Hugo and possibly even her own doctor. The denouement is a bit of a fizzle. ( )

Alice is very happy in her new marriage, although she is very conscious of the fact that, at 38, she is 9 years older than her husband. A very wealthy woman, Alice becomes worried when she is unable to contact a younger, more glamorous friend; she finds her attempts to locate the young woman thwarted time and time again, not least because she suddenly finds herself quite unwell, a new situation for this woman who has always been completely healthy. As time passes and the mystery of her friend’s disappearance deepens, she begins to wonder if her younger, very handsome husband might somehow be involved…."Vanity Dies Hard" is, I think, only Ruth Rendell’s third novel, and the reader can sense the way she is becoming more assured at handling her characters and, especially, their interactions. I figured out the solution to Alice’s situation quite early on, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the way the author took the reader through to the end. It’s odd to think that this book, published in 1966, is some 50 years old; our current world is utterly changed from the one she describes! Quite enjoyable. ( )

Ambientada en los años sesenta, en una pequeña localidad cercana a Londres, esta novela narra una inquietante historia de frustaciones y engaños. Alice Whittaker, rica solterona de carácter retraíso, se casa con Andrew Fieldign, nueve años más joven que ella. Alice duda de su propio atractivo físico y vive angustiada por la diferencia de edad con su marido. Pero la angustia se convierte en horror cuando su mejor amiga, Nesta Deage, quien ha intentado seducir a Andrew, desaparece misteriosamente. ¿Acaso su joven marido ha asesinado a Nesta para que nada se interponga en su objetivo de, como sospecha Alice, apropiarse de su fortuna? ¿Tan ciegamente se comportó Alice que no supo adivinar los inconfesables motivos por los que Andrew accedió a asarse con ella?... Una intriga apasionanante, en la mejor tradición del género policiaco británico.

Alice Whittaker is sure that something dreadful has happened to her friend Nesta, from whom she hasn’t heard in a while. Her search leads her to suspect her much-younger husband, and at times her brother and uncle. An enjoyable little book (fewer than 200 pages), and one of Rendell’s earlier works. ( )