Simisola is a 1994 novel by British crime writer Ruth Rendell. It features her recurring detective Inspector Wexford, and is the 17th in the series.[1] Though a murder mystery, the book also touches on the themes of racism, welfare dependency[2] and new forms of slavery.[3]

Simisola
First edition (UK)
AuthorRuth Rendell
LanguageEnglish7
SeriesInspector Wexford # 17
GenreCrime, Mystery novel
PublisherHutchinson (UK)
Crown (US)
Publication date
24 September 1994
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages348 pp
ISBN0-09-179161-8
OCLC31331007
Preceded byKissing the Gunner's Daughter 
Followed byRoad Rage 

Plot summary

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Dr Raymond Akande is Wexford's new GP and one of the few Black British people in Kingsmarkham. When Akande's daughter goes missing, and a body of a young black woman is found, Wexford is confronted by his own prejudices.[4]

Critical reception

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The Daily Courier wrote about the book: "...some of it gets tedious, especially when characters who do not consider themselves racists search themselves for racist traits".[2]

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

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The novel was adapted into a television film in the UK in 1996 and starred George Baker, Christopher Ravenscroft, Jane Lapotaire, and George Harris.

References

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  1. ^ "Fiction book review - Simisola by Ruth Rendell". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Whodunit tries to be real novel". The Daily Courier (Arizona). Prescott Newspapers. 7 January 1996. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  3. ^ Deandrea, Pietro (2015). New Slaveries in Contemporary British Literature and Visual Arts: The Ghost and the Camp. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 38–48. ISBN 9780719096433.
  4. ^ "Race relations are mystery's undercurrent". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 28 September 1995. Retrieved 17 April 2012.