The Tree of Hands

By Ruth Rendell

Not the best Ruth Rendell novel I have ever read, but still I cannot come up with anything negative to say about it. I love the way she merges several stories, which at first glance seem not to have anything to do with each other, but in the end they all come together so masterfully, and it all makes sense somehow.

First we meet Benet and her young son James. They are at the airport to pick up Benet’s mother. Without going into great detail and without spoiling the ending I think it will be safe to say that little James dies. He is soon replaced by Jay, who Benet not long after discovers her mother has abducted. However, when Benet's mother leaves to go back to Spain where she lives, Benet is determined to return Jay. Despite her good intentions there is always one thing or other to delay her plans of returning him.

We also meet Jay's mother, Carol, and her young boyfriend, Barry, who doesn't exactly live in the lap of luxury. Then there is also Carol's ex-boyfriend, Terence, who is not entirely mama's best boy. He likes to go to funerals but not any kind of funeral. It has to be one where the widow is not too old and not exactly poor. He also tries to sell his current "girl friend's" house while she is away in the Caribbean.

After a while Benet's ex-boyfriend, Edward, also plays a bigger part in the plot of this book. He somehow manages to see through Benet's secret.

I felt like Benet could almost be forgiven for not returning Jay to his mother, and actually felt thankful that she had a mother crazy enough to take this small child out of his misery. It is like she was his guardian angel. It is not very often I feel a sense of relief, and almost a little touch of happiness, after having finished one of Ruth Rendell’s books but this story certainly left me in a good mood.