Ruth Rendell is considered one of the greatest living crime writers in the world. When reading her, I expect a mystery, and although that is a light element of The Saint Zita Society, it's more a character study of the classes, Downton Abbey style.
The resident staff who work for the owners of the exclusive townhouses at Hexam Place, Pimlico, decide to form a club in the local pub dedicated to the patron saint of domestic servants. Headed by June, in her seventies still working for 'The Princess' and her little dog, it includes Montserrat who works for a wealthy couple but is just a friend of the family, Henry the good looking chauffeur who's bedding several ladies, and Thea who only lives with a gay couple but who ends up doing more work than anyone for no pay. Not joining in are Rabia, a young Muslim nanny who won't go into a pub, and Dex, a lonely and confused gardener who believes when he taps numbers into his phone that Peach (like Blackberry or Apple) is talking to him and warning him to be wary of the evil spirits that may or may not need to be removed.
Into this mix of characters flow the upstairs owners, basically self centered and thinking themselves above the staff, they only consider the servants when an emergency arises - such as a famous TV actor falling to his death on their faulty stairway.
I found the writing effortless, the story jumping back and forth as characters intersect and items introduced earlier pop up as twists in the tale. There are a wide range of crimes, such as adultery and disposing of a body, and then there are the messages from Peach to Dex: an evil spirit must be removed.
Subtle and engaging, with a great ending - Impressive.
2012 / Tradeback / 279 pages
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