Sue Gaisford of The Independent wrote in a positive reviews: "Ruth Rendell, grande dame of the thriller, knows how to spring surprises.

Rendell inexorably accelerates the pace from tortoise to hare, and with wisdom, compassion and satisfactorily sardonic wit.

"[3] Writing for The Guardian, Laura Wilson summarized the book as a "thoughtful, slow-paced and immensely readable novel ... about the effect that crimes, both small and large, have on the community.

We get the aggressively supercilious building superintendent, the trio of flighty young girls, the brainless middle-aged married couple, the reserved elderly gentleman — all rendered perfectly, with the throwaway ease of a practiced master.

Typically abridged audiobooks are not more than 60% of the author's work and as low as 30% with characters and plotlines removed.