rhoda comfreys death seemed unremarkable the real mystery was her lifein a sleeping life master mystery writer ruth rendell unveils an elaborate web of lies and deception painstakingly maintained by a troubled soul a wallet found in comfreys handbag leads inspector wexford to mr grenville west a writer whose plots revel in the blood thunder and passion of dramas of old whose current whereabouts are unclear and whose curious secretarythe plain polly flindersprovides the inspector with more questions than answers and when a second grenville west comes to light wexford faces a dizzying array of possible scenariosand suspectsbehind the comfrey murder brilliantly entertaining exceptionally crafted a sleeping life evokes the dark realities halftruths and flights of fancy that constitute a life