This is a stand alone Ruth Rendell novel, not part of the Inspector Wexford Series.  This is a psychological mystery focused on Stephen Walby, a man emotionally stunted by traumas of his childhood, his wife, his father and a series of murders that occur on Stephen’s beloved moor.   Stephen spends a significant part of his life simply walking the moor leaving his wife to her own devices.  During one of his long rambles he stumbles across the body of a murdered young woman and thus the story begins.

The search for the serial killer seems to focus on Stephen, this and the fact that he sees the murders as an intrusion on to his moor, and make no mistake it is his moor, leads Stephen to investigate on his own.  I will say that for as much as the moor is so central to this story, the book is not as atmospheric as say Ann Cleeves or Elly Griffiths, both who do a much better job at developing a sense of place.

A good psychological mystery with a twist at the end.