The Rottweiler of the title refers not to a dog, but rather a mis-named serial killer.  There is a wealth of characters here to wonder about, many of them with their own complex (even sad) storylines.   The serial killer is garrotting pretty young women with alarming frequency.  Inez owns an antique store and the flats above it and the reader becomes enmeshed in the lives of Inez, her tenants and her consistently late employee.   Ruth Rendell’s storylines and characters are always complex and this is no exception.  This was an intriguing mystery, however I was more interested in a couple of the character’s lives, mainly Will and Becky and their tragic storyline.  A good mystery read!

The Daughters of Cain is a Detective Morse mystery from Colin Dexter.  We are getting close to the end of the series and there is a lot of foreshadowing of that here.  Morse himself talks of his retirement and his health issues are definitely featured here.  There are two murders here and Morse, with the help of Lewis, seeks to find the connection.  Along the course of the investigation, Morse meets with three women, the titular Daughters of Cain.

In this outing, I found myself rooting for the killer(s), at least when it came to the second victim, by all accounts a reprehensible human being.  Morse seems to have regrets himself at the resolution, yet another missed opportunity in a lifetime of romantic disappointment.  Superbly written and executed mystery!