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The Bridesmaid cover art

The Bridesmaid

By: Ruth Rendell
Narrated by: William Gaminara
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Summary

Philip Wardman had more than just the ordinary squeamishness where death was concerned. Yet he could hardly avoid the suspicious disappearance of his sister's friend Rebecca Neave, especially when everyone was ascribing the cause to murder. Philip's feminine ideal is the statue of the Roman goddess Flora in his mother's garden. His marble Flora doesn't fade, doesn't alter, and doesn’t die. But then he meets Senta Pelham, a beautiful, sensual, childlike actress who flagrantly disdains the morals of society and passionately desires the elusive Philip who thinks he has found true love. But darker forces are at work, and Senta is led to propose that Philip prove his love by committing murder.

©1989 Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Vintage Rendell. Shrewd psychological insight, irresistible narrative force...a true member of that small family of great living authors." (Scott Turow)

What listeners say about The Bridesmaid

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very scary and shocking!

Outstanding story, one of Ruth Rendell's best. Enjoyed William Gaminara's narration (I usually prefer women narrating but his voice is somehow just right for the story.)



Philip is a very likable young man who falls for Senta, his sister's bridesmaid. You sense almost from the beginning that there is something 'not quite right' about her, and as the story develops this becomes more and more clear!





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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Rendell at her finest

Once again the genius which was Rendell has produced a other gripping tale of suspense which will entrall all fans of the psychological thriller genre. The novel centres around Philip, a man in his early 20s who lives in Cricklewood, London, with his widowed mother and two sisters. When one of his siblings, Fee, marries, he becomes obsessed by one of her bridesmaids, the beautiful, albeit mysterious Senta. There is also an ongoing case of a missing local girl.

I loved the story and the narrator, William Gaminara was truly excellent, with clear diction and a good grasp of emotion.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not my favourite ...

There seems to be something about this book that polarises readers. In my opinion, this is the worst Ruth Rendell book I've ever read, on my mission to read them all. To summarise the plot very briefly, the very straight and predictable Phil meets a very fey seeming character called Senta, who is the eponymous bridesmaid. Senta resembles a statue that Phil dislikes, but somehow becomes entranced by, foreshadowing his relationship with Senta. Now, Senta has to be one of the most repulsive characters in literature - a deranged and apparently deluded character - whose 'lies' always turn out to be true. Phil's narrow mind blinds him to this. It's worth a read though, just to experience this Senta character. Warning: there are plenty of repulsive sex scenes to endure in this book, too.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • DM
  • 21-11-23

Waste of my life

Truly awful, I wanted the garden statue to come to life and murder everyone so very boring.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant

having read much Rendell over many years, this was the best one yet! gripping. unnervingly good.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Bridesmaid

I felt the story was drawn out, predictable without a proper ending. Not the best Ruth Rendell I’ve listened to.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Interesting but somewhat tedious

I struggled with this, wondering where it was going.
Narration was good, but I felt the plot wasn’t the best from this Author,
Despite this I did listen to the whole story.!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Erm...?

I have not read/heard many Ruth Rendell books, but this one was a little far-fetched, surely?

The imagery was OK, but the plot....!

What saved it was the very good reader/performer. That is why I finished it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Extraordinary story

At first, I hated the voice of the narrator, loud, declamatory, grating, robotic, and almost have it up after ten minutes - but when the story began to unfold I began to feel that the choice of voice had been genius. The story treats with dissociation and madness, strangeness and surreality. The voice, unplaceable in time, becomes part of the fabric of the whole. This is helped by the close third person narrative, whereby you live along with Philip in his two, strange, juxtaposed worlds of the mundane and the gothic. I wondered how Ruth Rendell managed to live with this story as she wrote it, its claustrophobia and darkness. The inexorable machinery of the plot grinds on.. The only thing disappointing in it, and this is to do with the times we live in as opposed to any deficiency of Rendell’s, is how Philip’s sister’s story is dealt with - but I can’t talk about that, since to do so would be to give away a subplot. Keep pushing on through that narrative voice, if you can; you may just find it worthwhile.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not as good as her others

I found it not as captivating as her other books the story was a bit weak

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