麻豆约拍

Budding crime writer Carl could do with some extra cash. Renting out the top part of his house in London's Maida Vale - newly inherited from his father - will help his cash flow immensely.

And what harm could it do to sell some slimming pills from his late father's stash of 'alternative medicines' to his actress friend Stacey, who's been putting on weight in the wake of a relationship break up..?

Ruth Rendell's final novel is a dark and atmospheric tale of psychological suspense read by Patricia Hodge.

Acclaimed by her literary peers and beloved by her readers, Ruth Rendell wrote over sixty novels in a career that spanned fifty years. She received numerous awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for 1976's best crime novel with A Demon in My View, a Gold Dagger award for Live Flesh in 1986, and the Sunday Times Literary Award in 1990. In 2013 she was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer. She died in May 2015, aged 85.

Read by Patricia Hodge.

Abridger Robin Brooks.

Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.

First broadcast in 10 parts on 麻豆约拍 Radio 4 in 2015.