Several years ago, I was really on a mystery kick - wanting to read all the old mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett. At that time I learned that
The Talented Mr. Ripley (I'd seen the movie) was written by a woman in the 1950s. This intrigued me, so when I came across a collection of the Ripley trilogy in a local bookstore, I picked it up. And, of course, it then say on my bookshelf for the next 10+ years. But, I decided to pick it up over this winter vacation, and was immediately taken in by Tom Ripley - the slightly awkward and a bit annoying American who can't quite find his footing. When the father of an old acquaintance, Dickie Greenleaf, tracks Tom down and offers to finance a trip to Italy so Tom can convince his Playboy trust-fund son to return to the States, Tom figures he might as well get an international trip out of it. Once in Italy, it becomes clear that Dickie has no intention of returning home, and Tom finds himself infatuated not with Dickie, but with Dickie's lifestyle. Unlike a typical whoddunit, there is no mystery here about who committed the crimes or where the bodies are buried- only in whether the murderer will get caught. It is a fascinating examination of Tom Ripley's mind - and the guilt he sometimes carries with him (reminiscent of
The Tell-Tale Heart). And while he is not at all a likeable character, I did find myself anxious that he would be discovered - perhaps only because his life was so unbearably pathetic. Clearly written and quite the page turner, I found myself pulled in to Ripley's world, and eager to read the next installment (
Ripley Under Ground).
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