I'd avoided Ruth Rendell's Detective Wexford series because I figured it would be more of a standard mystery than her other books, but it's really not. Inspector Wexford basically begins this story already knowing who the murderer is, but unable to catch him. As he tries to find something he can pin on the man he's been haunted by his whole career he finds himself remembering or running into others from his past. Of all those people, the most dominant is Eric Targo, the man he thinks is a murderer. Targo's life doesn't parallel Wexford's much--except that both men have gotten older, which is possibly one of the greatest bonds there is.

There's also a parallel story about a well-meaning teacher (Wexford's wife) and police woman with their own obsession, a Muslim girl they fear is being forced into marriage against her will. Rendell has a lot of fun with the conundrum of people being so p.c. they're totally un-p.c..