From highly acclaimed mystery author Ruth Rendell comes a story of
obsession, superstition, and long pent-up violence.
Mix Cellini (which he pronounces with an S rather than a C) is
superstitious about the number 13 and has always felt dogged by
ill-luck. In the house where he lives, there are 13 steps down to the
landing below his rooms. His landlady lives her life almost exclusively
through her library, blind to the neglect and decay around her. However,
Mix is obsessed with the life of the notorious John Christie, who lived
in the same Notting Hill neighbourhood at 10 Rillington Place, and Mix
has developed a passion for a beautiful woman who lives nearby....