»One of the best-written detective series in the genre's history is ending. With The Monster in the Box, Ruth Rendell says farewell to Reginald Wexford, her popular chief inspector of Kingsmarkham, a small Sussex town south of London... I'm pleased to report that Monster brings both Rendell and Wexford back in strong form. Invariably, whenever I predicted the plot would go in a certain direction, I was wrong. For the first time in the series, we glimpse Wexford's youth, his days as a rookie cop, his eager but uncertain approach to his first cases, the comedy of his early dating, even his initial meeting with [his wife] Dora... We close the book on Inspector Wexford with the knowledge that he has had an illustrious career. And we accept this conclusion because at any time we can return to Kingsmarkham to explore the darker side of humanity with him as our reassuring and humane guide».