For a while, all was looking rosy for budding crime writer Carl. He'd inherited a house in Maida Vale from his late father, published his first novel, Death's Door, to mild acclaim and his lovely girlfriend Nicola had accepted his invitation to come and live with him. But a series of unfortunate events has led to the unravelling of this almost perfect life.

Carl's first mistake was to rent the top floor of his house to the first person who answered his advert, Dermot. Second was selling slimming pills, found in his late father's bathroom cabinet, to his actress friend Stacey who died as a result of their nasty side effects. Dermot witnessed the 'transaction' and has used this knowledge to blackmail Carl and live rent free ever since.

As the weeks have passed, Dermot has placed more and more pressure upon Carl - so much, in fact, that he's almost reached breaking point...

Ruth Rendell's final novel is a dark and atmospheric tale of psychological suspense concluded 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.

Abridger Robin Brooks.
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.

First broadcast in 10 parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2015. Show less