From Doon With Death - (A Wexford Case)

From Doon With Death is Ruth Rendell's first novel in her highly popular Chief Inspector Wexford series.

No one believed Mr. Parsons' fears for his missing wife. Until two days later, she was discovered in the woods, her face swollen and her clothes damply clinging to her lifeless body.

With no useful witnesses and a victim known only for her mundane life, Chief Inspector Wexford has only one clue — a lipstick found at the scene. To find the killer, Wexford must first discover a motive. Because what he can't understand, is how such an unassuming woman became the victim of such a passionate and violent crime.