Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Bridesmaid

By: Ruth Rendell
Narrated by: William Gaminara
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Philip Wardman had more than just the ordinary squeamishness where death was concerned. Yet he could hardly avoid the suspicious disappearance of his sister's friend Rebecca Neave, especially when everyone was ascribing the cause to murder. Philip's feminine ideal is the statue of the Roman goddess Flora in his mother's garden. His marble Flora doesn't fade, doesn't alter, and doesn’t die. But then he meets Senta Pelham, a beautiful, sensual, childlike actress who flagrantly disdains the morals of society and passionately desires the elusive Philip who thinks he has found true love. But darker forces are at work, and Senta is led to propose that Philip prove his love by committing murder.

©1989 Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Killing Doll cover art
Shake Hands For Ever cover art
Live Flesh cover art
Thirteen Steps Down cover art
A Demon in My View cover art
Talking to Strange Men cover art
The Keys to the Street cover art
The Rottweiler cover art
The Water's Lovely cover art
Master of the Moor cover art
A Fatal Inversion cover art
The Brimstone Wedding cover art
The Four Last Things cover art
When the Bough Breaks cover art
King Solomon's Carpet cover art

Critic reviews

"Vintage Rendell. Shrewd psychological insight, irresistible narrative force...a true member of that small family of great living authors." (Scott Turow)

What listeners say about The Bridesmaid

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    96
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    51
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    131
  • 4 Stars
    47
  • 3 Stars
    28
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    86
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    50
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    11

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Gripping enough but irritating characters and slow in places

Great narration.
The Senta character is too annoying and cliche description of mental illness. Also unbelieveable that Phillip would be entranced for that long by her given that he comes from a relatively stable, clean home. Saw the twist fairly early on but despite all this clever and gripping enough to finish. Just about.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not the best of Ruth Rendell

Story struggles to end. No conclusion. Repetitive, bland in spite of attempts to horrify.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very scary and shocking!

Outstanding story, one of Ruth Rendell's best. Enjoyed William Gaminara's narration (I usually prefer women narrating but his voice is somehow just right for the story.)



Philip is a very likable young man who falls for Senta, his sister's bridesmaid. You sense almost from the beginning that there is something 'not quite right' about her, and as the story develops this becomes more and more clear!





Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but slow

I love Rendell's marginalised characters and how they build and interact, but this story dragged a little for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Madness and murder

Another fascinating novel from Ruth Rendell. Superbly narrated, this is an uncomfortable and difficult slice of sheer madness and obsession, set amongst the commonplace and the unpleasant.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Boring

Boring and flat kinda knew half way through how it would end. Not her best work

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant

having read much Rendell over many years, this was the best one yet! gripping. unnervingly good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Timeless human drama

Utterly absorbing, perfectly narrated, characters you can care for. Only Senta remains an enigma until she, the bridesmaid of the title, is revealed in all her complicated horror. Philip is a good man with a kind hearted widowed mother Christine and two sisters Fee and Cheryl. Their suburban family life with Hardy the dog comes to a climax of sorts with Fee’s wedding. The domestic detail, the way this shipwrecked group have carried on after the father’s death is poignant and commendable. I loved listening to this long drawn out story that inevitably must end in tears… Wow, what a mind dreamt this up, what language Ruth Rendell employs, what depths of research into the human mind she has managed. Amazing, one of her finest.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of her best

A gripping psychological thriller, this captivated me. Good plot, good characters, taut writing. Prepare for a dark treat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disturbing & plodding

Didn’t really enjoy this one sadly.
Didn’t like any of the characters.
Guessed the “twist” at the end fairly soon on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!