The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell

Wexford had never told anyone. The strange relationship, if it could be called that, had gone on for years, decades, and he had never breathed a word about it. He had kept silent because he knew no one would believe him. None of it could be proved, not the stalking, not the stares or the conspiratorial smiles, not the killings, not any of the signs Targo had made because he knew Wexford knew and could do nothing about it.'

Chief Inspector Wexford had almost made up his mind that he would never again set eyes on Eric Targo's short, muscular figure. And yet there he was, back in Kingsmarkham, still with that cocky, strutting walk.

Years earlier, when Wexford was a young police officer, a woman called Elsie Carroll had been found strangled in her bedroom. Although many had their suspicions that her husband was guilty, no one was convicted.

Another woman was strangled shortly afterwards, and every personal and professional instinct told Wexford that the killer was still at large. And it was Eric Targo. A psychopath who would kill again...

As the Chief Inspector investigates a new case, Ruth Rendell looks back to the beginning of Wexford's career, even to his courtship of the woman who would become his wife. The past is a haunted place, with clues and passions that leave an indelible imprint on the here and now.

This book has been on mt TBR list for about a year as I bought it on my way home from Christmas holiday in January. And finally I have read it.
Absolutely not my favorite Ruth Rendell book. It vas slow going, it has taken me a good month to get through these 304 pages. It just was not interesting at all. It changed a bit about halfway through and I did not foresee the way the plot went.
So all in all ok but unless you are a big Wexford fan I can not really recommend this book.