Ripley Under Water
 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | Patricia Highsmith |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Elspeth Ross |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ripliad |
| Genre | crime novel |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury (UK) & Alfred A. Knopf (USA) |
Publication date | 3 October 1991 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback, paperback) |
| Pages | 256 pp |
| ISBN | 0-7475-1004-0 |
| OCLC | 26356697 |
| Preceded by | The Boy Who Followed Ripley |
Ripley Under Water is a 1991 psychological thriller by Patricia Highsmith, the last of five novels featuring Tom Ripley, "an intelligent, cultured gentleman who dabbles in art, music and, occasionally, murder".[1]
Synopsis
[edit]Tom Ripley spends his days tending his garden and playing the harpsichord at his home near Fontainebleau. He worries about the appearance of an American couple in his village. The husband eventually introduces himself as David Pritchard and invites Tom to his rented house. They were attracted to the pond in front of the house. Pritchard's wife Janice strikes Tom as a victim of abuse, and the couple argue openly during his visit.
Tom soon receives a call from "Dickie Greenleaf" (The Talented Mr. Ripley) who taunts him about his crimes. When Tom and his wife travel to Tangier, Pritchard follows them. Tom lures Pritchard to an isolated cafe. Pritchard reveals his intention to torment Tom and hints that Tom's victims are helping with the effort. In a rage, Tom beats Pritchard and leaves him unconscious.
He investigates just how much of his past Pritchard has uncovered. He learns that Pritchard suspects Tom of murdering Thomas Murchison and has been in touch with Murchison's widow. Tom killed Murchison to cover up an art forgery scheme (Ripley Under Ground).
Pritchard starts dredging local canals and rivers in search of Murchison's corpse. When he finds it, he leaves it on Ripley's doorstep. The head is missing. Ripley takes a ring off the corpse that could identify it as Murchison. Ripley returns the corpse to the pond in front of Pritchard's house. When Pritchard investigates the splash, he falls in, and when his wife tries to help him, she falls in as well. Neither can escape the steep concrete walls of the pond.
The police are perplexed by the bones and the double drowning. They also search for the corpse's head. They interview Tom because Pritchard had told Mrs. Murchison that he had found her husband's body and would be delivering it to Ripley. Tom feigns confusion over why Pritchard would do such a thing, and the police share a drink with him before leaving. The next day, Tom throws Murchison's ring into a nearby river.
Reception
[edit]James Campbell of The New York Times notes that the novel "takes about 100 pages to get going, and when it does, the pace, paradoxically, seems to slacken."[2]
Adaptations
[edit]Radio
[edit]The 2009 BBC Radio 4 adaptation stars Ian Hart as Ripley, Helen Longworth as Heloise, William Hope as David Pritchard, Janice Acquah as Janice Pritchard and Caroline Guthrie as Madame Annette.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Graeber, Laurel (January 9, 1994). "New & Noteworthy Paperbacks". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^ Campbell, James (October 27, 2002). "Murder, She (Usually) Wrote". New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ BBC Radio 4 page for the series
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