DATE: Sunday, November 16, 1997             TAG: 9711060625

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Book Review

SOURCE: PEGGY DEANS EARLE 

                                            LENGTH:   32 lines

A DARK TALE OF MODERN-DAY IRE

ROAD RAGE

RUTH RENDELL

Crown. 351 pp. $25.

Mystery queen Ruth Rendell's Road Rage is a pretty typical Inspector Wexford offering. This time the likable Brit, Kingsmarkham Police Department's Reg Wexford, is wrangling with what appears to be a group of eco-terrorists. ``Sacred Globe,'' an organization that wants to stop construction of the Kingsmarkham Bypass, has taken five hostages - one of whom is Wexford's wife, Dora.

The kidnappers are threatening to kill one hostage at a time if work on the bypass doesn't stop by a specified hour. Forced to lead the investigation (because of limited staff), Wexford must try to remain detached while suffering with a broken heart and jangled nerves.

As always, Rendell writes cleanly and intelligently, with a well-conceived plot and a surprising, but logical conclusion.

Fans of her non-Wexford books, most of which are dark studies of the criminal mind, may find Road Rage bogged down with discussions of violent versus peaceful protests or the costs of inevitable progress. But when it comes to rendering a high-caliber police procedural, Rendell remains one of the best.

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