Editors Reads Verdict
A fitting close to the Ripley series — quieter and more reflective than the earlier novels, as Ripley faces, perhaps for the last time, the consequences of his foundational crime.
What We Loved
- The elegiac tone is appropriate to a final chapter
- The callback to The Talented Mr Ripley rewards long-term readers
- Ripley at sixty, in his garden, is a satisfying image
Minor Drawbacks
- The weakest entry in the series by most readings
- The Pritchards are less threatening than previous antagonists
- The resolution is less dramatically satisfying than earlier novels
Key Takeaways
- → Closure for the Ripley series and its foundational crime
- → Ripley in late middle age — the long-term sustainability of a constructed identity
- → Highsmith's last published novel — written in her final years
| Author | Patricia Highsmith |
|---|---|
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
| Pages | 304 |
| Published | January 1, 1991 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Best For | Completists of the Ripley series |
Tom Ripley is in his mid-fifties. Belle Ombre is still beautiful; Héloïse is still charming; the garden is still producing excellent mushrooms. He has managed, across thirty years, to become what he set out to become: a man of leisure, European, cultured, undisturbed.
Then the Pritchards arrive in the village. David Pritchard is aggressive, intrusive, the kind of American abroad who believes his money entitles him to the truth. He has become interested in the disappearance of Richard Greenleaf — the young American who vanished in Italy decades ago and whose death, at Ripley’s hands, is the foundational act of everything Ripley subsequently became.
Ripley Under Water is the last word in the series, and Highsmith was ill when she wrote it — she died in 1995, four years after its publication. It is quieter and more reflective than the earlier novels: Ripley in his garden, Ripley at dinner with neighbours, Ripley managing a threat with the practised calm of a man who has done this many times. The elegiac quality suits a series closing, and the callback to Dickie Greenleaf gives long-term readers the satisfaction of a loop closing, even if the drama is less taut than it was in Fontainebleau or on the Italian trains.
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "Ripley Under Water" about?
The fifth and final Ripley novel. An American couple, David and Janice Pritchard, move to the village near Ripley's Belle Ombre and begin investigating the disappearance of Dickie Greenleaf — whose killing, thirty years earlier, is the foundational crime of the entire series. Ripley must manage this threat with the same composure he has brought to every crisis, in a novel that is both a thriller and a late meditation on how long a constructed life can hold.
Who should read "Ripley Under Water"?
Completists of the Ripley series
What are the key takeaways from "Ripley Under Water"?
Closure for the Ripley series and its foundational crime Ripley in late middle age — the long-term sustainability of a constructed identity Highsmith's last published novel — written in her final years
Is "Ripley Under Water" worth reading?
A fitting close to the Ripley series — quieter and more reflective than the earlier novels, as Ripley faces, perhaps for the last time, the consequences of his foundational crime.
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