''Ripley Under Water'' is a 1991

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character T ...

, the last of five novels featuring

Tom Ripley Tom Ripley is a fictional character in the ''Ripley'' series of crime novels by American novelist Patricia Highsmith, as well as several film adaptations. He is a psychopathic career criminal, con artist, and serial killer. The five novels in ...

, "an intelligent, cultured gentleman who dabbles in art, music and, occasionally, murder".

Synopsis

spends his days tending his garden and playing the

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

at his home near

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

. He worries about the appearance of an American couple in his village. The husband eventually introduces himself as David Pritchard and invites Ripley to his rented house. Pritchard and his wife Janice are attracted to the artificial pond in front of the house. Janice strikes Ripley as a victim of abuse, and the couple argue openly during his visit. Ripley soon receives a taunting call from "Dickie Greenleaf," the first person he murdered. When Ripley and his wife Heloïse travel to

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

, Pritchard follows them. Ripley lures Pritchard to an isolated café, where Pritchard reveals his intention to torment Ripley. He also hints that Ripley's victims are helping with the effort. In a rage, Ripley beats Pritchard but stops short of killing him. Ripley dwells on his past murders, such as that of Thomas Murchison as the result of an art forgery scheme. Pritchard is in touch with Murchison's widow and suspects Ripley murdered her husband. He starts

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

local canals and rivers in search of Murchison's corpse. When he finds it, he leaves the headless remains on Ripley's doorstep. Ripley takes a ring off the corpse that could identify it as Murchison's. He returns the corpse to the pond in front of the Pritchards' house. When they investigate the splash, both fall in and are unable to escape before drowning. The police are perplexed by the bones and the double drowning. They interrogate Ripley because Pritchard told Mrs. Murchison he found her husband's body and would deliver it to Ripley. Ripley feigns confusion over why Pritchard would do such a thing. He charms the police into sharing a drink with him before leaving. The next day, Ripley throws Murchison's ring into a nearby river.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review concluded, "This is the least good of the Ripley books, one in which the distinctly undramatic climax suggests that Patricia Highsmith is no longer much involved with her criminal creation...But the title is an ingenious joke, for in the end it is not Ripley who is ever under water." James Campbell noted that the novel "takes about 100 pages to get going, and when it does, the pace, paradoxically, seems to slacken."

Adaptations

Radio

The 2009

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

adaptation stars

Ian Hart Ian Davies (born 8 October 1964), better known by his stage name Ian Hart, is an English actor. His most notable roles have been in '' One Summer'' (1983), '' Backbeat'' (1994), '' Land and Freedom'' and '' Nothing Personal'' (1995), '' Michae ...

as Ripley, Helen Longworth as Heloise,

William Hope William Hope may refer to: * William Johnstone Hope (1766–1831), prominent and controversial British Royal Navy officer and politician * Sir William Hope, 14th Baronet (1819–1898), British Army officer * William Hope (VC) (1834–1909), Scottis ...

as David Pritchard, Janice Acquah as Janice Pritchard and Caroline Guthrie as Madame Annette.BBC Radio 4 page for the series
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References

{{Authority control 1991 American novels Novels by Patricia Highsmith Novels set in France Novels about serial killers Bloomsbury Publishing books