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"A Guilty Thing Surprised" is a mystery novel by Ruth Rendell, published in 2000. It is the third book in the Inspector Wexford series to feature Detective Inspector Mike Burden as the main protagonist, and follows Burden as he investigates the murder of a young woman in the town of Kingsmarkham.

The book begins with the discovery of the body of 23-year-old Rachel Holmes, who has been strangled to death in her own home. Rachel had recently become engaged to a wealthy businessman, and Burden initially suspects that her fiancé, Laurence Redding, might be responsible for her murder. However, as the investigation progresses, it becomes clear that there are many other potential suspects, including Rachel's ex-boyfriend, her neighbor, and even her own mother.

As Burden delves deeper into the case, he begins to uncover a web of secrets and lies that surround Rachel and her family. He discovers that Rachel had been having an affair with her neighbor, and that she had also been involved in a business deal that had gone wrong. Meanwhile, Laurence Redding becomes increasingly erratic and violent, leading Burden to suspect that he may have had a hand in Rachel's murder.

As the investigation continues, Burden is faced with a series of difficult moral dilemmas, as he struggles to balance his duty to solve the crime with his own personal feelings and biases. Along the way, he is aided by his colleague, Detective Sergeant Barbara Poltown, and by his old friend, Inspector Wexford, who helps him to see the case from different perspectives.

In the end, Burden is able to solve the mystery and bring the killer to justice, but not before he is faced with a number of unexpected twists and turns. "A Guilty Thing Surprised" is a tense and suspenseful mystery that will keep readers guessing until the very end.