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(Ruth Rendell wrote her first novel From Doon with Death in 1964, which introduced her enduring and popular detective, Inspector Reginald Wexford. She went on to write sixty bestselling novels, including police procedurals, some of which were successfully adapted for TV, standalone psychological mysteries, and a third strand of crime novels under the pseudonym Barbara Vine.
Genres: Mystery
Series
Chief Inspector Wexford
1. From Doon with Death (1964)
2. Sins of the Fathers (1967)
aka A New Lease of Death
3. Wolf to the Slaughter (1967)
4. The Best Man to Die (1969)
5. A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970)
6. No More Dying Then (1971)
7. Murder Being Once Done (1972)
8. Some Lie and Some Die (1973)
9. Shake Hands Forever (1975)
10. A Sleeping Life (1978)
11. Put On By Cunning (1981)
aka Death Notes
12. The Speaker of Mandarin (1983)
13. An Unkindness of Ravens (1985)
14. The Veiled One (1988)
15. Kissing the Gunners Daughter (1992)
16. Simisola (1994)
17. Road Rage (1997)
18. Harm Done (1999)
19. The Babes in the Wood (2002)
20. End in Tears (2005)
21. Not in the Flesh (2007)
22. The Monster in the Box (2009)
23. The Vault (2011)
24. No Man's Nightingale (2012)
Means of Evil (1979)
1. From Doon with Death (1964)
2. Sins of the Fathers (1967)
aka A New Lease of Death
3. Wolf to the Slaughter (1967)
4. The Best Man to Die (1969)
5. A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970)
6. No More Dying Then (1971)
7. Murder Being Once Done (1972)
8. Some Lie and Some Die (1973)
9. Shake Hands Forever (1975)
10. A Sleeping Life (1978)
11. Put On By Cunning (1981)
aka Death Notes
12. The Speaker of Mandarin (1983)
13. An Unkindness of Ravens (1985)
14. The Veiled One (1988)
15. Kissing the Gunners Daughter (1992)
16. Simisola (1994)
17. Road Rage (1997)
18. Harm Done (1999)
19. The Babes in the Wood (2002)
20. End in Tears (2005)
21. Not in the Flesh (2007)
22. The Monster in the Box (2009)
23. The Vault (2011)
24. No Man's Nightingale (2012)
Means of Evil (1979)
Novels
To Fear a Painted Devil (1965)
Vanity Dies Hard (1965)
aka In Sickness and in Health
The Secret House of Death (1968)
One Across, Two Down (1971)
The Face of Trespass (1974)
A Demon in My View (1976)
A Judgement in Stone (1977)
Make Death Love Me (1979)
Talking to Strange Men (1980)
The Lake of Darkness (1980)
Master of the Moor (1982)
The Killing Doll (1984)
The Tree of Hands (1984)
Live Flesh (1986)
Heartstones (1987)
The Bridesmaid (1989)
Going Wrong (1990)
The Crocodile Bird (1993)
The Keys to the Street (1996)
Thornapple (1998)
A Sight for Sore Eyes (1998)
Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (2001)
The Rottweiler (2003)
Thirteen Steps Down (2004)
The Water's Lovely (2006)
Portobello (2008)
Tigerlily's Orchids (2010)
The Saint Zita Society (2012)
The Girl Next Door (2014)
Dark Corners (2015)
Vanity Dies Hard (1965)
aka In Sickness and in Health
The Secret House of Death (1968)
One Across, Two Down (1971)
The Face of Trespass (1974)
A Demon in My View (1976)
A Judgement in Stone (1977)
Make Death Love Me (1979)
Talking to Strange Men (1980)
The Lake of Darkness (1980)
Master of the Moor (1982)
The Killing Doll (1984)
The Tree of Hands (1984)
Live Flesh (1986)
Heartstones (1987)
The Bridesmaid (1989)
Going Wrong (1990)
The Crocodile Bird (1993)
The Keys to the Street (1996)
Thornapple (1998)
A Sight for Sore Eyes (1998)
Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (2001)
The Rottweiler (2003)
Thirteen Steps Down (2004)
The Water's Lovely (2006)
Portobello (2008)
Tigerlily's Orchids (2010)
The Saint Zita Society (2012)
The Girl Next Door (2014)
Dark Corners (2015)
Omnibus
The Second Wexford Omnibus (1988)
The Third Wexford Omnibus (1989)
The Fourth Wexford Omnibus (1990)
Ruth Rendell Omnibus (1992)
Ruth Rendell Omnibus Vol 2 (1993)
Omnibus Fiction (1994)
The Second Ruth Rendell Omnibus (1994)
Sixth Wexford Omnibus (2002)
The Bridesmaid / To Fear A Painted Devil (2004)
Lake of Darkness / Veiled One (2007)
The Third Wexford Omnibus (1989)
The Fourth Wexford Omnibus (1990)
Ruth Rendell Omnibus (1992)
Ruth Rendell Omnibus Vol 2 (1993)
Omnibus Fiction (1994)
The Second Ruth Rendell Omnibus (1994)
Sixth Wexford Omnibus (2002)
The Bridesmaid / To Fear A Painted Devil (2004)
Lake of Darkness / Veiled One (2007)
Collections
The Fallen Curtain (1976)
The New Girlfriend (1978)
The Copper Peacock (1980)
The Fever Tree (1982)
Wexford (1987)
Collected Short Stories (1987)
Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1990)
Unguarded Hours (1990) (with Helen Simpson)
Tales of Obsession (1994) (with Joan Hess, Patricia Highsmith, Evan Hunter, P D James, Cynthia Manson, Nancy Pickard and Lawrence Treat)
Blood Lines (1995)
A Dark Blue Perfume (1996)
A Needle For the Devil (1996)
Piranha to Scurfy (2000)
Three Cases for Chief Inspector Wexford (2002)
Collected Stories II (2008)
Expectations / Lizzie's Lover / Shreds and Slivers / The Carer / Unacceptable Levels (2011)
A Spot of Folly (2017)
The New Girlfriend (1978)
The Copper Peacock (1980)
The Fever Tree (1982)
Wexford (1987)
Collected Short Stories (1987)
Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1990)
Unguarded Hours (1990) (with Helen Simpson)
Tales of Obsession (1994) (with Joan Hess, Patricia Highsmith, Evan Hunter, P D James, Cynthia Manson, Nancy Pickard and Lawrence Treat)
Blood Lines (1995)
A Dark Blue Perfume (1996)
A Needle For the Devil (1996)
Piranha to Scurfy (2000)
Three Cases for Chief Inspector Wexford (2002)
Collected Stories II (2008)
Expectations / Lizzie's Lover / Shreds and Slivers / The Carer / Unacceptable Levels (2011)
A Spot of Folly (2017)
Chapbooks
Series contributed to
Anthologies edited
Non fiction
Undermining the Central Line (1989) (with Colin Ward)
Ruth Rendell's Suffolk (1992)
Archie and Archie (2013)
Ruth Rendell's Suffolk (1992)
Archie and Archie (2013)
Anthologies containing stories by Ruth Rendell
The 23rd Pan Book of Horror Stories (1982)
Haunted Houses (1983)
Haunting Women (1988)
Scare Care (1989)
The New Gothic (1991)
Little Deaths (1994)
Lethal Kisses (1996)
Mistresses of the Dark (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories (1998)
Crossing the Border (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (2000)
Haunted Houses (1983)
Haunting Women (1988)
Scare Care (1989)
The New Gothic (1991)
Little Deaths (1994)
Lethal Kisses (1996)
Mistresses of the Dark (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories (1998)
Crossing the Border (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (2000)
Short stories
| Bribery and Corruption | |||
| The Convolvulus Clock | |||
| A Dark Blue Perfume [short story] | |||
| Father's Day | |||
| Fen Hall | |||
| The Green Road to Quephanda | |||
| Hare's House | |||
| The Orchard Walls | |||
| An Outside Interest | |||
| The Whistler | |||
| The Venus Fly Trap (1972) | |||
| A Bad Heart (1973) | |||
| The Clinging Woman (1974) | |||
| The Fallen Curtain [short story] (1974) | |||
| Almost Human (1975) | |||
| The Double (1975) | |||
| The Fall of a Coin (1975) | |||
| Divided We Stand (1976) | |||
| People Don't Do Such things (1976) | |||
| The Vinegar Mother (1976) | |||
| You Can't Be Too Careful (1976) | |||
| A Glowing Future (1977) | |||
| The Haunting of Shawley Rectory (1979) | |||
| The Dreadful Day of Judgment (1982) | |||
| Loopy (1982) | |||
| The New Girlfriend [short story] (1985) | |||
| For Dear Life (1991) | |||
| Long Live The Queen (1991) | |||
| A Pair Of Yellow Lilies (1993) | |||
| The Astronomical Scarf (1996) | |||
| Computer Seance (1997) | |||
| The Brimstone Wedding Clothes (1998) | |||
| Unacceptable Levels (1998) |
Awards
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Books about Ruth Rendell
Ruth Rendell recommends
A Helping Hand (1966)
Celia Dale
"Celia Dale's writing is quiet, clever, subtle - and terrifying. I can't think of anyone whose stories of suspense I appreciate more."
A Cold Mind (1983)
(Stuart Haydon, book 1)
David Lindsey
"It enthralled me...A Cold Mind stands alone, it is entirely original."
The Criminal Comedy of the Contented Couple (1985)
Julian Symons
"Superlative... A master at the top of his form."
The Safety of Objects (1990)
A M Homes
"Remarkable... awesomely well-written. Here are all the things that even in our frank, outspoken times we don't talk about. We think of them punishingly in our sleepless nights."
Wilderness (1991)
Dennis Danvers
"A remarkable book...sensuous and erotic, compelling and deeply serious."
Tony and Susan (1993)
Austin Wright
"Absorbing, terrifying, beautiful and apalling... This novel I know I never shall forget."
There Was an Old Woman (1993)
(Benny Cooperman, book 8)
Howard Engel
"Mr. Engel is a born writer, a natural stylist.... This is a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines."
The Last Girl (1995)
Penelope Evans
"Tension holds the reader in page-turning compulsion and never flags till the last word has been read."
The Sherlock Effect (1997)
Raymond Kay Lyon
"I enjoyed 'The Sherlock Effect' and thought it original and well-written. An important factor for me in reading anything is the compulsion to go on reading, and I felt that."
Hey Yeah Right Get a Life (2000)
Helen Simpson
"A collection that includes some of the most sensitive, insightful and finely-crafted stories I have ever read."
Rumours of a Hurricane (2002)
Tim Lott
"Very clever, very funny. If it fails to win a big prize there is no justice in the world."
Have You Seen Dawn? (2003)
Steven Saylor
"Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing enthralls."
The Ghost Writer (2004)
John Harwood
"Its complexities provoke a feverish breathlessness...Well written and subtly constructed."
The Pure in Heart (2005)
(Simon Serrailler, book 2)
Susan Hill
"Not all great novelists can write crime crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does it the result is stunning."
Divas Don't Knit (2007)
(Beach Street Knitting Society, book 1)
Gil McNeil
"Funny and sparkling--a profoundly moving study of motherhood and true love."
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