Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell (born 1930) is a British Crime Writer. Her works can be divided into three main characters.


 * The Inspector Wexford novels. Mystery Fiction featuring Chief Inspector Wexford and his sidekick Inspector Michael Burden. Now 23 books in the series
 * Her one-shot psychological crime novels, often featuring damaged protaganists and the results of them trying to live in the real world.
 * The Barbara Vine novels. A series of books written under the name of Barbara Vine. Unusually (unlike for example Stephen King as Richard Bachman), there was no intent to conceal Ruth Rendell's identity as the author (the covers would often carry the credit 'Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine'). The intention was to single that this was a different style of writing for Rendell. The 'Barbara Vine' novels tend to be more gently paced, often taking place over a number of years and generations, and often written in the first person.

Outside her writing, Ruth Rendell sits in the House of Lords as a Labour peer.

This author's work includes examples of

 * Confess to a Lesser Crime: How the murderer escapes justice for a while in 'Put On By Cunning'
 * Defective Detective: Averted by Reg Wexford. He is happily married, has no particular vices and is generally well-liked.
 * Lonely Doll Girl