Ruth Rendell dies at 85

The famous British mystery writer Ruth Rendell, who suffered severe strokes in January, the author of more than 60 best-selling novels, has died at the age of 85. Ruth Rendell was a leading member of the generation of writers who took crime fiction and turned it into literature. Ruth’s Wexford books were dramatized for TV for more than a decade as The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, with George Baker in the lead role.

Gail Rebuck, chair of Penguin Random House U.K. said, “Rendell had been an insightful and elegant observer of society" whose work "highlighted the causes she cared so deeply about. Ruth was a great writer, a campaigner for social justice, a proud mother and grandmother, a generous and loyal friend and probably the best-read person I have ever met."

Source: thetimes.co.uk

Rendell published more than 60 books, was best known for her psychological thrillers, which delved into the criminal mind. Her works were also adapted for television by the successful series The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. Ruth most recent publication was The Girl Next Door, which came out last year along with a 50th anniversary edition of her debut novel, From Doon With Death, which was published in 1964. She was also awarded a CBE in 1996 and had worldwide book sales of around 60 million.