Best Ruth Rendell Books

The best books by Ruth Rendell — 22 titles spanning Mystery, averaging 3.65 BLT stars.

Read more

Ruth Rendell built two parallel careers in crime fiction and excelled at both. As Barbara Vine, she wrote brooding psychological novels that burrowed into obsession and family secrets; as herself, she gave readers Inspector Wexford — the Kingsmarkham detective whose cases run from quiet village murders to the tabloid ugliness of Kissing the Gunner's Daughter and the grim procedural patience of Not in the Flesh. Her prose is precise and unsentimental, with a sociologist's eye for class anxiety and suburban dysfunction. What sets Rendell apart from golden-age mystery writers is her comfort with moral ambiguity — her characters do terrible things for comprehensible reasons, and she rarely lets anyone off easy. Readers who want mysteries that double as social criticism, where the crime is often the least disturbing thing in the book, will find Rendell essential.

Ruth Rendell's highest-rated book in our collection is Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (3.87 BLT stars). Browse the full list below.

Where to Start with Ruth Rendell

  1. 1
    Kissing the Gunner's Daughter cover

    Kissing the Gunner's Daughter

    Inspector Wexford • Book 15

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.87 BLT Score (4.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.94 Goodreads (4.2K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  2. 2
    The Veiled One cover

    The Veiled One

    Inspector Wexford • Book 14

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.79 BLT Score (4.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.88 Goodreads (4.0K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  3. 3
    Harm Done cover

    Harm Done

    Inspector Wexford • Book 18

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.77 BLT Score (3.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.8 Goodreads (3.6K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  4. 4
    A Guilty Thing Surprised cover

    A Guilty Thing Surprised

    Inspector Wexford • Book 5

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.76 BLT Score (3.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.85 Goodreads (3.7K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  5. 5
    No Night is Too Long cover

    No Night is Too Long

    by Barbara Vine, Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.75 BLT Score (2.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.78 Goodreads (2.9K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  6. 6
    Simisola cover

    Simisola

    Inspector Wexford • Book 16

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.73 BLT Score (4.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.82 Goodreads (4.3K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  7. 7
    A Sleeping Life cover

    A Sleeping Life

    Inspector Wexford • Book 10

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.72 BLT Score (3.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.82 Goodreads (3.4K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  8. 8
    Road Rage cover

    Road Rage

    Inspector Wexford • Book 17

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.72 BLT Score (3.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.81 Goodreads (3.9K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  9. 9
    The Speaker Of Mandarin cover

    The Speaker Of Mandarin

    Inspector Wexford • Book 12

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.68 BLT Score (3.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.78 Goodreads (3.0K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  10. 10
    The Best Man to Die cover

    The Best Man to Die

    Inspector Wexford • Book 4

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.68 BLT Score (4.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.75 Goodreads (4.7K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  11. 11
    Murder Being Once Done cover

    Murder Being Once Done

    Inspector Wexford • Book 7

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.67 BLT Score (3.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.87 Goodreads (3.8K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  12. 12
    Put on by Cunning cover

    Put on by Cunning

    Inspector Wexford • Book 11

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.65 BLT Score (2.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.76 Goodreads (2.8K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  13. 13
    No Man's Nightingale cover

    No Man's Nightingale

    Inspector Wexford • Book 24

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.63 BLT Score (3.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.61 Goodreads (3.6K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  14. 14
    An Unkindness of Ravens cover

    An Unkindness of Ravens

    Inspector Wexford • Book 13

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.60 BLT Score (5.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.72 Goodreads (5.1K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  15. 15
    Not in the Flesh cover

    Not in the Flesh

    Inspector Wexford • Book 21

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.59 BLT Score (4.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.63 Goodreads (4.3K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  16. 16
    Wolf to the Slaughter cover

    Wolf to the Slaughter

    Inspector Wexford • Book 3

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.55 BLT Score (3.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.65 Goodreads (3.7K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  17. 17
    A Spot of Folly: Ten and a Quarter New Tales of Murder and Mayhem cover

    A Spot of Folly: Ten and a Quarter New Tales of Murder and Mayhem

    by Ruth Rendell, Sophie Hannah

    ★ 3.55 BLT Score (794 ratings)
    ★ 3.64 Goodreads (794)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  18. 18
    End in Tears cover

    End in Tears

    Inspector Wexford • Book 20

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.54 BLT Score (4.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.58 Goodreads (4.0K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  19. 19
    The Babes in the Wood cover

    The Babes in the Wood

    Inspector Wexford • Book 19

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.53 BLT Score (6.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.77 Goodreads (6.3K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  20. 20
    A New Lease of Death cover

    A New Lease of Death

    Inspector Wexford • Book 2

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.52 BLT Score (3.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.63 Goodreads (3.6K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  21. 21
    The Vault cover

    The Vault

    Inspector Wexford • Book 23

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.51 BLT Score (4.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.61 Goodreads (4.1K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  22. 22
    The Monster in the Box cover

    The Monster in the Box

    Inspector Wexford • Book 22

    by Ruth Rendell

    ★ 3.43 BLT Score (3.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.51 Goodreads (3.5K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →

Browse Related Lists

Best Ruth Rendell Audiobooks Ruth Rendell — Author Profile James Patterson Jonathan Maberry Nora Achrati J.D. Robb Anne Perry Agatha Christie Ed McBain Stephen King Terry Pratchett Nora Roberts Michael Connelly Daniel Schinhofen Kevin J. Anderson Clive Cussler Brandon Sanderson Unknown Author Lee Child Craig Alanson Lois McMaster Bujold Terence Aselford Best Fantasy Best Sci-Fi Best Thriller Best Mystery Best Horror Best Literature & Fiction

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →