Best Ruth Rendell Books

Kissing the Gunner's Daughter

Inspector Wexford • Book 15

by Ruth Rendell

Mass murder in high society becomes personal for Wexford as the investigation strips away his professional detachment and exposes uncomfortable truths.

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Mass murder in high society becomes personal for Wexford as the investigation strips away his professional detachment and exposes uncomfortable truths.

The Veiled One

Inspector Wexford • Book 14

by Ruth Rendell

A body hidden in rags and a car bombing that sidelines Wexford create an unusual dynamic where Detective Burden must solve an apparently motiveless murder. Rendell explores how investigation changes when the usual hierarchy shifts.

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A body hidden in rags and a car bombing that sidelines Wexford create an unusual dynamic where Detective Burden must solve an apparently motiveless murder. Rendell explores how investigation changes when the usual hierarchy shifts.

Murder Being Once Done

Inspector Wexford • Book 7

by Ruth Rendell

Ordered to London for rest and no criminal investigations, Chief Inspector Wexford can't resist when a girl's brutally murdered body turns a peaceful graveyard into a crime scene.

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Ordered to London for rest and no criminal investigations, Chief Inspector Wexford can't resist when a girl's brutally murdered body turns a peaceful graveyard into a crime scene.

A Guilty Thing Surprised

Inspector Wexford • Book 5

by Ruth Rendell

Elizabeth Nightingale found tranquility in evening forest walks around her manor house until death waited among the dense English woods. Wexford investigates murder in the gentle countryside's dark heart.

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Elizabeth Nightingale found tranquility in evening forest walks around her manor house until death waited among the dense English woods. Wexford investigates murder in the gentle countryside's dark heart.

The Babes in the Wood

Inspector Wexford • Book 19

by Ruth Rendell

Rising floodwaters threaten Kingsmarkham as Wexford searches for two missing teens and their babysitter, Joanna Troy. Rendell uses natural disaster to heighten the urgency of human disappearance.

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Rising floodwaters threaten Kingsmarkham as Wexford searches for two missing teens and their babysitter, Joanna Troy. Rendell uses natural disaster to heighten the urgency of human disappearance.

Simisola

Inspector Wexford • Book 16

by Ruth Rendell

What begins as a simple missing person case for Wexford—Dr. Akande's daughter Melanie—explodes into double murder when the last person to see her turns up dead.

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What begins as a simple missing person case for Wexford—Dr. Akande's daughter Melanie—explodes into double murder when the last person to see her turns up dead.

Road Rage

Inspector Wexford • Book 17

by Ruth Rendell

Plans for a highway through Kingsmarkham's ancient woods spark protests that may have escalated to kidnapping five hostages. Rendell examines environmental activism's darker possibilities while Wexford grapples with losing his cherished hiking grounds.

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Plans for a highway through Kingsmarkham's ancient woods spark protests that may have escalated to kidnapping five hostages. Rendell examines environmental activism's darker possibilities while Wexford grapples with losing his cherished hiking grounds.

A Sleeping Life

Inspector Wexford • Book 10

by Ruth Rendell

When Rhoda Comfrey dies in Kingsmarkham, Inspector Wexford discovers her last twenty years are a complete blank—Rendell crafts mystery from erasure itself.

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When Rhoda Comfrey dies in Kingsmarkham, Inspector Wexford discovers her last twenty years are a complete blank—Rendell crafts mystery from erasure itself.

Harm Done

Inspector Wexford • Book 18

by Ruth Rendell

A missing girl reappears with no memory while another child disappears, creating a twisted puzzle that challenges Wexford's assumptions about victimhood and guilt.

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A missing girl reappears with no memory while another child disappears, creating a twisted puzzle that challenges Wexford's assumptions about victimhood and guilt.

The Best Man to Die

Inspector Wexford • Book 4

by Ruth Rendell

Charlie Hatton's murder at his friend's stag party launches Inspector Wexford into a puzzle involving petty gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women in classic Rendell fashion.

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Charlie Hatton's murder at his friend's stag party launches Inspector Wexford into a puzzle involving petty gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women in classic Rendell fashion.

An Unkindness of Ravens

Inspector Wexford • Book 13

by Ruth Rendell

When missing husband reports start multiplying, Inspector Wexford discovers that domestic disappearances can hide much darker secrets than simple affairs.

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When missing husband reports start multiplying, Inspector Wexford discovers that domestic disappearances can hide much darker secrets than simple affairs.

The Speaker Of Mandarin

Inspector Wexford • Book 12

by Ruth Rendell

Chief Inspector Wexford's tourist trip to ancient Chinese tombs and palaces turns sinister when a fellow traveler dies back in England. Rendell uses the group's shared travel experience to expose hidden connections and long-brewing resentments.

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Chief Inspector Wexford's tourist trip to ancient Chinese tombs and palaces turns sinister when a fellow traveler dies back in England. Rendell uses the group's shared travel experience to expose hidden connections and long-brewing resentments.

No Night is Too Long

by Barbara Vine, Ruth Rendell

Months after killing his lover in Alaska, Tim Cornish's confidence crumbles when anonymous letters reveal someone knows exactly what he did.

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Months after killing his lover in Alaska, Tim Cornish's confidence crumbles when anonymous letters reveal someone knows exactly what he did.

Put on by Cunning

Inspector Wexford • Book 11

by Ruth Rendell

A composer's protégé dies under suspicious circumstances, pulling Wexford into a web of artistic obsession, sexual manipulation, and buried family trauma.

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A composer's protégé dies under suspicious circumstances, pulling Wexford into a web of artistic obsession, sexual manipulation, and buried family trauma.

Wolf to the Slaughter

Inspector Wexford • Book 3

by Ruth Rendell

An intriguing missing person case built around dark beauty Anita Margolis, where Wexford investigates a potential murder that officially doesn't exist. Classic British procedural with psychological depth.

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An intriguing missing person case built around dark beauty Anita Margolis, where Wexford investigates a potential murder that officially doesn't exist. Classic British procedural with psychological depth.

Not in the Flesh

Inspector Wexford • Book 21

by Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell's latest Wexford investigation explores dark secrets in Kingsmarkham, proving why she remains British crime fiction's most unsettling voice.

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Ruth Rendell's latest Wexford investigation explores dark secrets in Kingsmarkham, proving why she remains British crime fiction's most unsettling voice.

A New Lease of Death

Inspector Wexford • Book 2

by Ruth Rendell

When the daughter of a convicted killer seeks to marry, her fiancé's father forces Wexford to reexamine his first murder case and confront uncomfortable truths.

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When the daughter of a convicted killer seeks to marry, her fiancé's father forces Wexford to reexamine his first murder case and confront uncomfortable truths.

The Vault

Inspector Wexford • Book 23

by Ruth Rendell

Chief Inspector Wexford has retired, splitting time between Kingsmarkham and his daughter's London home, but crime has a way of finding even former detectives.

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Chief Inspector Wexford has retired, splitting time between Kingsmarkham and his daughter's London home, but crime has a way of finding even former detectives.

No Man's Nightingale

Inspector Wexford • Book 24

by Ruth Rendell

The murder of female vicar Sarah Hussein in her own vicarage draws retired Chief Inspector Wexford into an unofficial investigation of the unusual circumstances.

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The murder of female vicar Sarah Hussein in her own vicarage draws retired Chief Inspector Wexford into an unofficial investigation of the unusual circumstances.

End in Tears

Inspector Wexford • Book 20

by Ruth Rendell

When a concrete block dropped from a bridge kills the wrong victim, Inspector Wexford faces both a cunning murderer and hostile press coverage. Rendell weaves media manipulation into her mystery with characteristic psychological depth.

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When a concrete block dropped from a bridge kills the wrong victim, Inspector Wexford faces both a cunning murderer and hostile press coverage. Rendell weaves media manipulation into her mystery with characteristic psychological depth.

The Monster in the Box

Inspector Wexford • Book 22

by Ruth Rendell

Decades later, Wexford still remembers the muscular man with the unnerving stare from his first murder case. When similar deaths resurface, old suspicions become urgent reality.

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Decades later, Wexford still remembers the muscular man with the unnerving stare from his first murder case. When similar deaths resurface, old suspicions become urgent reality.

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

by Ruth Rendell, Sophie Hannah

Ruth Rendell's last collection features ten chilling tales where a cheating businessman faces justice and a beautiful rectory echoes with supernatural menace.

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Ruth Rendell's last collection features ten chilling tales where a cheating businessman faces justice and a beautiful rectory echoes with supernatural menace.