Crime and Mystery Writer Ruth Rendell Dies at 85

The author wrote 60 novles novels in her career but was best known for her Inspector Wexford series

Ruth Rendell, known for her dark and chilling thrillers, died on Saturday at the age of 85.  The news is confirmed by her publishing company, however, no information about the cause of death is provided yet.

“We are devastated by the loss of one of our best loved authors, Ruth Rendell. Our thoughts are with her family.” Publisher Penguin Random House said in a statement.

Born in South Woodford, Essex, Ruth Rendell was among the best-selling contemporary authors of the Britain. She wrote more than 60 novels in her 50 year long career. Her most popular creation was probably the Inspector Wexford series which was adapted into the television series under the title “The Ruth Rendell Mysteries” with actor George Baker playing the character of stiff and stern yet intelligent police officer Wexford solving the crime cases of the fictional town of Kingsmarkham. The famous character was first introduced in 1964 in “From Doom With Death” and appeared in 23 more novels in the subsequent years. Her other notable work includes A Demon in My View (1976), Make Death Love Me (1979) and Live Flesh (1986). Her final novel Dark Corners will be published in October 2015. Rendell also wrote novels under the pen name Barbara Wine. Her work was translated into more than 20 languages and published in 30 countries worldwide.

In 1997, the author was given the title of Baroness Rendell of Babergh and was also appointed to the House of Lords for the opposition Labour Party. She was married to Don Rendell, a newspaper reporter in 1953. The couple spend 22 years together and divorced in 1975 but married again two years later. Her husband Don Rendell died in 1999. According to Guardian,the author is survived by a son named Simon.