I have favorite authors, both men and women, but since it’s Women’s History Month, I’ll share my reviews of the 30 books I’ve read that were written by Ruth Rendell.
The asterisked book titles are the Ruth Rendell books I read. I love reading books on my Kindle. Have you tried it yet? The light from the Kindle might be enough to read from in a dark room but that’s not good for your eyes so use a second form of light when reading from your Kindle. I have an affiliate link for a basic Kindle ebook reader, but there are other options that have more bells and whistles and your Kindle can actually be a mini computer! I recommend getting a cover for your Kindle to protect it. I bring it to camp and read it in all sorts of places: chaise lounge, bed, couch, chair. After checking these brief story plots, I’ve listed some items you might want to have when you settle in for an afternoon or evening of reading on your Kindle. Enjoy!
From Doon With Death:
The First Inspector Wexford Mystery (1964)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3T9yC39
There is nothing extraordinary about Margaret Parsons, a timid housewife in the quiet town of Kingsmarkham, a woman devoted to her garden, her kitchen, her husband. Except that Margaret Parsons is dead, brutally strangled, her body abandoned in the nearby woods. Who would kill someone with nothing to hide? Inspector Wexford, the formidable chief of police, feels baffled — until he discovers Margaret’s dark secret: a trove of rare books, each volume breathlessly inscribed by a passionate lover identified only as Doon. As Wexford delves deeper into both Mrs. Parsons’ past and the wary community circling round her memory like wolves, the case builds with relentless momentum to a surprise finale as clever as it is blindsiding.
Sins of the Fathers / A New Lease of Death (1967)
*Wolf to the Slaughter (1967)
*The Best Man to Die (1969)
*A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970)
No More Dying Then (1971)
*Murder Being Once Done (1972)
Some Lie and Some Die:
Inspector Wexford Book #8 (1973)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3vdZwPk
A mutilated body found at a rock festival. In spite of dire predictions, the rock festival in Kingsmarkham seemed to be going off without a hitch, until the hideously disfigured body is discovered in a nearby quarry. And soon Wexford is investigating the links between a local girl gone bad and a charismatic singer who inspires an unwholesome devotion in his followers. Some Lie and Some Die is a devilishly absorbing novel, in which Wexford’s deductive powers come up against the aloof arrogance of pop stardom. With her Inspector Wexford novels, Ruth Rendell, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, has added layers of depth, realism and unease to the classic English mystery. For the canny, tireless, and unflappable policeman is an unblinking observer of human nature, whose study has taught him that under certain circumstances the most unlikely people are capable of the most appalling crimes.
*Shake Hands Forever (1975)
*A Sleeping Life (1978)
*Death Notes / Put On By Cunning (1981)
Speaker of Mandarin (1983)
*An Unkindness of Ravens
(Inspector Wexford Book 13) (1985)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3IALuu9
For London’s Chief Inspector Reg Wexford, it wasn’t an official call. He was just being neighborly when he agreed to talk to Joy Williams
about her missing husband, Rodney. Apparently, he went to Ipswich on business and never came home. Wexford has an idea what happened: He most likely ran off with one of his girlfriends. However, there are a few nagging concerns, like Rodney’s suspicious letter of resignation and his abandoned car. And is it just a fluke that his disappearance coincides with a rash of stabbings—all straight through the heart, all with male victims. Wexford’s detective instincts must take flight in order to bring down a murderer. Or two. Or three. Because, behind the seemingly placid domesticity of his Sussex neighbors, there is a growing web of tangling secrets, double lives, and triple-crosses.
The Veiled One (1988)
Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter (1992)
Ginger and the Kingsmarkham (With: George Philip Baker)(1992)
Simisola (1994)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3wMQoSq
No one admitted to spotting the doctor’s missing daughter—even after the murders began. Melanie Akande, eschewing privilege, had insisted on going to the jobsearch office to find employment. But between that office and the bus stop, she vanished. Inspector Wexford hoped someone would have noticed her, since the Akandes were among the few Africans living in Kingsmarkham. Instead, he had found a middle-aged white woman strangled in bed, and a mysterious black girl buried in a shallow grave. Now Wexford, seeking connections among the three women, cast his baleful eye on the changes in once rural Sussex—from a Kuwaiti millionaire’s Rolls-Royce to the growing slums and dismal hopelessness of unemployed youth. What he can’t see among them is the shocking, blood-chilling motive to kill. And what he has yet to find is a doctor’s missing child.
Road Rage (1997)
*Harm Done (1999)
*The Babes in the Wood
(Inspector Wexford Book 19) (2002)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3PeXO79
With floods threatening both the town of Kingsmarkham and his own home and no end to the rain in sight, Chief Inspector Wexford already has his hands full when he learns that two local teenagers have gone missing along with their sitter, Joanna Troy. Their hysterical mother is convinced that all three have drowned, and as the hours stretch into days Wexford suspects a case of kidnapping, perhaps connected with an unusual sect called the Church of the Good Gospel. But when the sitter’s smashed-up car is found at the bottom of a local quarry–occupied by a battered corpse–the investigation takes on a very different hue.
*End in Tears (2005)
*Not in the Flesh (2007)
*The Monster in the Box (2009)
*The Vault (2011)
No Man’s Nightingale
(Inspector Wexford Book 24) (2013)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3Vb2IG1
A female vicar named Sarah Hussein is discovered strangled in her Kingsmarkham vicarage. A single mother to a teenage girl, Hussein was working in a male-dominated profession. Moreover, she was of mixed race and wanted to modernize the church. Could racism or sexism have played a factor in her murder? Maxine, the gossipy cleaning woman who discovered the body, happens to also be in the employ of retired Chief Inspector Wexford and his wife. Wexford is intrigued by the unusual circumstances of the murder, and when he is invited by his old deputy to tag along with the investigators, he leaps at the chance. As Wexford searches the Vicar’s house, he sees a book on her bedside table. Inside the book is a letter serving as a bookmark. Without thinking much, Wexford puts it into his pocket. Wexford soon realizes he has made a grave error in removing a piece of valuable evidence from the scene without telling anybody. Yet what he finds inside begins to illuminate the murky past of Sarah Hussein. Is there more to her than meets the eye?
Ruth Rendell also wrote standalone novels and sometimes used the pen name Barbara Vine.
Grasshopper (As: Barbara Vine)(2000)
Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (2001)
The Blood Doctor (As: Barbara Vine)(2002)
*The Rottweiler (2003)
13 Steps Down (2004)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3wNbKz2
Mix Cellini has just moved into a flat in a decaying house in Nottinghill, where he plans to pursue his two abiding passions–supermodel Nerissa Nash, whom he worships from afar, and the life of serial killer Reggie Christie, hanged fifty years earlier for murdering at least eight women. Gwendolen Chawcer, Mix’s eighty-year-old landlady, has few interests besides her old books and her new tenant. But she does have an intriguing connection to Christie. And when reality intrudes into Mix’s life, he turns to Christie for inspiration and a long pent-up violence explodes. Intricately plotted and brilliantly written, 13 Steps Down enters the minds of these disparate people as they move inexorably toward its breathtaking conclusion.
Minotaur (As: Barbara Vine)(2005)
The Water’s Lovely (2006)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3PfWPDP
When Ismay and Heather’s stepfather was discovered dead in the bathtub nine years ago, the police concluded the drowning was an accident. But Ismay has always silently suspected that Heather might have had something to do with it. Now they’re older and their lives seem to be moving happily forward. But when Heather becomes seriously involved with a man for the first time, Ismay’s long-repressed memories can no longer be ignored. With painful inevitability, Ismay learns that she may not able to keep the dark truth hidden forever.
Portobello (2008)
Birthday Present (As: Barbara Vine)(2008)
*Tigerlily’s Orchids (2010)
The Saint Zita Society (2012)
The Child’s Child (As: Barbara Vine)(2012)
The Girl Next Door (2014)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3wJhlqa
In the waning months of the second World War, a group of children discover a tunnel in their neighborhood outside London. For that summer of 1944, the subterranean space becomes their “secret garden,” where the friends play games, tell their fortunes, and perform for each other. Six decades later, construction workers make a grisly discovery beneath a house on the same land: a tin box containing two skeletal hands, one male and one female. As the hands make national news, the friends come together once again, to recall their long ago days for a detective. Then the police investigation sputters, and the threads holding their friendship together begin to unravel. Is the truth buried amid the tangled relationships of these aging men and women and their memories? Will it emerge before it’s too late?
Dark Corners (2015)
This book was completed shortly before the author’s death in 2015. Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3PdIJD8
When his father dies, Carl Martin inherits a house in an increasingly rich and trendy London neighborhood. Cash poor, Carl rents the upstairs room and kitchen to the first person he interviews, Dermot McKinnon. That is mistake number one. Mistake number two is keeping the bizarre collection of homeopathic and alternative “cures” that his father left in the medicine cabinet, including a stash of controversial diet pills. Mistake number three is selling fifty of those diet pills to a friend, who is then found dead. Dermot seizes a nefarious opportunity and begins to blackmail Carl, refusing to pay rent, and creepily invading Carl’s space. Ingeniously weaving together two storylines that finally merge in a shocking turn, Ruth Rendell describes one man’s spiral into darkness—and murder—as he falls victim to a diabolical foe he cannot escape.
About the author, from her publicist:
Edgar Award–winning author Ruth Rendell (1930-2015) wrote more than seventy books and sold more than twenty million copies worldwide. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (London), she was the recipient of the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crime Writers’ Association. Rendell’s award-winning novels include *A Demon in My View (1976), A Dark-Adapted Eye (1987), and King Solomon’s Carpet (1991). Her popular crime stories featuring Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford were adapted into a long-running British television series (1987–2000) starring George Baker.
Amazon Kindle ebook reader – The lightest and most compact Kindle, with extended battery life, adjustable front light, and 16 GB storage – Black. Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3VbRUYu I recommend bundling your Kindle with a protective cover. Just scroll down the page on Amazon to see the options.
On my Kindle I was able to “borrow” ebooks from my local library, too, just by entering my library card number! Are you doing that yet?
About Amazon and Kindle: The Kindle is an Amazon product and you might be surprised at all the good Kindle book deals that you can get on Amazon. These Kindle things on Amazon include an Amazon Book Club! Check out the Ruth Rendell bio and look at the Kindle menu above her picture: https://amzn.to/49IFc81
MIULEE Throw Pillow Covers Soft Corduroy Decorative Set of 2 Boho Striped Pillow Covers Pillowcases Farmhouse Home Decor for Couch Bed Sofa Living Room Spring 18×18 Inch Sage Green Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3TuAtBd
JOJUSIS Pack of 2 Faux Fur Plush Decorative Throw Pillow Covers Striped Couch Cushion Case Soft Fluffy Pillowcases (Beige, 18 x 18-Inch) Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/48LFhXg
MIULEE Corduroy Pillow Covers with Splicing Set of 2 Super Soft Boho Striped Pillow Covers Broadside Decorative Textured Throw Pillows for Spring Couch Cushion Living room 18×18 inch, Beige Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3Iv7ZRi
Siluvia 18″x18″ Pillow Inserts Set of 2 Decorative 18 Pillows Square Interior Sofa Throw Pillow with 100% Cotton Cover Couch Pillow Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/4c4x2YZ (no picture, but the link brings you to Amazon).
The Connecticut Home Company Throw Blanket, Soft Plush Reversible Shag and Sherpa, Warm Thick Throws for Bed, Comfy Washable Bedding Accent Blankets for Sofa Couch Chair, 65×50, Dusty Rose Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3IsIyQe
GOLD CASE HOME COLLECTION 100% Recycled Cotton Vintage Throw Blanket for Couch – Super Soft Throw Blankets – Living Room Decorative Boho Throws for Bed & Farmhouse – 60×80 – Beige Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3PbCWO4
bearberry Fuzzy Leopard Knitted Throw Blanket Soft Cozy Warm Microfiber Blanket for Couch Sofa Bed Travel (Stone/Cream, 50″x60″)
Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/48K6kC5
I have two lap desks and I love them! LAPGEAR Home Office Lap Desk with Device Ledge, Mouse Pad, and Phone Holder – Oakwood – Fits up to 15.6 Inch Laptops – Style No. 91589 Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3TbrnYx
This is the style laptop desk that I have, with legs! SONGMICS Laptop Desk, Folding Lap Tray, Bamboo Bed Desk with Tilting Top, Small
Drawer, for Home Office, Bedroom, Natural ULLD01N Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/4a72Jz0
Touch Table Lamp for Bedroom Nightstand – Bedside Lamp with USB-C USB-A Charging Ports White, 3 Way Dimmable Control Small Lamp Fabric Shade Silver Base for Bedroom, Office, Living Room, Reading Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/48Of5uQ
Industrial Table Lamps for Bedrooms Set of 2 – Fully Dimmable Bedside Lamps with USB A and C Ports and Outlet, Black Nightstand Lamps with Glass Shade for Living Room, Desk Lamps for Office Reading Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3wN7G1E
Book Light, Reading Light with 3 Colors, Book Light for Reading in Bed Rechargeable Reading Lights for Books in Bed, Portable & Adjustable Reading Lamp,Small Desk Lamp, Night Lights for Readers, 2 Pack, Black Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/439P4oB
PajamaGram Women’s Pajama Sets – Winter Pajamas For Women, Shearling Rollneck Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3IB72H3
Just Love Ultra-Soft Women’s Pajama Pant Set – Nightgown with Matching Socks Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3PfQh8i
This is the best loungewear for a day spent in jammies or when you have company around! MEROKEETY Women’s 2 Piece Outfits Fuzzy Fleece Pajama Set Long Sleeve Top Wide Leg Pants Loungewear Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/49Kh70n
This is one of those blankets you can wear over your clothes for when you’ll be idle for a while (reading books!). Royoliving Fuzzy Sherpa Wearable Fleece Blanket with Pockets for Adults, Ultra Soft Plush Shawl TV Throw Blankets (Brown, 58”*64”) Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/48Hu365
Memory foam in shoes and slippers is the best comfort ever! HomeTop Women’s Fuzzy Curly Fur Memory Foam Loafer Slippers with Polar Fleece Lining Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/4c8akz5
These slippers have an outdoor sole. Litfun Women’s Fuzzy Memory Foam Slippers Fluffy Winter House Shoes Indoor and Outdoor Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3TcmKgM
Slipper shoes to wear around camp or the house! Evshine Women’s Fuzzy Memory Foam Closed Back Slippers Chenille Knit Fleece Lined House Shoes Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3PcD9Rj
Grab your favorite coffee or tea and cozy up and read! Ceramic 15oz Elephant Tea Mug Green Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3VgtZap
Double Wall Glass Coffee Mugs – 13 oz Insulated Clear Coffee Mugs Set of 2, Perfect for Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte, Tea – Elegant Glass
Coffee Cups Set Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/48M3gFF
Beautiful! One 20 Oz Coffee or Tea Ceramic Cup – Dishwasher and Microwave Safe Amazon affiliate link https://amzn.to/3TulPJ1
Scroll through my other book reviews on my blog at this link: https://livingwithdana.com/category/book-review/. And stick around, because I love to read and have more book reviews in the works.
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