Queen of Booklandia
Queen of Booklandia
Time for a modern mystery genius - Rendell is, perhaps our generation’s Christie, and regardless is a hell of a mystery author. She writes straight up mysteries and, under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, pretty fabulous psychological thrillers (actually I first came to Rendell through her Vine novels). Since I’m about to go on another mad mystery re-re read I am going to make this an official Ruth Rendell project, so that I am at least being productive while I’m comfort reading - although, given the dark twisted psychopaths that inhabit so much of Rendell’s fiction, perhaps an uncomfort read is more appropos. At least, unlike the Christie project, many of these books will be new to me. Along with her Barbara Vine work, Rendell writes both a mystery series, starting Inspector Wexford, and stand alone mystery novels (often starring a totally creepy sociopath).
Written as Barbara Vine (I put this first because I love the Vine novels best!):
Gallowglass (1990)
No Night Is Too Long (1994)
The Brimstone Wedding (1995)
The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy (1998)
Grasshopper (2000)
The Birthday Present (2008)
Her stand alone novels:
To Fear A Painted Devil (1965)
Vanity Dies Hard (1965)
The Secret House of Death (1968)
One Across, Two Down (1971)
The Face of Trespass (1974)
A Demon in My View (1976)
A Judgement in Stone (1977)
Make Death Love Me (1979)
The Lake of Darkness (1980)
Master of the Moor (1982)
The Killing Doll (1984)
The Tree of Hands (1984)
Live Flesh (1986)
Talking to Strange Men (1987)
The Bridesmaid (1989)
Going Wrong (1990)
Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (2001)
The Rottweiler (2003)
Portobello (2008)
The Inspector Wexford Mysteries
A New Lease of Death (1967) (aka The Sins of the Fathers)
A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970)
Some Lie and Some Die (1973)
Put on By Cunning (1981) (aka Death Notes)
The Speaker of Mandarin (1983)
An Unkindness of Ravens (1985)
Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter (1992)
Not in the Flesh (2007)
The Monster in the Box (2009)
Novellas and Short Story Collections:
The Copper Peacock (1991)
Blood Lines (1995)
Collected Short Stories Volume 1 (2006)
Collected Short Stories Volume II (2008)
Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine
Monday, March 9, 2009
The Ruth Rendell Project