Ruth Rendell Reading Order

33 books (1970–2021)

Ruth Rendell edited 32 mystery and horror anthologies between 1970 and 2021, likely concluding this series in its final form. These collections, which should be read in publication order beginning with Simply The Best Mysteries, bring together short fiction from various authors across the mystery, thriller, and gothic genres. The series spans several decades and includes notable collections such as Murder in the Dark, English Country House Murders, and Mystery Cats, offering readers diverse selections of crime and supernatural stories. This complete anthology series provides an extensive survey of short mystery fiction curated by one of the genre's most respected editors.

Start with Simply The Best Mysteries, Edgar Award Winners And Front Runners, the first of 32 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Simply The Best Mysteries, Edgar Award Winners And Front Runners 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The 23rd Pan Book of Horror Stories 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Murder in the Dark 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Web She Weaves 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Ready or Not: Here Come Fourteen Frightening Stories! 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	English Country House Murders 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Mystery Cats 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Picador Book of the New Gothic 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	1st Culprit 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Man Who... 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Women of Mystery 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Fifty Best Mysteries 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1992 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	3rd Culprit 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: November 1994 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Tales of Obsession: Mystery Stories of Fatal Attractions and Deadly Desires 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1993 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Women of Mystery II 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Murder Intercontinental 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Murder by the Book 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Win, Lose or Die 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Women of Mystery III 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Crime After Crime 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Crime Never Pays 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 3 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Murder On The Railways 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Feline Felonies 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Unforgettable Ghost Stories by Women Writers 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Great Modern Stories 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Midsummer Nights 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Short Stories: The Thoroughly Modern Collection 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Murder in Midsummer: Classic Mysteries for the Holidays 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	Murder Takes a Holiday 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2013–2013)

#	Title
1	Archie and Archie 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

25 books (1964–2013)

Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford series comprises 25 mystery novels following the cases of its titular detective across nearly fifty years of publication, from 1964 to 2013. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with From Doon With Death, as Wexford's character and the town of Kingsmarkham develop throughout the arc. These standalone mysteries are connected by their recurring protagonist and setting, allowing readers to follow his career progression and relationships over time.

Start with From Doon With Death, the first of 25 books in the Inspector Wexford series.

#	Title
1	From Doon With Death 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Sins of the Fathers / A New Lease of Death 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Wolf to the Slaughter 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Best Man to Die 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	A Guilty Thing Surprised 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	No More Dying Then 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Murder Being Once Done 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Some Lie and Some Die 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Shake Hands Forever 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	A Sleeping Life 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Death Notes / Put On By Cunning 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Speaker of Mandarin 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	An Unkindness of Ravens 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Veiled One 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Ginger and the Kingsmarkham 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Kissing the Gunner's Daughter 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Simisola 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Road Rage 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Harm Done 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Babes in the Wood 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	End in Tears 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Not in the Flesh 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	The Monster in the Box 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	The Vault 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	No Man's Nightingale 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (1979–1979)

#	Title
1	Means of Evil 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1992–1995)

Ruth Rendell's two-book non-fiction series spans from 1992 to 1995 and is now complete. Both works should be read in publication order, beginning with Ruth Rendell's Suffolk. While Rendell is primarily known for her mystery and thriller fiction, these titles represent her venture into non-fiction writing.

Start with Ruth Rendell's Suffolk and read in order.

#	Title
1	Ruth Rendell's Suffolk 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Reason Why 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1985–2005)

Ruth Rendell's Short Stories/Novellas series consists of five complete collections published between 1985 and 2005. These mystery and thriller works should be read in publication order, beginning with The Convolvulus Clock and continuing through Heartstones, Long Live The Queen, Thornapple, and concluding with The Thief. The series showcases Rendell's mastery of the short form across two decades of her career.

Start with The Convolvulus Clock, the first of 5 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	The Convolvulus Clock 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Heartstones 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Long Live The Queen 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Thornapple 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Thief 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

11 books (1976–2019)

Ruth Rendell's Short Story Collections series comprises eleven books of mystery and thriller short stories published between 1976 and 2019. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with The Fallen Curtain and concluding with BBC Radio Drama Collection. These stories showcase Rendell's skill at crafting suspenseful tales across multiple decades, with some volumes offering collected works while others present new stories or radio adaptations.

Start with The Fallen Curtain, the first of 11 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	The Fallen Curtain 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Fever Tree 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The New Girlfriend 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Collected Short Stories 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Copper Peacock and Other Stories 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Blood Lines 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Piranha to Scurfy 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Collected Stories Vol 1 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Ruth Rendell: Short Stories 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	A Spot of Folly 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	BBC Radio Drama Collection 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

43 books (1965–2015)

Ruth Rendell's standalone novels span five decades from 1965 to 2015, comprising a complete collection of 43 mystery and thriller books that should be read in publication order. While each novel stands alone with its own characters and plot, reading them chronologically reveals Rendell's evolution as a writer over this remarkable career. Several titles were published under her pseudonym Barbara Vine, but all are part of this essential collection for mystery enthusiasts. Begin with To Fear a Painted Devil and progress through the decades to experience one of crime fiction's most prolific and acclaimed authors.

Start with To Fear a Painted Devil, the first of 43 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	To Fear a Painted Devil 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Vanity Dies Hard 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Secret House Of Death 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	One Across, Two Down 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Face of Trespass 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	A Demon in My View 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	A Judgement in Stone 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Make Death Love Me 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Lake of Darkness 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Master of the Moor 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Killing Doll 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Tree of Hands 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	A Dark-Adapted Eye(As: Barbara Vine) 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Live Flesh 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	A Fatal Inversion(As: Barbara Vine) 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Talking to Strange Men 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The House of Stairs(As: Barbara Vine) 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The Bridesmaid 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Gallowglass(As: Barbara Vine) 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Going Wrong 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	King Solomon's Carpet(As: Barbara Vine) 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Asta's Book / Anna's Book(As: Barbara Vine) 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	The Crocodile Bird 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	No Night Is Too Long(As: Barbara Vine) 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	In the Time of His Prosperity(As: Barbara Vine) 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	The Brimstone Wedding(As: Barbara Vine) 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	The Keys to the Street 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	A Sight for Sore Eyes 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	The Chimney Sweeper's Boy(As: Barbara Vine) 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Grasshopper(As: Barbara Vine) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Adam and Eve and Pinch Me 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	The Blood Doctor(As: Barbara Vine) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	The Rottweiler 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	13 Steps Down 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	Minotaur(As: Barbara Vine) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	The Water's Lovely 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Birthday Present(As: Barbara Vine) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	Portobello 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	Tigerlily's Orchids 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	The Child's Child(As: Barbara Vine) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	The Saint Zita Society 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	The Girl Next Door 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
43	Dark Corners 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible