British crime novelist Ruth Rendell dies at age 85

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Ruth Rendell
(Image credit: AP Photo/Max Nash, File)

Ruth Rendell, author of more than 60 crime and mystery novels, died on Saturday at age 85, The Associated Press reports.

The British writer's best-known series focused on her character Chief Inspector Wexford; those adventures were turned into a popular television series. She told AP in a 2005 interview that after initial efforts at some "very bad" novels, she found her voice through "suspense and a sort of tension and a sort of mystery."

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Sarah Eberspacher
Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.