Ruth Rendell

[BinkyBetsy]

www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30828386

One of my very favorite authors. I'm not a big mystery fan, just a Rendell fan. Well, her and Dick Francis. I have an entire bookcase (three shelves) devoted just to RRs. (They were taking up too much space in the regular one.)

Now she's had a stroke. Almost the first thing I thought was "Maud in One Across, Two Down." BBC News says "critical but stable"; Daily Mail says "fighting for life". Here's hoping for a recovery. She's the same age as my mom, incidentally. Anyway, I hope this thread stays an appreciation thread for a while, not a eulogy.

[Shalamar]

She's had a stroke? Oh, no. She's one of my favorites, too. I adore Wexford (can't call him "Inspector" anymore now, I guess, since he's retired).

Aside: has anyone read "Locke and Key"? It's written by Stephen King's son, Joe Hill. The reason I ask is that it has a character whose first name is "Rendell". King is a huge fan of hers, and I'm pretty sure it's an homage.

[chonies]

I like both Rendell and Barbara Vine, although I often come away from Vine books dissatisfied.

[BinkyBetsy]

And she's gone. Someone on Facebook said it better than I could: "England has gained a princess and lost a queen."

[Shalamar]

Damn it. I knew she couldn't live forever, but I hoped. Any idea whether she had any books in progress?

[Smilla]

I loooooove Ruth Rendell. Very sorry to read of her passing. My favorite: The Fever Tree and Other Stories. Runner up is looking to be the one I just started—Tree of Hands. They made a great Lifetime original movie from that back in the day, and it wasn't the "Mother May I Sleep With Danger?" crapfest so much of Lifetime can be.

Why are all the good authors dead/maxing out?