Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, was an author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. She is best known for her Inspector Wexford series. She made a significant contribution to the genre by publishing novels that explored the psychological background of criminals and their victims. Some of her work was published under the pseudonym Barbara Vine.Rendell's first novel, "From Doon with Death," which was also her first Inspector Wexford novel, was published in 1964. Over the course of career, she published more than 65 novels, as well as story collections and non-fiction works.Rendell died in 2015.