Ruth Rendell (1930-2015) was an English politician and author of thrillers and mysteries. Rendell began her writing career as a journalist for a local Essex paper. She published her first novel From Doon with Death in 1964, it featured her most famous character Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford. She would go on to write many more books in the Wexford series which were later adapted for television as The Ruth Rendell Mysteries between 1987 and 2000. In 1997 she was created a life peer and sat in the House of Lords. She was the winner of many literary awards including three Edgars and the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association.