Nine 'rediscovered' Ruth Rendell short stories coming in October

Profile Books is set to publish nine rediscovered short stories by Ruth Rendell.

The publisher will release A Spot of Folly: New Tales of Murder and Mayhem this October. It is the first time the stories have been collected together under Rendell’s name and seven out of the nine have never been published in book form, the publisher said.

The stories involve "tales of dark deeds and heart-stopping suspense" and are also "atmospheric, mysterious and never predictable". They will tell the tale of a businessman boasting about cheating on his wife, only to find his own back to the wall, of a beautiful country rectory reverberating to the echo of an historical murder and a compulsive liar who finds herself caught out by an act of impulsive revenge.

Profile commissioning editor Cecily Gayford acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Charles Walker at United Agents.

Gayford said: "Ruth Rendell truly was one of the most talented crime writers – in fact, writers full stop – to wield a lethal pen. She knew how to mix thrillingly tense plotlines with an astonishing insight to the quirks of human behaviour, evil and benign. These stories are elegant and disquieting, every bit the equal to her already published works. I’m delighted and proud to be publishing them."

Rendell's books - notable for their careful psychological observation, as well as their gripping plots - have sold over 20 million copies worldwide, and she won numerous awards, including the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. In 1996 she was awarded a CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer. She died in May 2015.