Severn House's 'most prolific author' Alan Rustage dies after short illness

Severn House has paid tribute to crime writer Alan Rustage, its "most prolific author", who has died aged 75 following a short illness.

Rustage wrote more than 60 novels and was the author of the Monika Paniatowski police procedurals, the Inspector Blackstone historical mysteries, the Jenny Redhead PI novels, the Inspector Woodend mysteries and several other standalone crime novels. He wrote a number of series under the pseudonym Sally Spencer.

“His novels were noted for their complex, intricate plots coupled with sharp insights into human behaviour,” Severn House said.

Rachel Slatter, editorial director at the publisher, said: “The author of Severn House’s first original novel, Alan is firmly embedded in the history of Severn House.

“He counts as Severn House’s most prolific author in our 50-year history, hitting the remarkable milestone of the publication of his 50th book with Severn House back in 2021 before he put his pen down and retired from writing. I was lucky enough to have worked with Alan for many years.” 

She added: “He was a remarkable talent, his novels consistently making me gasp with their twisty, nail-biting plots and three-dimensional characters, which sprung from the page, and a pleasure to work with. He will be much missed by me and all his friends at Severn House.”

Born in Cheshire in 1949, Rustage’s early life was spent in the salt-mining village of Marston, where "his grandmother played a vital role in bringing him up" and "instilled an early love of reading", Severn House said.

He studied politics and American studies at Swansea University, where courses on the Russian Revolution and Russian government provided the foundation for his later novel The Silent Land—a novel spanning 80 years of Russian history. 

After a period as an English teacher in the UK, Iran and Spain, he left teaching to pursue writing full-time. His first published novel, Salt of the Earth, was published by Severn House in 1993. Set during the Industrial Revolution, it was the first in a trilogy which paid homage to his working-class hometown of Marston. 

“A love of fiendish puzzles motivated Rustage to begin writing crime novels, and over the next 30 years he published more than 50 mysteries,” Severn House said. 

“We have always been proud to be Sally Spencer’s publisher,” said Joanne Grant, publisher at Severn House. “Alan’s contributions to crime fiction have been outstanding and his legacy will continue to live on in his novels.” 

The 75-year-old author died following a short illness, his publisher confirmed.