The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
The series comprises adaptations of the works of Ruth Rendell, many of which are based on her extensive range of short stories. In some cases, the stories were expanded from Rendell's original material or elements from a number of stories were woven together into one episode. A smaller number of episodes were based on Rendell's full-length novels, starring James Callis and Front seat, starring Janet Suzman. There were a total of 55 episodes centering on the Detective Inspector Wexford stories, starring George Baker, Louie Ramsay and Christopher Ravenscroft, and an additional 29 episodes did not feature Wexford.
- 1987-2000
- 12 seasons
- PBS
- Suspense, Drama
- TV-14
The series comprises adaptations of the works of Ruth Rendell, many of which are based on her extensive range of short stories. In some cases, the stories were expanded from Rendell's original material or elements from a number of stories were woven together into one episode. A smaller number of episodes were based on Rendell's full-length novels, starring James Callis and Front seat, starring Janet Suzman. There were a total of 55 episodes centering on the Detective Inspector Wexford stories, starring George Baker, Louie Ramsay and Christopher Ravenscroft, and an additional 29 episodes did not feature Wexford.
Season 9 Episode Guide
9 Episodes 1996
Episode 1
Heartstones: Part One
Episode 2
Heartstones: Part Two
Episode 3
Simisola: Part One
103 mins
Inspector Wexford is approached by his black doctor with the request to track down his daughter. Then the body of a young black girl who has been murdered turns up...
Episode 4
Simisola: Part Two
53 mins
Chief Inspector Wexford and Insp. Burden continue the investigation of Melanie Akande's disappearance and the death of the last person to have seen her alive, employment counselor, Annette Bystock. While they find the man who broke into Bystock's house, he claims that the door was unlocked - and she was dead - when he got there. When they find the body of a young black woman, they believe they have found Melanie but have in fact made a terrible mistake leading Dr. and Mrs. Akande to accuse the police of racism. The young woman, only 17 years old, was beaten to death but yet another murder of a black woman deepens the mystery.
Episode 5
Simisola: Part Three
51 mins
Mrs. Johnson, the school crossing guard, is recovering in hospital but in a semi-comatose state and has no recollection as to what has happened. Wexford does learn from her that the unidentified dead teenager had recently asked her for directions to the job center. There are several possible leads. The burglar's girlfriend seems to be living beyond her means: Mrs. Khouri is known as a difficult employer who can't keep her servants and Wexford wonders if the unidentified girl might have worked for her; and then there are the silent phone calls Wexford keeps receiving. Wexford also cannot help but remember the question at the town hall from the young woman who asked what to do if you had a rapist in the family. Somehow, the Chief Inspector knows it all fits together.
Episode 6
The Secret House of Death: Part 1
120 mins
A woman's quiet life is dramatically altered when she discovers the bodies of her next door neighbour and a mysterious man. Gritty murder-mystery based on the novel by Ruth Rendell.
Episode 7
The Secret House of Death: Part 2
52 mins
Unaware that Bob and Magdalene are the adulterers who murdered their spouses and faked the suicide pact, Susan offers her neighbour comfort, which he pretends to accept in order to find out how much she knows. However, whilst her son is on holiday with his father she does some sleuthing which links him with Magdalene. He comes after her and she is rescued by an unlikely saviour.
Episode 8
A Case of Coincidence: Part One
60 mins
Crime thriller based on the novel by Ruth Rendell, about a murder investigation that is launched when a woman's body is found in the fens of Norfolk.
Episode 9
A Case of Coincidence: Part Two
60 mins
Inspector Masters remains convinced that Sarah Quinn's murder is the work of someone other that the suspected serial killer they've arrested. Quinn may have been leading a secret life and may have been meeting a man when she was killed. His sense of the woman and of the case seem correct when he's approached by John Stockton who claims to be the man she was to meet the night she died. He also realizes that her marriage was not the ideal it was made out to be.