UK crime writer Ruth Rendell is recovering from a stroke in hospital

BRITISH crime writer Ruth Rendell, known for her series of novels featuring Chief Inspector Wexford, is in a critical but stable condition after suffering a stroke.

FILE - An Oct. 3, 2008 photo from files of Ruth Rendell, at an award ceremony in London. Prolific crime writer Ruth Rendell is in critical but stable condition after suffering a stroke. Her publisher said in a statement Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, that Rendell suffered a “serious” stroke eight days ago. The statement said she is hospitalized while doctors choose treatment options. The 84-year-old author and Labour Party peer has written more than 60 novels. (AP Photo/PA, Zak Hussein, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE

BRITISH crime writer Ruth Rendell is in a critical but stable condition after suffering a stroke.

The author, who also has a seat in the House Of Lords as a Labour peer, is known for her series of novels featuring Chief Inspector Wexford among the dozens she has written.

Rendell, 84, had recently completed a new novel and plans remain in place to publish it in the northern autumn.

She has written more than 60 books in her five-decade career including No Man’s Nightingale, The Veiled One and Harm Done.