Ruth Rendell – arguably one of Britain’s most beloved crime writers – has died this morning at the age of 85, according to a report from The Guardian. The author was hospitalized at the beginning of the year due to a stroke where she was said to be “under expert care in a critical but stable condition.”

The death of Ruth was announced today by her publisher, Hutchison, asking well-wishers to respect the privacy of Rendell’s family at this time.

“It is with great sadness that the family of author Ruth Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, announce that she passed away in London at 8am on Saturday 2 May, aged 85. The family have requested privacy at this time.”

Ruth Rendell is responsible for introducing the world to Chief Inspector Wexford – the protagonist to some of her most famous stories, some of which having been successfully adapted to TV.

Her first novel, From Doon With Death, was published in 1964, for which Rendell received £75 and was the first of many stories to feature Wexford. Prior to becoming a beloved author, Rendell was a journalist for Chigwell Times, but left after it was discovered that she’d covered a story at a tennis club dinner despite not attending it.

Messages from fans and well-wishers are already beginning to pour in on Twitter.

Sad to hear of the passing of #ruthrendell I spent many happy hours reading her books. — Clemmie Jones (@clemmie_jones) May 2, 2015

Sad to hear of the death of ‘Barbara Vine’, aka #RuthRendell RIP — Harriet (@wkfchristianpix) May 2, 2015

#ruthrendell had died 85 great writer of Inspector Wexford. Thank you for sharing your excellent talent and knowledge. — @enigma915 (@enigma915) May 2, 2015

The BBC have also begun to report on the sad loss of Ruth Rendell – who often wrote under the pen-name Barbara Vine. Her contribution to British crime fiction made her a respected author with a total of 60 novels under her belt spanning a career that lasted over 50 years. Her stories are said to be responsible for influencing a more “psychological dimension” to the crime fiction genre.

Speaking to The Guardian a couple of years ago, Ruth spoke about her craft.

“Suspense is my thing. I think I am able to make people want to keep turning pages. I just wait until I’ve got a character and I think why would anybody do that, what is it in their background, what is it in their lives makes them do it? Usually these things are just accident or impulse, or because people are drunk or on something…The old detective story that’s got a really complicated tortuous motive doesn’t apply to mine. It’s that people do these things almost by accident, or because of anger, their rage, their madness – and then probably regret it.”

Ruth Rendell’s most recent book, The Girl Next Door, was published last year alongside the 50th anniversary of From Doon With Death.