Best George Baker Audiobooks
George Baker was a distinguished British actor and audiobook narrator whose voice work brings particular authority to classic British crime fiction. He is best remembered for his television portrayal of Inspector Wexford in the long-running Ruth Rendell Mysteries series, and it is his narration of Ruth Rendell's own Inspector Wexford novels that stands as his most significant audio legacy. Baker voiced A New Lease of Death, Wolf to the Slaughter, A Guilty Thing Surprised, Murder Being Once Done, A Sleeping Life, and Put on by Cunning, among others — narrating the very character he made famous on screen with a familiarity and depth that few narrator-character pairings can match. His voice carries the weathered authority and quiet moral seriousness that define Wexford, and his narration of Rendell's richly atmospheric Sussex settings is deeply evocative. Baker's recordings are considered essential listening for Rendell fans and a model of how actor-narrator and literary character can become one.
Where to Start with George Baker
- What fans keep coming back to → Murder Being Once Done
- Short listen, big payoff → A Guilty Thing Surprised
- Highest rated by listeners → A Sleeping Life
Best George Baker Audiobooks
- 1
A Guilty Thing Surprised
Inspector Wexford • Book 5
by Ruth Rendell
Narrated by George Baker
★ 3.81 ABR Score (3.7K ratings)★ 3.85 Goodreads (3.7K)More about this pick
Elizabeth Nightingale's peaceful woodland walks near Myfleet Manor turn fatal in this atmospheric mystery. George Baker returns as Wexford, investigating death among the English gentry with his trademark thoroughness.
- 2
A Sleeping Life
Inspector Wexford • Book 10
by Ruth Rendell
Narrated by George Baker
★ 3.77 ABR Score (3.4K ratings)★ 3.82 Goodreads (3.4K)More about this pick
Inspector Wexford investigates a mysterious woman whose past twenty years remain completely unknown to everyone. George Baker brings his classic touch to this puzzle of identity.
- 3
Put on by Cunning
Inspector Wexford • Book 11
by Ruth Rendell
Narrated by George Baker
★ 3.70 ABR Score (2.8K ratings)★ 3.76 Goodreads (2.8K)More about this pick
Wexford investigates when a young woman's mysterious death connects to her troubled relationship with an older composer. The case's psychological complexity unfolds through layers of deception and family secrets.
- 4
Murder Being Once Done
Inspector Wexford • Book 7
by Ruth Rendell
Narrated by George Baker
★ 3.67 ABR Score (3.8K ratings)★ 3.87 Goodreads (3.8K) ★ 5 Audible (1)More about this pick
Chief Inspector Wexford, ordered by his doctor to avoid investigations, finds himself drawn into a brutal London murder case set against the backdrop of a graveyard.
- 5
Wolf to the Slaughter
Inspector Wexford • Book 3
by Ruth Rendell
Narrated by George Baker
★ 3.60 ABR Score (3.7K ratings)★ 3.65 Goodreads (3.7K)More about this pick
When a woman vanishes with only an anonymous letter as evidence, Wexford must investigate what headquarters refuses to call a murder. George Baker's measured delivery perfectly captures the methodical detective work.
- 6
A New Lease of Death
Inspector Wexford • Book 2
by Ruth Rendell
Narrated by George Baker
★ 3.58 ABR Score (3.6K ratings)★ 3.63 Goodreads (3.6K)More about this pick
Wexford's fifteen-year-old murder conviction gets challenged when the killer's daughter plans to marry into respectability. George Baker's measured delivery suits the methodical unraveling of assumed guilt.