Ruth Rendell was my favourite author. It was the standalone psychological novels I loved, rather than the Wexford detective ones. She had a way of creating tension as you followed her various characters, knowing that their paths would cross in such a way that something bad was bound to result ..... Or the retrospective ones where something terrible had happened, but you didn't know what it was until the story was cunningly unfolded.
I would love to think that there is someone out there with a similar touch to Ruth's. Can anyone recommend any authors?