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Not in the Flesh: A Wexford Novel (Inspector Wexford Mystery) | 
 enlarge | Author: Ruth Rendell
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $12.97
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Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 2962
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307406814
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780307406811
ASIN: 0307406814
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
A new Chief Inspector Wexford mystery from the author who Time magazine has called “the best mystery writer in the English-speaking world.”
When the truffle-hunting dog starts to dig furiously, his master’s first reaction is delight at the size of the clump the dog has unearthed: at the going rate, this one truffle might be worth several hundred pounds. Then the dirt falls away to reveal not a precious mushroom but the bones and tendons of what is clearly a human hand.
In Not in the Flesh, Chief Inspector Wexford tries to piece together events that took place eleven years earlier, a time when someone was secretly interred in a secluded patch of English countryside. Now Wexford and his team will need to interrogate everyone who lives nearby to see if they can turn up a match for the dead man among the eighty-five people in this part of England who have disappeared over the past decade. Then, when a second body is discovered nearby, Wexford experiences a feeling that’s become a rarity for the veteran policeman: surprise.
As Wexford painstakingly moves to resolve these multiple mysteries, long-buried secrets are brought to daylight, and Ruth Rendell once again proves why she has been hailed as our greatest living mystery writer.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 "Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise..." July 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
All seems to be tranquil in the Flagford fields just outside of Kingsmarkham deep in the heart of Sussex when Jim Belbury, a local farmer while walking his dog uncovers a skeleton buried in a trench, most likely placed there eleven years ago when the site was being quarried for a new housing development, which was ultimately refused by the county's planning commission.
The body is nearly impossible to identify, it's body tissue has long since dissipated, flesh, skin, veins, tendons all gone, along with any clothing and the only clues are that it has been wrapped in a crumbling purple sheet and there appeared to be a crack in one of the ribs - indeed there seems to be no other signs of violence of any kind.
This discovery proves to be an impossible mystery for Chief Inspector Wexford, Detective Inspector Burdon and the staff of the Kingsmarkham Police. Determined to solve the mystery, almost once their investigation turns to the odd cast of unconventional characters that inhabit the surrounding area, particularly that of the truculent, John Grimble, an unpleasant man who had once been trying to get planning permission to build houses on the land that his father owned.
Apparently Grimble had decided to put in the main drainage, before permission was granted, but once denied, Grimble had his friend Bill Runge fill in the trench a few days after the body was perhaps unceremoniously dumped. But Grimble and Runge can do little to shed light on how the body actually got into the trench and who he may have been.
When Wexford and his colleagues discover that quite a large number of men have remained missing in the greater mid-Sussex area, two men in particular appear still unaccounted for and have become possible candidates for what has been found in Grimble's field. Common sense dictates that someone in the surrounding estates may hold a clue to what went on eleven years, ago, especially the ageing Irene McNeil who tells Wexford that Grimble may have had a lodger in Grimble's cottage and that over the years, she went in and out of the house. When later it is revealed that her husband Ron may have shot a man who was trespassing in the house, soon a portrait develops of two self appointed vigilantes who had somehow convinced themselves that it was their job to police the surrounding district, including Grimble's property.
But it is the eccentric inhabitants of Athelston House who Wexford finds most intriguing and that of the famous author Owen Tredown and his two wives Maeve Tredown and Claudia Ricardo, one his current wife and one his ex. Tredown has made a fairly lucrative career writing novels about biblical characters, but now at deaths door and riddled liver cancer, he remains shut up in his ivory tower, writing for all he's worth to keep his wives in comfort, his nose apparently kept to the grindstone by Maeve and Claudia while also protected by them as well.
As the case unfolds Wexford increasingly find it difficult to actually talk Own Tredown with Maeve and Claudia's brash personas and frequent bursts of tacky and sl*ttish rudeness turning everyone against them including that of the Kingsmarkham police. Still, Wexford's inner conviction refuses to go away, that somehow Tredown is being protected, hidden by Claudia and Maeve for reasons that have something to do with this body in the trench.
In typical fashion, Rendell steadily unloads her multi-faceted plot, introducing a number of peripheral characters and a series of complicated red herrings that revolve around the theme of missing persons. When another body is discovered under the logs in the filthy cellar of Grimble`s house, with the hair, black and coarse and exposed, only then does the case take on a new and much more profound complexity that hinges on a once white t-shirt with a black scorpion printed on it, two gold wedding rings chased with leaves with FOREVER inscribed inside, and a Sunday Times article detailing a book soon to be published about the day a daughter's father suddenly went away, vanishing off the face of the earth.
Rendell also weaves in a less successful subplot involving the Somali community in Kingsmarkam and one family's secret plan to perform female circumcision on their three-year-old daughter. The incident adds yet another troubling scenario for the busy Wexford. In the end, a number of surprises alter both cases, the investigation of the two dead bodies almost taking on the appearance of a "death head smile." Although certainly not Rendell's best, there are still many enjoyable moments as her ageing hero, through his amazing powers of deduction, gradually stitches together the threads and connections in this compelling novel of revenge and literary jealousy. Mike Leonard July 08.
 Not my cup of tea July 20, 2008
I, like others before me, have tried very hard to add Ruth Rendell to my short list of authors I search out in the library. However, suffice it to say that reading this book allowed me to peacefully submit her name again to the list of "Avoid."
The most significant problem in the whole book is that I found it to be unbelievable. As a reader, we need to believe in the actions and the words of the characters, but in this book it didn't happen. A crime (well, two actually) was committed 11 years ago, and how is it that everyone interviewed could remember what he or she did that June (and some remembered specific dates)? And how quickly they remember that it was 11 years ago exactly that something happened. It's not realistic! In real life, this is not the way people react, so I'm inclined not to put my whole heart into it, and ended up only finishing the book so I could just find out whodunnit... And the ending fizzled out as well.
Wexford and his comrades are also very dull; not much is brought to life in them. I did, however, become interested in genital mutilation, and once I finally completed the book, found some rather graphic yet eye-opening information. (How this falls in line with the mystery is yet to be known).
The plot also skipped around entirely too much, with a ridiculous event chain which is so far fetched that it is again, incredulous.
It's always a sad occasion when a reader is disenchanted with the text, so I must warn future readers of the major issues with this book.
Only Wexford fans will love this one July 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Chief Inspector Wexford appears for the 21st time in Ruth Rendell's latest police procedural. Still stationed in Kingsmarkham with the colleagues he has spent most of his career with, Wexford is a little older and wiser, noticeably more impatient and a bit crankier. Yet his experiences with the darker elements of human nature have made him more compassionate.
NOT IN THE FLESH begins as a good mystery. Tom Belbury is walking with his dog, in search of truffles, which he sells to add a bit of money to his pension. His Honey is a terrific truffle tracer, so when the old man sees the size of the one she excavated, he thinks he has a very valuable specimen. What the pet's paw prowess has uncovered, however, is a human hand!
Wexford and his team are called to the scene and begin an investigation; not only do they need to find this man's killer, they must try to identify the victim. The condition of his decomposed body suggests that he's been dead and buried for about 11 years, and tatters of fabric found around his skeleton suggest that he was wrapped in a purple bed sheet. His grave was carved into what was supposed to be a trench to be used for a housing development that was never built.
Back at the station, Burden walks into Wexford's office to report that the land where the dog walker found the body belongs to John Grimble, an irascible and unpleasant fellow whose taciturnity makes him difficult to deal with. He is bitter because when he wanted to develop four houses on his land, the zoning board refused him permission. The grudge he carries against his neighbors for campaigning against his house plans is as large as the chip on his shoulder. He and his wife are the sort of people who were old before they ever had a chance to be young. Wexford dislikes them on sight.
When the team is assembled back at the station, they get a PowerPoint presentation of the neighborhood and background information on its inhabitants from DS Goldsmith. Almost all of the residents are older or even elderly, and the part of Kingsmarkham where they live is known as the geriatric ward. The only person who ever built a reputation outside of Flagford is an elderly writer named Owen Tredown. He lives in a Victorian villa with his current wife, Maeve, and ex-wife Claudia. This particular group of oddballs keeps the gossips busy but seem to be harmless. Tredown has written a number of books based on Bible stories, but his masterpiece was a fantasy novel unlike any of the others in style or content. At the moment, that one is being made into a movie, and ironically Wexford's daughter is playing the leading lady.
As things move along, another body is found buried under some wooden boards and debris, in the basement of the old cottage on Grimble's property. This one seems to be dead about eight years, and nobody has a clue as to who he could possibly be. But this man was shot, so the cause of death is known.
Another neighbor, 84-year-old Mrs. McNeil, is a widow who is clearly terrified and hiding something. Damon Coleman, the only black man on the team, gets the dubious job of interviewing her. She has no choice but to let him into her house, despite insisting that she has nothing to say. Once she begins to express what she thinks of her former neighbors, she just goes on and on. But does she or any of her secrets relate to the two dead men?
While all of this is going on, a subplot not really related to this case is unfolding very quickly in Kingsmarkham's Somali community: female circumcision. Although not a major theme, it is both shocking and fascinating. One of the Wexford daughters is a social worker who tries to keep track of the families with little girls in order to stop their mutilation. Two courageous women from the community tell Wexford that one three-year-old girl in particular is in dire jeopardy of becoming another victim of this cruel and barbaric ancient ritual.
NOT IN THE FLESH is populated by an abundance of characters: some loony, some serious, some kind and some evil, but all drawn clearly by their creator. They are a representative microcosm of humanity and reflect some of Rendell's opinions in regard to certain prejudices that still filter through the British class system. She has always had a spot-on eye for detail and continues to shine a light into the darkest corners of the human heart.
Despite the plethora of bodies and unhelpful eccentrics who have a stock of red herrings, the Kingsmarkham constabulary solves their cases. Yet NOT IN THE FLESH is a flawed book. Aside from the disparate ages of the characters (if counted in real time), some of the prose is not as sharp as it could be. Also, while issues in the book are set in this century and Rendell has updated social changes, many of the characters are mired in a past that is long gone. Even Wexford often laments that he misses what he believes was a simpler world, especially when it comes to computers and other technology. Sometimes the plot meanders off its straight and narrow path, but never in such a way as to spoil anything for the reader.
Rendell's fans immediately will recognize NOT IN THE FLESH as a Ruth Rendell novel, and new readers will not be disappointed either. And since Rendell is known for writing approximately one book a year, the next one is surely on its way.
--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
 BOTH AUTHOR AND NARRATOR IN TOP FORM July 3, 2008
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
This audio book is more than a double treat, it's a sure fire can't-stop-listening-to winner when you pair the estimable acting talents of Tim Curry as narrator and the award winning writing of Ruth Rendell.
Curry won many of us with his unforgettable debut in the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He has made numerous screen appearances since then, playing diverse roles in such films as Kinsey, Charlie's Angels, The Hunt for Red October and Annie. This actor simply can't be pigeon-holed - on stage he has been nominated thrice for a Tony.
His audio book narrations are as diverse as his professional career ranging from children's titles to science fiction to romance to fantasy and, of course, this stellar rendering of Not In The Flesh. For starters Curry has a wonderful voice, low, deep, strong. It is malleable, if you will, easily moving from tone to tone, intonation to intonation. Born in Britain he retains a hint of a British accent which, of course, serves us well in this story.
What more can be said about Ruth Rendell or how much more praise can be heaped upon her? Surely she has numerous mantels to accommodate all her awards, among them are three Edgars, three Gold Daggers, a Silver Dagger, and on it goes.
For this reader/listener Inspector Wexford is one of her finest creations. Wexford was introduced to us some 35 years ago and by now he's an old friend to many. "Old" is a key word here as he's grown a bit more codger-like with the passage of time, yet just as sharp, clever, and opinionated as ever.
This time out a truffle hunter and his sniffing dog are having great good luck in the Sussex countryside - that is until the competent canine unearths what's left of a human hand. It's left to Wexford to identify the deceased who has probably been hidden in the ground for over a decade. Another confounding problem for the master detective is the inordinate number of people in that area who have simply vanished.
As always Rendell's cast of characters is pure delight from close-mouthed residents to workmen who may or may not have seen anything to a downright nasty old lady with "loglike swollen legs."
To read a work by Rendell is stay-up-late pleasure; to hear it is prime time entertainment.
- Gail Cooke
Don't bother July 3, 2008
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Perhaps it is just me, but Ruth Rendell has always been a disappointment; her new procedural "Not in the Flesh" reinforces that impression.
The writing is wooden, the characters one-dimensional and the plot obvious. I usually do not guess the mystery but I figured it out by page 130 of the 300 page book.
I do not understand the hoopla that surrounds Rendell's novels. I periodically read her books in an attempt to convince myself of her merit. So far, I have found myself consistently disenchanted.
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