Not in the Flesh: 21 (Inspector Wexford) - Softcover

Rendell, Ruth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307388786 ISBN 13: 9780307388780

Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2009

Synopsis

After a truffle-hunting dog unearths a human hand instead of a precious fungus, Chief Inspector Wexford and his team proceed to interrogate everyone who lives nearby to see if they can turn up a match for the errant appendage among the eighty-five people who have disappeared over the past decade in this part of England. 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.

About this title

Review:

The wait is over: here’s a new Wexford novel. And Not in the Flesh is one of the sharpest, most astringent outings for Ruth Rendell’s doughty copper in some time. Rendell's studies in dark psychology (which have at their centre characters who appear only in individual novels) are the most highly regarded among aficionados of her wok, but the unalloyed good feeling prompted by a fresh appearance for her long-term protagonist Inspector Wexford is something to be savoured, and we are once again in safe hands here.

A man taking his dog for a walk in a wooded area stumbles across a grim object -- a severed human hand. The body to which it belongs has been hidden from sight for years, as Wexford subsequently finds out. Of course, with the uncountable numbers of missing persons in police files, Wexford is well aware it will be an uphill struggle tracking down the identity of the body. Shortly after, in the basement of a disused cottage, another victim of violence is discovered, and Wexford and his reliable team find themselves attempting to discover connections between the murders.

Readers might wonder if the production of these utterly surefire Wexford books is an east task for Rendell (as opposed to the rigours of the grimmer psychological novels written under her own name, or the nom de plume Barbara Vine), but there's never a sense of the author on autopilot; this is professional, well-honed, engrossing stuff. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

"Ghoulish fun.... The height of her malevolent powers. Rendell can do whatever she likes and still get away with it." --The New York Times"Vivid and witty. Wexford is his usual smart, compassionate self as he unravels a web of lies and deception larger than any of the characters realize." --Los Angeles Times"To call Ruth Rendell prolific is akin to calling the Grand Canyon a slight dip in the landscape. . . . Not in the Flesh is the work of a writer who continues to command respect and satisfy her legion of writers." --Richmond Times-Dispatch"The unflappable detective still hasn't worn out his welcome.... A fine example of Rendell's sharp writing, intelligence, and humanity."--The Christian Science Monitor"In the best whodunit tradition, Rendell advances her plot through surprises...so shocking they dash all calculations."--The New York Times Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0307388786
• ISBN 13: 9780307388780
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320