Θαμμένα μυστικά

Inspector Wexford #21

by Ruth Rendell, Ερρίκος Μπαρτζινόπουλος (Translator)

Ψάχνοντας για μανιτάρια στο δάσος, ένας άντρας και ο σκύλος του ξεθάβουν κάτι λιγότερο νόστιμο – ένα ανθρώπινο χέρι. Το πτώμα στο οποίο ανήκει δεν θα αργήσει να αποκαλυφθεί, αλλά αυτή η «θαμμένη» υπόθεση θα αποδειχτεί ιδιαίτερα περίπλοκη για τον επιθεωρητή Γουέξφορντ και την ομάδα του. Οι ιατροδικαστές δεν μπορούν να διαπιστώσουν με βεβαιότητα την αιτία του θανάτου του. Η αναζήτηση της ταυτότητας του νεκρού θα καταστεί σισύφεια προσπάθεια. Η υπόθεση φαίνεται πως βρίσκεται σε οριστικό αδιέξοδο, όταν ένα νέο πτώμα ξεθάβεται λίγα μόλις μέτρα πιο πέρα από το προηγούμενο, στο κελάρι μιας εγκαταλελειμμένης αγροικίας…

Τα μυστικά που κάλυψε το πέπλο του παρελθόντος έρχονται στο φως ένα ένα, σε μια αριστοτεχνικά φτιαγμένη αστυνομική περιπέτεια από τη μετρ του είδους Ρουθ Ρέντελ.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective, British Literature, Audiobook, Thriller

378 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

A.K.A. Barbara Vine

Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this 21st book in the 'Inspector Wexford' series, the detective investigates two old murders that have just come to light. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

A long-buried body is unearthed in Flagford, England - on the property of grouchy John Grimble.....



…..and Chief Inspector Wexford and his team investigate.



The detectives learn that Grimble dug a trench eleven years before to prepare the property for additional homes. Denied permission to build the houses an incensed Grimble filled in the trench - which by then apparently contained a dead body.

Soon afterwards another set of human remains is found on Grimble's property, in his old abandoned home. This body appears to have died about eight years before.



Much of the story involves the detectives trying to figure out the identity of the dead people, and then discovering who killed them. To do this they need to question all the people living around the area at the relevant times. This includes old Grimble himself;


the writer Owen Tredown - an author with one successful and several mediocre books;



Tredown's wife and ex-wife - two controlling women both of whom live with the author;



and elderly Irene McNeil - a snobby bigot who previously resided across from the Grimble house.


These characters are well wrought and believable.

A side story concerns the population of Somalis in the region, and their tradition of female circumcision.



Wexford - spurred on by his daughter and child health advocates - tries to prevent a Somali family from performing this horrific procedure (which is illegal in England) on their little girl. This is a serious and worthy issue but it felt like an add-on that didn't really fit with the mystery story at the heart of the book.

Much of the book consists of detectives searching through missing persons files and questioning and re-questioning persons of interest. Little by little they discover information that leads to the resolution of the case.



The story's climax seemed somewhat unlikely and wasn't totally satisfying. Many of Rendell's other books are better; this is just an okay mystery.

You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/

[Phrynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a perfectly pleasant read but not especially exciting. Inspector Wexford is always such a calm person and everything proceeds at such an even pace. In this particular book even the deaths are historical and therefore not dangerous or threatening. Some police work and a lot of coincidences bring the cases to a successful close although there is a bit of a red herring towards the end which made this reader think she had guessed the wrong answer only to find out later it was actually correct! Nicely written, easy to read, a good way to spend a quiet afternoon:)

[Rose]

This book was dire. The main problem is not the basic plot, although I found that a bit confused, it's the "issues" the book goes on about in a stupid and sometimes offensive way.

"His taste ran to the colours which suited black skin, those which perhaps only a black man could successfully wear: red, orange, yellow, bright green. Black was a no-no." Funny, I'm sure I've seen more black people wearing black clothes than bright green. I've also seen plenty of non-black people wearing those colours and looking fine.

Hannah, one of the police officers, is deeply annoying, but what is more annoying is that the author has made her so annoying. It's completely over the top and endlessly repetitive. A sample:

"Hannah thought she looked like a Native American, what her mother had told her would once have been called a Red Indian, and her politically correct soul shuddered at that."

Another sample, between her and Wexford:

"'He'd have been wiser and safer if he'd thrown it on a bonfire.'
'Put it in the recycling, guv,' said Hannah in a reproving tone."

Ruth Rendell is normally pretty reliable for a good, solid mystery, although her other books have often been similarly irritating in their musings on class, gender, and race. In this one, the annoyingness outweighed the fairly weak plot. Not one I recommend.

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cold Cases + Wexford’s Seventh Law
Review of the Seal Kindle eBook edition (2010) of the original Hutchinson (UK) hardcover (2007).

I seem to be entering the area of diminishing returns with the late Wexfords. I don't know if it will be the same case with the late nonWexford-Rendells or the Barbara Vines, as I haven't read any of them yet. The level of enjoyment is diminishing as the cast on the police side increases and the amount of quotable banter between Wexford and Burden decreases. The cases are becoming ever more complex and unrealistic and it seems that every book has to have a subplot involving one of the tiresome Wexford daughters and their current social cause.

The case begins with a truffle dog unearthing a long buried skeleton in a filled in ditch. Various suspects come to light in the vicinity and soon yet another skeleton is discovered in an abandoned shed. There is a lot of tracing of previous inhabitants but the actual identity of the victims remains a mystery for the longest time. Confusion abounds as unrelated 'relatives' give DNA samples to add to the problems. A reclusive author and a bizarre household with a present and a past wife living under the same roof become the centre of the investigation and of course Wexford solves it all in the end.

Not in the Flesh continues my 2023 binge read / re-read of Ruth Rendell and this is the 21st of the Inspector Wexford series. I have had to skip over Wexford #15 to #18 as I haven’t been able to source them yet. I think I'm going to give the Wexfords a rest for a while and try out some non-Wexfords for a bit.


Cover image for the original Hutchinson (UK) hardcover edition from 2007. Image sourced from Wikipedia..

Wexford's Laws
Wexford’s Law No. 7 appears in this book. Wexford’s Laws are occasional thoughts about quirky observations made by the Chief Inspector for which he assigns a number.

In the list he kept in his head, Wexford’s Seventh Law was that while women like cold food and loved raw food, men do not.

Favourite Quotes

When the man had gone he said, ‘“Life is but a process for turning frisky young puppies into mangy old dogs and man but an instrument for converting the red wine of Shiraz into urine.”’ Wexford didn’t recognise the quotation. ‘Who said that?’
‘Isak Dinesen. I may not have got it quite right but that’s the gist.

Other Reviews
Review at Rich, Tangled and as Sharply Observed as Ever by Kirkus Reviews, June 10, 2008.

Trivia and no Link
Not in the Flesh was not adapted for television as part of the Ruth Rendell / Inspector Wexford Mysteries TV series (1987-2000) as the novel was published after the series had ended.

[Kasey Jueds · Rating 5 out of 5]

My life has become so much better since I accepted Ruth Rendell as my personal savior.

[Jaksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was great!

I listened to this on CD, narrated by Simon Vance. First of all, the narration was 'spot on,' and the complexity and variety of voices, accents, inflections, all of it, were superb. I will look for more books, especially by Rendell, which are narrated by Mr. Vance.

The story...

Two bodies are found in a wooded area owned by a man, Grimble, who has inherited the land and wants to build four houses on it. He even started a drainage ditch before he gets approval to build. However, after approval is turned down, he has a friend fill in the ditch - but not before, and unbeknownst to anyone - the body of man is put in the ditch with a light cover of soil over it. The years go by and a truffle-hunting dog discovers the body...

Of course this case goes right to Inspector Reginald Wexford, his cohort Mike Burden and all the other officers and investigators who work with Wexford. It's a great story which doesn't slowly become 'solved' so much as it quickly becomes more complex. The body has been in the ground - or ditch- at least ten years, but to muddy up matters a second body is discovered in the old bungalow on the property. (Said bungalow has been left to just deteriorate since Grimble is thoroughly irate, disappointed, upset, livid - all of it - as he cannot build on the property.)

So, in the middle of a somewhat orderly police investigation involving missing persons and lots of interviews with interesting characters, this second body complicates things further. (This poor fellow has been dead about eight years.)

Two bodies of two men, killed or murdered at different times under possibly different circumstances? Things get even muddier as the investigation proceeds with so many eccentric suspects, witnesses and nearby neighbors 'who might know' or 'have seen something' that unless the reader (or listener as I did the audio CD) pays close attention they wouldn't know what the heck is going on. I loved it. It was so complex, so rich with characterization.

There is also a subplot involving Wexford's daughters and a little girl which is equally compelling. It doesn't detract from the main storyline, but it could have been its own novel in and of itself.

One of my favorite Wexford novels. I loved it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Wexford mystery. A man and his dog are out truffle hunting find a body. Wexford investigates who is the mysterious skeleton and how they were murdered. Then another body is found. Most of the plot is finding out the identities of the bodies.

A famous dying novelist called Tredown has a house that overlooks a derelict bungalow and field where the bodies were found. The author has not written anything good in years. The whole story hangs on a manuscript.

Wexford asks him and his two wives he lived with if they saw anything. One of the woman Claudia is his ex-wife and Maeve his current wife. An interesting set up and struggle between the two women.

A manuscript is involved. There is also a sub plot about female circumcision! Matea a Somalian waitress at an India restaurant is worried about her five year old sister.

An easy read as always with the Wexford series with a few red herrings thrown in.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ruth Rendell is a very good writer. She creates three-dimensional characters, brings her settings and scenarios to life, and pulls the reader into her stories. Unfortunately, though, Not in the Flesh is not a very intriguing mystery. There were too many disparate story lines, too many giant coincidences, too much time between the murder and the discovery of the body (eleven years) for witness recollections to be believable. (Who remembers seeing a stranger wearing a particular T-shirt after eleven years?) The coincidences the author relies on--a book about a missing man just happens to be excerpted in the paper right after the body is discovered, the detective's daughter just happens to be starring in a movie based on a book that figures in the murder plot--to help the police unravel the mystery are hard to believe, which doesn't really make for an involving plot. The author also tries a red herring that does not work at all. The police pursue a particular solution to the mystery--which the reader is apparently also supposed to believe--but it is quite obvious what the real solution is. So when the story line pivots to the true solution, the only surprise is that it took so long for the police to figure it out. A good deal of the book is taken up with the problem of Somali immigrants in England continuing their abhorrent practice of genital mutilation, and the police efforts to stop it. I appreciate the author bringing attention to it, but in her efforts to show how counterproductive political correctness is in the face of this practice, she makes the female police officers in the story ridiculous. Overall, I would probably give the story 2.5 stars if I could because even though I didn't like the plot, the quality of the writing is impeccable.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a book starring Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford (this is the 21st in the series) is like a long visit with an old friend. Like the rest of us, Wexford is aging and the process has turned him into a grumpy older man. He is forever frustrating his adult daughter and his wife, he hates anything to do with computers and the internet, and thinks that the world has become overfamiliar. In this latest adventure, a truffle sniffing dog (who is trespassing with his master) finds a dead body instead of a truffle. The only problem is that the body has been dead for 11 years. A very entertaining mystery filled with very entertaining characters--who could resist the sci-fi, fantasy writer with two wives who is dying, but is forced to keep writing to keep his wives in the style to which they have become accustomed. There's more where he came from. I have no idea how many of this series I have read. I need to go back and fill in the voids.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on my hard drive for just a few months short of 16 years. The delicious irony is I ultimately didn’t use that edition of the book when I read it. I chose to listen to a Brit read the book instead of an NLS contractor who does a magnificent job with U.S. English material but whose faux British accent is a little harder for me to take. So, the book took up space for all those years only to have me delete it unused while I read an edition available from my public library.

I’m an ardent fan of dogs, but I admit I’m growing a bit tired of the dog finding the skeleton trope. Rendell uses a truffle dog as the agent, if you will, that finds the long-dead man.

I enjoy the support group that surrounds Wexford as he tries to figure out who the dead guy is. They find another body in a cellar, and the goal is to determine whether it ties into the first one.

I appreciated Rendell’s ability to explore the serious impact of stolen ideas. Is plagiarism a motive for murder? You need to read this to see how that makes sense.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The late Ruth Rendell has always been one of my favorite British mystery writers and her recent death will be felt by all who loved her writing. In this book, part of the Chief Inspector Wexford series, we are dealing with two murders of unknown men whose unidentified bodies are found in close proximity to an abandoned house....and they have been there for quite a while. The house which is an eyesore in the quaint village in which it is located may or may not actually have anything to do with the reason for these deaths but Wexford has to start somewhere. The story goes in several different directions at once as the identity of the men is sought as well as the murderer(s). An interesting and rather complex little tale of greed and the need for fame which doesn't turn out exactly as the reader might expect. There is also a side story which is unconnected to the murders and is totally irrelevant.....it could have been omitted without disturbing the flow of the narrative. Recommended for the fan of the British police procedural and fans of Ruth Rendell.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trying a later Wexford. This has many problems, including: an affecting but misfitting subplot more about Baroness Rendell’s personal and political interests; a hundred pages (or more) too many, leading to repetition and a solution that I guessed about 120 pages before the end; and an editor unwilling to include either semicolon or colon, but also unwilling to fix the run-on sentences.

But with all that, I still found it enjoyable. Rendell’s brilliance in drawing characters interacting is still clear, and no one—including the elderly and the dying—gets a free pass to be a jerk. Also, I love the Kingsmarkham family—all the police, Wexford’s family, and especially Reg and Dora. And even given the unnecessary wordiness, Rendell can still scare you with a creepy house and an out-of-control car.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of people seem to dislike this Wexford story and while I can completely understand the arguments against it, for me it was very enjoyable. I'm not sure why specifically other than we get to spend the vast majority of the time with Wexford and that for me is a desirable location. His humanity and empathy, his constant desire to try and fight against his prejudices and biases, his quiet and plodding manner...it makes for an interesting companion.

It's a bit shorter than some and for the first time I completely figured out the killer and the motive by the half way point (it's really not hard and frankly it's against character that it took Wexford so long). The plot relies too much on timely coincidental events and while Rendell's attempts to bring to the light the issue of Female Genital Mutilation is admirable, it is also misplaced here, feeling completely unattached to the plot. Her social commentary is much stronger when she is depicting the aging characters and the world around them in subtle ways (the depictions of the highstreet, the pub etc). Her big issues tend to get shoe-horned in and don't always work.

Yet still, I stayed up until 1.30am to finish this as it just flowed so smoothly. I liked it but I think you need to be well rooted in the character first.

[Jackie Jameson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I SELDOM (spoken in an British accent) don't finish any book I've started to read. But "this here one I did." (Alabama)
I read and liked the novel "13 Steps Down". I was quite prepared to enjoy this one too. I figured out "who done it" fairly early on. If there was a big ole' kaboomer of an ending, I missed it and didn't care. No likeable characters, NO one to root for. If justice was served, they pronounced it with a yawn. Love her writing..trying again with "Adam And Eve And Pinch Me". Horrible tittle. I'm on page 229 now. Maybe I'm too American, but, for all the English writers I've read so far (in my CONSIDERABLE life) I've never felt the urgency I've wanted to scream at Ms. Rendell to please, just, "MOVE IT ALONG!"

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me, this was not one of Ruth Rendell's finest.
Slow.... and ( dare I say it?) boring.
I find Ruth's books tend to be slow to show any action and this was no exception.
Still makes me smile though, as it brings back memories of watching Wexford on the telly when I was very much younger.

[Judith Teggelaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another "hard to put down" book by master mystery writer, Ruth Rendall. This one centers around a cold case from 11 years before. Enter Inspector Wexford and the fun begins.

[Tim Orfanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

To συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο της Ρέντελ ξεκινά με τον πιο εντυπωσιακό τρόπο και τελειώνει ικανοποιώντας ευχάριστα τον αναγνώστη. Η υπόθεση παρουσιάζει ξεχωριστό ενδιαφέρον, γιατί διαδραματίζεται στην αγγλική ύπαιθρο μέσα σε ύποπτα δάση, ύποπτες περιοχές με ιδιαίτερα ύποπτους κατοίκους και παράξενους γείτονες. Οι σχέσεις μεταξύ των κατοίκων της περιοχής κρύβει το 'θαμμένο μυστικό, ενώ οι χαρακτήρες των ηρώων αναλύονται με χιουμοριστικό και ειρωνικό τρόπο.

Θα αναρωτηθείτε αρκετές φορές, κατά την ανάγνωση, αν, πραγματικά, γνωρίζουμε επαρκή στοιχεία για τους γείτονες, τους φίλους και τους συγγενείς μας, ενώ θα προβληματιστείτε αν τα σπίτια 'κρύβουν' το αληθινό 'πρόσωπο' των ανθρώπων.

Αν δεν ήταν αργή η πλοκή σε κάποια σημεία και δεν υπήρχαν κάποιες περιττές λεπτομέρειες για την καθημερινή ζωή στην επαρχιακή Αγγλία, θα διαβαζόταν με ακόμα μεγαλύτερο ενδιαφέρον.

Βαθμολογία: 3,8/5 ή 7,6/10.

[Behemoth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusual for a Ruth Rendell novel, the solution to the central mystery was pretty obvious early on - i.e. the dead guy had been writing a novel and he'd been killed for the manuscript. There were also massive plot holes, the most obvious being that as sneakily as the dead guy may have been in writing his novel, it was inconceivable that he didn't leave behind so much as a scrap of his work, not a single rough draft page, somewhere. Moreover, how could the killers have been certain that he hadn't left a single page? I suppose they might have been just that crazy, but would they also be so lucky?

Anyhow, on the plus side, Rendell's characterizations are sparkling here. Everyone is colorful and she's so good at painting the generational differences between the older and younger characters in a changing country.

[Bah Humpug · Rating 1 out of 5]

I debated between two stars or one star, but I did not feel like this was an "ok" book. I just did not like it. The mystery was so boring and obvious, and the subplots were completely unrelated and took up a good chunk of the book. It seemed like a way to squeeze in a random issue the author wanted to discuss. There were also some parts that made me feel a bit uneasy, though I'm sure the detectives in the book would just say I was being overly PC as they often do with others. This was my first Rendell book and I don't think I'll try another one for a while.

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather funnier in odd ways than some of her other books.
The storyline was a bit messy. I found one of the subplots a bit of a forced distraction. The main story depended upon so many coincidences as to be completely improbable. And I kept wondering why Inspector Wexford wasn't doing some things that seemed very obviously called for.
But some fascinating (if unlikeable) characters, and Rendell's usual fine writing.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so glad this book was not my introduction to Rendell/Vine's work. I really had to push myself JUST to get through it! Wexford's daughters just seem whiny, and the genital mutilation subplot felt imposed upon the text, rather than an organic part of it. I have truly loved some of her earlier books; this is not one of her better efforts.

[Ruanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Rendell, especially the Wexford series. I am sad to say, this was a yawn fest. It lacked even just the English village atmospherics or the charming characterization of Wexford that has kept me going through other weakly plotted mysteries of hers. Very disappointed.

[Janusch · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a Really Terrible Book. It got slightly better along the way - probably because I got used to the casual sexism, racism, and latent homophobia - but it was never good and I'd highly recommend everyone to avoid this book if at all possible.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok, easy read. I struggled to read it in the early part of the book but then it picked up towards the end. Definitely NOT one of her better ones!!

[Clare Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have these people not heard of ghost writing? Or racism? Someone needs to run down Burden.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Nederlandstalige titel en de voorwerpen op de cover hebben duidelijk een link. Een aantal halfvergane vruchten in een donkere kelder. Ruth Rendell is volgens haar foto op de achtercover een vrolijke dame, het leven van haar wereldberoemde inspekteur Wexford is dat iets minder.
Al mag die al bij al niet klagen met zijn vaste job buiten de grote stad en een liefhebbende vrouw die hem door dik en dun steunt. In dit boek is er dan ook nog zijn vriend en collega Burden waarmee hij schouder aan schouder (en soms glas per glas) ten strijde trekt tegen de misdaad.
Twee haast volledig vergane lijken die kort na mekaar ontdekt worden terwijl er in eerste instantie geen vermisten gemeld zijn. Of dat lijkt toch zo. Na enig dieper gaand onderzoek is er een overvloed aan vermisten, al blijkt het aartsmoeilijk om de geraamtes, want het zijn eigenlijk niet meer dan dat, te koppelen aan de persoon die ze ooit geweest zijn.
Zoals gebruikelijk bij Ruth Rendell loopt Wexford rond in een wereld van ogenschijnlijjk gewone Engelse plattelanders die niets te verbergen hebben. Maar wel graag roddelen en kwaadspreken. Al snel blijkt dat er heel wat te verbergen valt en dat het geroddel de grootste bron van informatie voor de speurders zal vormen. Toch komen ze ondanks heel veel opduikende informatie eigenlijk geen stap vooruit. Wie zijn de slachtoffers, is er een verband tussen de twee moorden en wat is het motief... om nog maar te zwijgen van het vinden van de moordenaar. Aan de ene kant zijn er geen verdachten, anderzijds blijkt iedereen wat te verbergen hebben, alibis vals of onbetrouwbaar en kan eigenlijk niemand uitgesloten worden.
Een klassieker door een grootmeesteres, meer hoeft er eigenlijk niet over verteld te worden.
Alleen jammer dat Rendell haar personages zo veel tijd laat besteden aan het worstelen met de politieke correctheid en het oppassen voor de lange teentjes van woke. Realistisch en goed voor de verkoop, misschien, maar toch wel storend bij dit soort hoogstaand detectiveverhaal.
De sfeerschepping, het Engelse platteland en zijn bewoners, is weer subliem.

[Chrystyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell - average at best

Really not sure about this one. It's well written and a quick read, but I didn't like it. I'm not even sure why I finished it.

It was one of the books sent to me when I won the tea and mystery sweep and is the 21st of the Wexford books - possibly not the best place to start.

A body is found in woodland, it's been there for some time, maybe ten years. Inspector Wexford and his team investigate and soon uncover another body in the cellar of an abandoned cottage nearby.

There's an undercurrent of racism throughout the book and maybe that's what made me uncomfortable. The talk of travellers and Somali immigrants in such derogatory terms and the heavy handed way the author is pushing against it. I realise what she was trying to do but I hate discrimination in all its forms and this just didn't sit well with me.

[Morgan McGuire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rendell is a good writer and was recommended by P.D. James in Talking About Detective Fiction, but surely not for this novel. A second murder subplot, two completely irrelevant subplots, and about 20 characters detract rather than distract from the obvious and stupid main mystery. All was clear about halfway through the book and the twists were painful to watch coming rather than pleasurable to ride through.

[David]

Perhaps a bit more conventional who done it for Ruth Rendell. Not to say that she steers away from reasons why this time. Rendell is very interested in what brings a person to the point at which they will consider a murder to be their next possible logical step. As bad as the crimes can be, Randall never loses sight of the fact that it's people who commit the crimes.

[Ursula Liechti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant , easy read. Not very exciting but I like the inspector and his team.