Not In The Flesh by Ruth Rendell

When the dog's owner sees his dog digging furiously he is excited.  Perhaps it is a truffle for which he can get money.  He is not excited when he investigates further and realizes what the dog has actually dug up--a human hand.

The local Kingsmarkham, Sussex police, led by Chief Inspector Wexford, first have to identify the body.  The medical examiner finds it is a male who has been dead for at least a decade.  Further investigation determines that the field in which the corpse has been found had a trench dug in it eleven years ago.  Who went missing in the area during that time period?

The local residents aren't much help.  Many are elderly and insist they have no memory of that time period.  Some have moved away to retirement homes elsewhere.  Those who are left are suspicious of strangers and not inclined to help the police.  When a second male body turns up in an abandoned house of the same lot, Wexford is determine to find out who these men were and who is responsible for leaving them where they were found.  Will he be successful?

Ruth Rendell has written an entire series of Chief Inspector Wexford police procedurals.  This is the twenty-first book in the series and fans will delight in another visit with the Sussex police team.  The mystery is complex and the unraveling will delight fans of police procedural mysteries.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.