Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell

Jim Belbury is out truffle hunting when his dog digs up some human remains. Chief Inspector Wexford and DS Hannah Goldsmith are called to the scene and discover that the land belongs to John Grimble, who had planned to build four houses on the property that was left to him by his stepfather. Grimble has let the land become overgrown since the planning authority denied him the right to build more than one house on the land almost twelve years ago. The pathologist is able to say that the bones are about that old. Wexford and his team go over all the missing persons lists to see if they can find a match. Then policeman Mike Burden find a decaying body in the abandoned house on Grimble's property. The authorities now have another mystery on their hands. Do any of the residents who live on land adjoining the Grimble estate have any ideas how two people died so close to them? Regular fans of Rendell's Wexford mysteries will enjoy this latest in the series.