The Vault

In the opening pages of THE VAULT (Scribner, September 13, 2011), Martin Rokeby says to his wife "I've often wondered what's under that lid thing but never bothered to have a look." Readers of Ruth Rendell's 1999 knockout of a novel A Sight for Sore Eyes will suppress a shiver of horror. We know what's under that lid thing - three dead bodies. At least we think that's what's there. At the close of A Sight for Sore Eyes, two dead bodies and one living person are entombed underneath the charming Orcadia Cottage. In 2002, Martin and his wife bought Orcadia Cottage, having no idea about the gruesome remains below. But when Martin lifts the manhole cover in his backyard, which has presumably been undisturbed for twelve years, it's a secret no longer. And now there are four bodies.