Many thanks to Emma and Damp Pebbles Blog Tours for my spot on this Blog Tour.
Oh my!! This book took me straight into my past, my anatomy hall dissection and the post mortems that I had attended. Whoa!! The graphic details of the dead body along with smells and flies reminded me of my love for medical thrillers.
Dr. David Hunter, a Forensic anthropologist, was called by the cops when a mummified body was found in the loft of an abandoned hospital. A young girl with her foetus. A collapse caused a sealed room to be discovered where more bodies were strapped to the bed. The investigation started with great input from forensics.
My first book by author Simon Beckett, though sixth in the series, was a pleasant surprise as not too many authors write from the POV of forensics in a police procedural. Since it was one of my favorite subjects, you bet I enjoyed the book along with its graphic description.
I got to know the main character pretty well in the book. The author did a fabulous job bringing up the past to the present, so that I could follow the book easily. David had seen loss in his life, yet had found the courage to start life again. He was quite inspiring.
The writing was smooth with the plot providing the bumpy spots where I loved the way adrenaline rushed into my veins. Slow to start, the book picked up pace and had me reading it with bated breath. The manner of kill was unique and cruel, and I wanted nothing more than David to nail this sadistic SOB. I kept prodding him on to move faster.
And the ending was an implosion… Most unexpected. Gawd, don’t I know how to have fun with gritty hard-hitting books!! A fun read, at least it was, for me!! Nostalgic too!!
I received a free ARC from Emma and the author, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.
All my reviews can be read here
After an MA in English, Simon Beckett spent several years as a property repairer before a stint teaching in Spain. Back in the UK, he played percussion in several bands. He has been a freelance journalist since 1992, writing for The Times, The Independent on Sunday Review, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer and other major British publications. In 2002, as part of an article on the National Forensic Academy, he visited the Body Farm in Tennessee. This last commission was the inspiration behind the internationally bestselling The Chemistry of Death, which was shortlisted for the CWA’s Duncan Lawrie Dagger and has been translated into 21 languages. Simon Beckett is married and lives in Sheffield. The author of six novels, his second David Hunter thriller, Written in Bone, is published as a Bantam paperback in April 2008.
It’s been a good summer for forensics expert Dr David Hunter. His relationship is going well and he’s in demand again as a police consultant. Life is good.
Then a call comes from an old associate: a body has been found, and she’d like Hunter to take a look.
The empty shell of St Jude’s Hospital now stands awaiting demolition, its only visitors society’s outcasts, addicts and dealers. A partially mummified corpse has been discovered in the hospital’s cavernous loft, but not even Hunter can say how long it’s been there. All he knows for sure is that it’s a young woman. And that she was pregnant.
Then the collapse of the loft floor reveals another of the hospital’s secrets. A sealed-off chamber, with beds still inside. Some of them occupied…
For Hunter, what began as a straightforward case is about to become a twisted nightmare that threatens everyone around him. And as the investigation springs yet more surprises, only one thing is certain.
St Jude’s hasn’t claimed its last victim…
Publication Date: 1st January 2019
26 Responses
Now this sounds right up my street, great review.
I am sure you would love it ❤️
Great review. X
Thank you so much ❤️ Marnie
Thank you x
Yayyy just had a thought
What would you say I wrote the wrong review? My biggest fear. Be scared…. Be very scared
Shalini, when I think of you dissecting bodies, I get very scared…!! (Great review, btw!!)
Hahaha well, at the core of me, I am a doctor.
Thank you ❤️
Sounds like a fine story with a very different point of view. Loved your review, Shalini!
Oh yes, I can easily see how much you loved this one! It sounds so gruesome that I can imagine you cackling with glee as each new twist was revealed. What an awesome, spine-tingly review, Shalini! 🙂 🙂
Aww thank you so much ❤️ you are the best
I have ordered the first book in the series to read. Really must stop buying books as I have purchased far too many in the last two weeks. Darent even look at my bank account lol. Think this is dearer than my cross stitch
Hahaha I bought a few at the end of last month so my bookbudget is done till next month 😂 😂
I think I’ve blown more than my budget lol. I need to stop looking I have so many now lol. How do you read so fast or do you save a review up for each day. I have written the blog pages for books I’m reading next so that when I finish a book I just have to add my review. Which I feel may save some time. As I like to review when the books are still fresh in my mind.
I read and review… I don’t know what to read next so most times I read the first page and continue with whichever book strikes my fantasy
I have a pile at the side of me that I am itching to read, but I have these ARC’s on netgalley and feel I have to read those first. I think I need to stop checking that website, I love having kindle books but I love a physical book. So most times if on offer as an ebook I will buy it but also have a physical copy. Obviously not with netgalley as they are all ebooks.
Wow you are dedicated. I used to buy a lot of physical copies. Now it is just kindle as no space at home.
I am intrigued but a bit fearful
The first few chapters are graphic, rest is quite gritty. Ending is a shocker
Fab review! This is another author that I’ve not read before but I’m definitely going to look out for this book.
This was definitely a gritt read
Great review, Shalini, and glad you could do that stuff. I fainted away at the sight of the blood on my thumb when I was little. Knew then I’d never be a nurse.
Yikes.. I have heard that people faint. Never seen it..
This sounds great and I love a good police procedural with a difference. I’m envious of your personal experience with the subject as well, reading your bio, so now I’ll have to investigate further, although I usually prefer not to start a series in the middle, but from your review, it’s worth reading even as a stand alone. Thanks for the recommendation!
Sorry, I meant the author’s personal experience with the subject.
I enjoyed the book quite a lot. Thank you so much ❤️