The Chemistry of Death

(David Hunter 1): Harry Treadaway is Dr David Hunter: the darkly compelling new TV series ‘The Chemistry of Death’ – streaming now on Paramount+

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The Chemistry of Death

By: Simon Beckett

Narrated by: Greg Wise

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

'A classy debut' The Times

'Best thriller I've read all year' Tess Gerritsen

Dr David Hunter hoped he might at last have put the past behind him. But then they found what was left of Sally Palmer . . .

It isn't just that she was a friend that disturbs him. Once he'd been a high-profile forensic anthropologist and all too familiar with the many faces of death, before tragedy made him abandon this previous life.

Now the police want his help.

But to become involved will stir up memories he's long tried to forget. Then a second woman disappears, plunging the close-knit community into a maelstrom of fear and paranoia.

And no one, not even Hunter, is exempt from suspicion.

Gruesome and gripping, this startling new British crime thriller has an unnerving and original twist.

© Simon Beckett 2006 (P) Penguin Audio 2006

Crime Fiction

Mystery

Suspense

Thriller & Suspense

Tear-jerking

Fiction

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Critic reviews

The best thriller I've read all year - I just couldn't put it down...fast-paced, fascinating and heart-stoppingly exciting

Spine-tinglingly frightening...hits the bull's eye from the word go!

Fresh and original...Simon Beckett perfectly captures the claustrophobic horror of a rural community in crisis...absolutely compelling - and deliciously scary

Excellent...plotted and written with panache, with high marks for characterisation and shock value...an absorbing, scary tale (Marcel Berlins)

In the mould of Patricia Cornwell, but by a Brit...brilliant

Very distinctive...a cut above the average, with a convincing central character, a gripping plot and a fine store of morbid information

A cool talent...evokes a creeping atmosphere of dread

A book that truly deserves the description "a real page-turner"

A gruesome forensic mystery...has the makings of an intriguing series

Terrifying...rarely have the mechanics of suspense been so efficiently utilised outside a Hitchcock movie

Most relevant

Having listened to two of the latter books in the series I decided to buy the rest and begin the series in the right order.
Unfortunately I didn't notice that this is an abridged version and so loses the gradual build up of a plot I enjoyed in the previous listens. Because of the truncation the outcome becomes fairly predictable early on but still offers a couple of twists along the way. All told still a reasonable listen although I have to say that Greg Wise is at times somewhat wooden and monotone in his performance. If this was the first by this author that I had listened to it probably would have been the last and I would have missed two quite excellent sequels I enjoyed immensely.