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In America to escape the violence that nearly killed him, forensics expert David Hunter has returned to the Body Farm in Tennessee. He needs to know whether he's still up to the job of confronting death. So when his former mentor asks him to accompany him to a crime scene, he agrees. But even he is unprepared for what awaits them in the remote cabin.
Composed of over 60 per cent water itself, a human body isn't naturally buoyant. It will float only for as long as there is air in its lungs before gradually sinking to the bottom as the air seeps out. If the water is very cold or deep, it will remain there, undergoing a slow, dark dissolution that can take years. But if the water is warm enough for bacteria to feed and multiply, then it will continue to decompose. Gases will build up in the intestines, increasing the body's buoyancy until it floats again. And the dead will literally rise....
Forensic anthropologist Dr. David Hunter should be at home with the woman he loves. Instead, as a favour to a beleaguered police officer, he is heading to the remote Hebridean island of Runa. Hunter has witnessed death in many forms, but even he is shocked by what he finds: a body almost totally incinerated except for the feet and a single hand, untouched by fire.
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered, and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby priory. When former local girl Dr. Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface, making her confront her difficult past.
When a young woman is kidnapped, Donal is brought in to deliver the ransom money. But the tightly planned drop off goes wrong, Julie Draper is discovered dead, and Donal finds his job on the line - a scapegoat for the officers in charge. But when Donal is delivered a cryptic message in the night, he learns that Julie was killed long before the botched rescue mission.
Detective Chief Inspector Roberta Steel got caught fitting up Jack Wallace - that's why they demoted her and quashed his sentence. Now he's back on the streets, and women are being attacked again. Wallace has to be responsible, but if Detective Sergeant Steel goes anywhere near him, his lawyers will get her thrown off the force for good. The Powers That Be won't listen to her, not after what happened last time. According to them, she's got more than enough ongoing cases to keep her busy.
In America to escape the violence that nearly killed him, forensics expert David Hunter has returned to the Body Farm in Tennessee. He needs to know whether he's still up to the job of confronting death. So when his former mentor asks him to accompany him to a crime scene, he agrees. But even he is unprepared for what awaits them in the remote cabin.
Composed of over 60 per cent water itself, a human body isn't naturally buoyant. It will float only for as long as there is air in its lungs before gradually sinking to the bottom as the air seeps out. If the water is very cold or deep, it will remain there, undergoing a slow, dark dissolution that can take years. But if the water is warm enough for bacteria to feed and multiply, then it will continue to decompose. Gases will build up in the intestines, increasing the body's buoyancy until it floats again. And the dead will literally rise....
Forensic anthropologist Dr. David Hunter should be at home with the woman he loves. Instead, as a favour to a beleaguered police officer, he is heading to the remote Hebridean island of Runa. Hunter has witnessed death in many forms, but even he is shocked by what he finds: a body almost totally incinerated except for the feet and a single hand, untouched by fire.
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered, and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby priory. When former local girl Dr. Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface, making her confront her difficult past.
When a young woman is kidnapped, Donal is brought in to deliver the ransom money. But the tightly planned drop off goes wrong, Julie Draper is discovered dead, and Donal finds his job on the line - a scapegoat for the officers in charge. But when Donal is delivered a cryptic message in the night, he learns that Julie was killed long before the botched rescue mission.
Detective Chief Inspector Roberta Steel got caught fitting up Jack Wallace - that's why they demoted her and quashed his sentence. Now he's back on the streets, and women are being attacked again. Wallace has to be responsible, but if Detective Sergeant Steel goes anywhere near him, his lawyers will get her thrown off the force for good. The Powers That Be won't listen to her, not after what happened last time. According to them, she's got more than enough ongoing cases to keep her busy.
The young girl you have found isn't the first experiment I've carried out. She won't be the last. A tense, unpredictable crime debut that will not only have you gripped, but will chill you to the bone. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride and Mark Billingham. A serial killer is stalking the streets of Liverpool, gruesomely murdering victims as part of a series of infamous, unethical and deadly psychological experiments.
When three young women are discovered strangled and mutilated in a Glasgow park, it is up to DCI Lorimer to find their killer. Frustrated by a lack of progress in the investigation, Lorimer is forced to enlist the services of Dr Solomon Brightman, psychologist and criminal profiler. Together they form an uneasy alliance. But when a homeless man is brought in for questioning, the investigation takes a bizarre turn.
Sean is on the run. We don't know why and we don't know from whom, but we do know he's abandoned his battered, blood-stained car in the middle of an isolated, lonely part of rural France at the height of a sweltering summer. Desperate to avoid the police, he takes to the parched fields and country lanes only to be caught in the vicious jaws of a trap. Near unconscious from pain and loss of blood, he is freed and taken in by two women - daughters of the owner of a rundown local farm with its ramshackle barn, blighted vineyard, and the brooding lake. And it's then that Sean's problems really start....
Cathy Connolly discovers the bones of a baby concealed in the hem of an old wedding dress. When the dress' original owner, Lavinia Grant, is found dead in a Dublin suburb, Cathy is drawn deep into a complex web of secrets and lies spun by three generations of women. Meanwhile, a fugitive killer has already left two dead in execution style killings across the Atlantic - and now he's in Dublin with old scores to settle. Can the team track him down before he kills again?
Malcolm Kendwick is charming, handsome - and a suspected serial killer. When chillingly charismatic Kendwick arrives back in Devon after being deported from the US, DI Charlotte Savage is tasked with keeping a close eye on him. There wasn't enough evidence to convict Kendwick for the crimes committed in America, but Charlotte is determined to find out the truth.
DS Wesley Peterson, newly arrived in the West Country town of Tradmouth, has his hands full when a child goes missing and a young woman is brutally murdered on a lonely cliff path. Then his old friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, unearths the skeletons of a strangled woman and a newborn baby in the cellar of an ancient merchant's house nearby. As the investigation continues, Wesley begins to suspect that these deaths, centuries apart, may be linked by age-old motives of jealousy, a sexual obsession and desperate longing.
For rookie detective constable Fiona Griffiths, her first major investigation promises to be a tough initiation. A young woman and her six-year-old daughter have been found brutally murdered in a squalid flat, the single clue a platinum credit card belonging to a millionaire businessman who died in a plane crash six months before. Fiona, however, has secrets of her own. She is still recovering from a crushing psychological breakdown, and the feelings that haunt her are constantly threatening to undermine the mask of normality she has learned to wear.
When a woman's body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It's clear the pair are connected, but how? The trail leads Lottie to St Angela's, a former children's home, with a dark connection to her own family history. Suddenly the case just got personal.
A house deep in the countryside where the remains of seven unidentified women have just been discovered. A cop ready to risk everything in the hunt for their killers. A man who has seen the murders and is now on the run in fear of his life. So begins the race to track down this witness before the killers do. For Ray Mason and PI Tina Boyd, the road ahead is a dangerous one, with bodies and betrayal at every turn....
Aspiring actress Elizabeth Smart lands her centre-stage role: her mutilated body is found dumped in North London's red light district. Clasped in her hand is a piece of human hair belonging to an unidentified body of a woman murdered two weeks ago. PC Donal lands himself a place on the murder squad just as his unconventional brother, journalist Finton, unearths the secret double life of Elizabeth. The bodies mount, each clinging to the strands of hair belonging to the previous victim.
The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of James Oswald's gripping new Inspector McLean crime thriller Natural Causes, read by the actor Ian Hanmore. A young girl's mutilated body is discovered in a sealed room. Her remains are carefully arranged, in what seems to have been a cruel and macabre ritual, which appears to have taken place over 60 years ago.For newly appointed Edinburgh Detective Inspector Tony McLean this baffling cold case ought to be a low priority - but he is haunted by the young victim and her grisly death.
The police think Crystal Heathers isn't missing. The trainee detective assigned to the case isn't so sure. McAvoy thinks someone was being held at the derelict building where they just found a body pinned to the wall...and that all the signs point to it being a little girl. But why would anyone not report a kidnapping? And how far would someone go to get revenge? The case will test McAvoy to breaking point - as the crimes of the present lead him to a final violent confrontation with an enemy from his own past.
‘At first glance it could have been anything – a stone, a knotted root – until you looked more closely. Thrusting out of the wet earth, its bones visible through rags of flesh, was a decomposing hand…’It was eight years ago that they found the body buried on the moor. They were certain that this was one of psychotic rapist and multiple murderer Jerome Monk’s teenage victims. Which left just two more bodies to find? But the ill-conceived search ended badly. And with Monk safely behind bars, the momentum faltered. For forensics expert David Hunter, and those others who were part of the recovery team, life moved on. And the dead were left undisturbed.
Now, though, a nightmare scenario unfurls. Monk has escaped and seems to be targeting anyone involved in that original ill-fated operation. Lured back to the moors by a desperate call for help, Hunter begins to realise that neither the events unfolding now – nor those of eight years ago – are quite what they seem. And as the maniac’s violent trail edges ever closer, the past is suddenly anything but dead and buried…
Really enjoyed listening to this book. The amount of research Simon Beckett must of done for this book is tremendous, as well as his attention to detail. His main character David Hunter is a thoroughly nice man that you just warm to immediately. The storyline is gripping just when you think you know who the killer is everything turns upside down. Brilliantly written and thoroughly enjoyable.
The narrator, too is excellent and I cant praise this audio book highly enough.
31 of 31 people found this review helpful
Having read and enjoyed The Chemistry of Death I was confident that this would be a good book and it is. I was gripped from the start and enjoyed the scientific detail that adds credibility to the narrative. The story never flags and is full of exciting scenes and surprises. Not least the ending which I didn't see coming.
The reader does a splendid job of giving characters different voices and enhancing the listening experience.
Recommended.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
absolutely loved it
this author was new to me and i read it based on the previous review. i have not
been disapointed and spent all night listening to it. i had promised myself that i should go to sleep but couldnt help myself listen to more.
it is brilliantly narrated. probably the best narator i have come across so far and am certainly going to listen to more titles by simon beckett
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
I bought this on the basis that I'd enjoyed the narrator so much when listening to the Woodcutter, and again he was excellent in this, really bringing the book alive. It's a decent listen and the story is well told and engaging. The storyline didn't exactly grip me though and the who done it wasn't particularly a surprise, it was just a why and how to keep you engaged. It's a decent listen but it's not going to get me raving about it.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Normally I buy a book per month to 'read' while travelling back and forth to work. Anything of 9 hours and above is enough for this, until I started this book. I have, in effect, 'read' it in two days. The old saying, cannot put a good book down' applies so much to this one.
The narrator, Jonathan Keeble, is just superb, enacting faultlessly all the different voices and mannerisms of the characters really helping to bring them to life. A really enjoyable, well written and well narrated audio-book with a good storyline, fitting ending and well thought out plot.
Trouble is, I need to get another to last the rest of the month, I doubt it will do though if I get another by Simon Beckett. I hope the author and narrator get together for another book soon.
Highly recomended.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book, a little predictable in the end. The narrator Jonathan Keeble was excellent.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this audio book. Simon Brett's story was beautifully read, full of interest, suspense and very believable characters. The ending was particularly satisfactory.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I am Beckett 's No.1 fan. Believable tense and well-paced. Sorry when it ended. Reader a pleasure to listen to.
This story was solid - good plot albeit with some predictable elements and believable characters. Hunter is likeable and everyone else fits the bill. Only one character really irritated and I won't reveal at the risk of a spoiler.
Loved the previous Hunter stories, really atmospheric and some strong twists. This wasn't quite as strong. I think this was a new narrator as well - much preferred the former who made Hunter seem more human and approachable. If I hadn't been familiar with character then this reader would have definitely put me off.
Eight years ago Dr. Hunter was part of a forensic team in Dartmoor tasked with finding the remains of two teenage girls, victims of murderer and rapist Jerome Monk. When Jerome Monk escapes from prison and appears to be targeting everyone who was part of the forensic team, David is forced to go back to Dartmoor. Back in Dartmoor he is immediately drawn into a chain of nerve-racking events.
I found it a nerve-racking read and Jonathan Keeble’s perfect narration dragged me immediately into the story from the very beginning till the very end. The plot was intriguing and it was only -almost at the end of the book- that I became aware of the truth, despite the fact that I was aware it could not just be coincidence. Just like David I could not put my finger on it; I seemed to miss something despite getting all the details. But nothing stays hidden forever; somehow the truth always seems to emerge.
Apart from the case there is also another reason why David isn’t particular happy to face the past again, as this series is not only about David’s work as a forensic anthropologist but his life as well. ‘Calling the grave’ is actually Simon Beckett’s fourth book in the series featuring Dr. David Hunter. I was unaware of this but the audio book marked the beginning of me reading all the books in the series.
This is not Simon Beckett's first novel centered around forensic anthropology, but it is the first available on Audible. The plot--the search for a corpse believed to be a victim of an imprisoned serial killer--keeps twisting as little can be taken for the truth.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
The readers performance does much to salvage this book. The plot however is overfilled with ridiculous contrivances and hackneyed plot devices. I spent too much time to tutting and rolling my eyes during this one.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up The Calling of the Grave in three words, what would they be?
Linear, effective momentum
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
It was interesting how effective it was to have a protagonist (Dr. David Hunter) who's essentially passive as a character----or who at least is an obvious vehicle for the reader to get pulled along into the story. He gets pulled into the whole "Where are the bodies of the dead missing girls and the guy who killed them?" saga, allowing himself to be available to several other characters with more active personas. You would think this would make him a boring or contemptible character, but while Dr. Hunter's not the most wildly exciting person on his own, his amenableness to enter exciting situations brings us interest and he never comes off as totally clueless.
Also, although the story itself was quite linear and simple-- agreeable forensic doctor gets pulled into potentially dangerous amateur sleuthing, with increasingly perilous encounters--the author made different choices for several of the characters than I would have expected. I liked that. There were several notable surprises related to both minor and major characters, some life-altering and shocking, others simply a matter of the character's motivations or choices being different than I half-consciously assumed based on their familiar character "type" when first introduced to us.
What does Jonathan Keeble bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I bought this audiobook specifically because I wanted more mysteries narrated by Keeble. He's really good for this genre. A police procedural narrator in particular needs to be able to do dialogue in a wide variety of accents for characters of both sexes, all ages and multiple nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds, i.e. the cast of characters whom police will interview. He does all this here (although this is more a "police consultant procedural") but he is also such a great narrator of the exposition of a novel, both in first person (as here) and third person. He sounds like a reasonable, sensible person of average means and perhaps above-average intelligence. That probably describes a lot of the people who read books like this one, hence why he connects so well with us.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Actually, yes. A life changing event happens to one of the characters and it brought a few tears to my eyes with the simplicity and poignancy with which the author rendered it.
Any additional comments?
I expected this book to be much heavier on the forensic medicine and anthropology than it was. That's okay, though.
I was surprised by how well this story hung together on such a simple frame and first person POV. I'm generally not a fan of first person narration in fiction; it limits us to one perspective (that's often unreliable), while the presumed detachment and omnipresence of a 3rd person narrator is more secure and enjoyable to me. But here we have a protagonist (Dr. David Hunter) who is so reasonable, calm and flexible (I would say "responsive" to people and events around him) that it's hard to not to surrender to him taking us along for the ride.
This is a great listen when you don't want to have to focus too hard on a big cast of characters, dense passages of description or numerous plot points. From page one, it's just full steam ahead with the good doctor and the adventure he's found himself on.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
great story with great twists. kept us listening for a whole 7 and a half hour drive.
This started out strong, but faltered midway and then turned into a rather Implassible melodrama. But if you can overlook the mounting plot contrivances and focus on the narration, this is entertaining.
Despite its gruesome subject, I enjoyed the book.
It had enough twists and turns to keep me wanting to listen right up to the end.
Jerome Monk has escaped from confinement. He is a convicted serial rapist and murderer. Eight years before Dr. David Hunter, a medical doctor and forensic anthropologist, had been part of a effort to discover the bodies of some of Monk's victims. It had not turned out well.
Now that Monk has escaped it appears that he is targeting everyone who was involved with the earlier search. As a result Dr. Hunter is now pulled back into the case.
It seems from the other reviews that there is either too much forensic information or not enough. In fact, there is isn't as much in-depth forensic information, but the suspense and action are well done.
Shorter than his prior novels, this one clocks in unabridged at about 10 hours. It's read by Jonathan Keeble. I haven't encountered Mr. Keeble before but he does a good job as the voice of the book. No annoying mannerisms.
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
There was very little character development causing ambivalence toward the main characters.I did like Monk probably due to his detailed description, even though the character was relatively uninventive for a serial killer, hulking, abnormally strong, and seemingly stupid. The lack of interesting characters slowed the plot.
Would you ever listen to anything by Simon Beckett again?
It is unlikely that I would listen to another Beckett. While not bad, it was unsatisfying.
What three words best describe Jonathan Keeble’s performance?
Jonathan Keeble was animated in the read. Hindered though, because I didn't much like the writing or the story.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
While I didn't like the book, I did listen to the end and I wanted to find out what happened. Bit tedious and hollow of an ending though, because I found the twist relatively obvious and I didn't care about the main character.