Simon Beckett Boeken

Finding Refuge In A Quiet Rural Backwater, 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.

‘Masterful storytelling and macabre forensic details make his novels utterly chilling reads’ TESS GERRITSEN Once a busy hospital, St Jude’s now stands derelict, awaiting demolition. When a partially mummified corpse is found in the building’s cavernous loft, forensics expert Dr David Hunter is called in to take a look. He can’t say how long the body’s been there, but he is certain it’s that of a young woman. And that she was pregnant. Then part of the attic floor collapses, revealing another of the hospital’s secrets: a bricked-up chamber with beds inside. And some of them are still occupied. For Hunter, what began as a straightforward case is about to become a twisted nightmare. And it soon becomes clear that St Jude’s hasn’t claimed its last victim . . . Chilling, visceral and masterfully paced, Simon Beckett’s new crime thriller will leave you gasping.

A deep dive into darkness. Simon Beckett's masterful storytelling and macabre forensic details make his novels utterly chilling reads TESS GERRITSEN

On his way back from ongoing investigation into an apparent serial killer in Scotland, forensics anthropologist David Hunter is asked if he could examine a fire-death on the remote Hebridean island of Runa - reported by Brody, a retired DI who lives on the island. The journey over to Runa is delayed by rough seas and it's dark by the time Hunter and the two mainland police officers and a reporter accompanying him arrive. Warned that it will be unlike anything else that he has encountered, Hunter and the police go straight to the body. And it is indeed unusual: almost totally incinerated except for one hand and both feet, which have been left untouched by the fire. And nothing else appears to have been affected by the fire. It appears to be a textbook case of the phenomenon known as spontaneous human combustion. One of the policemen is quick to record it as an accidental death, but the retired DI Brody is less convinced. Hunter, having established that the victim was female, keeps an open mind but on closer investigation of the site the next day, discovers skull fragments that lead him to just one conclusion: that this was no accident, this was murder. As the enormity of this sinks in to the small community, the island is hit by the full force of the storm - and as power and communications fail, so the killing begins in earnest...

In plain black letters were the words Anthropological Research Facility,' but it was better known by another, less formal name. Most people just called it The Body Farm. The victim has been bound and torturer, the body decomposed beyond recognition... A second body is found. A nightmare is about to begin... A serial killer is at work and the death toll is rising... A brutal abduction - a helpless victim is taken... And for forensics expert David Hunter, it's become a terrifying race against time.

"Eight years ago they found the body buried on the moor. They were certain that it was one of Jerome Monk's teengage victims. Which left two more to find. But the search ended badly, with Monk safely behind bars, the momentum faltered. For forensics expert David Hunter and the rest of the recovery team, life moved on. And the dead were left undisturbed. But now a nightmare scenario unfurls. Monk has escaped and seems to be targeting anyone involved in that original ill-fated operation. As the maniac's violent trail edges ever closer, Hunter realises that nothing now--or then--is quite as it seems. And that the past is anything but dead and buried ..."--Pg 4 of cover.

One day, your son disappears from the playground. Ten years later, will you finally get the truth? The disappearance of firearms police officer Jonah Colley's young son almost destroyed him. A phone call from an old friend leads Jonah to the warehouse Slaughter Quay, and the discovery of four bodies, with a link to his son's case. Attacked and left for dead in the dark, Jonah is the only survivor. Under suspicion himself for what happened at Slaughter Quay, Jonah uncovers a network of secrets and lies about the people closest to him - forcing him to question what really happened to his son all those years ago... 'A terrific thriller from one of our finest crime writers at the top of his game.' Peter James 'A roaring, full-throated thriller.' Daily Mail 'First in a new series, this is a tense and twisty tale.' The Sun

"'Somebody!' I half-sob and then, more quietly, 'Please.' The words seem absorbed by the afternoon heat, lost amongst the trees. In their aftermath, the silence descends again. I know then that I'm not going anywhere... i> ean 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 a sweltering, isolated, lonely part of rural France. Desperate to avoid the police, he takes to the hedgerows 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 - the 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... Superbly written, Stone Bruises is a classic nail-shredder of a thriller that holds you from the beginning and slowly, inexorably tightens its grip as the story unfurls and keeps you guessing until the unnerving and shocking final twist..."

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 part of rural France at the height of a sweltering summer.

Some moments burn in the mind for ever. The landing is dark. Light comes from a window at the far end, enough to run by. Breath comes hard. From the stairs sound heavy footfalls in pursuit. The landing ends in a last doorway. There is no more running, only the need to hide... Imagine not knowing the father of your child. Not knowing his name. What he looks like. Or what sort of person he is. Although she is desperate for a baby, that is something that Kate Powell cannot accept. Single, independent, she likes to be in control of her own life - even if it has, somehow, become strangely shallow and meaningless. Then Kate meets a man who seems to be the answer to all her problems. But we all know appearances can be dangerously deceptive. And Kate should too. Soon her life is out her hands. And out of control...