Ready to discover another great book for this 2019? Take a look…

The Scent of Death by Simon Beckett

Genre: Thriller
Source: Damppebbles Blogtour
Rating: 4/5
Amazon

About The Book

What began as a straightforward case is about to become a twisted nightmare…
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.
And it soon becomes clear that St Jude’s hasn’t claimed its last victim…

My Thoughts

What’s the real scent of death? This is not an easy question to answer, there are so many components involved in the degradation process that the smell is totally different from people to another one, not a nice smell, but peculiar to say at least!
This had been a different read, the main investigation is not based on the police investigation but on an anthropologic forensic that will try to help the investigation identifying the bodies found in an old hospital. This seems an old case and the bodies present some strange marks, it would not be an easy case for Dr David Hunter, our main character.
This is the 6th book of the David Hunter series, but apart from a little bit of background from one of the characters, you can follow completely the story. But the story is so impressive and addictive that I am sure you’ll want to read more books of this series.
The main detective remind me a little of the tv series Bones, with all the body details and techniques to clean the bones! It was like seeing it on a movie on my head instead of simply reading it, the author, Simon Beckett, did an excellent job with the details and explaining the science behind the forensics techniques.
This had been a very disturbing case, with some different layers and ramifications of the story that it was difficult to stop reading, you simply wanted to know the solution of everything. And let’s be honest, Dr David Hunter is a really likeable and a nice character, he only wants answers to know what really happened even if the people surrounding him are quite nasty sometimes. Sorry I couldn’t resist to make this little spoiler, sometimes some of the characters of the story annoyed me a lot.
This is a book to read for any forensic or crime lover; there’s a strong plot, interesting characters and a mystery to discover. What more can you ask for?
Ready to discover what’s the real Scent of Death?

About The Author

Simon Beckett is the No.1 international bestselling author of the David Hunter series: The Chemistry of Death, Written in Bone, Whispers of the Dead, The Calling of the Grave, The Restless Dead and The Scent of Death. His books have been translated into 29 languages, appeared in the Sunday Times top 10 bestseller lists and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. A former freelance journalist, he has written for The Times, Daily Telegraph, Independent on Sunday and Observer. The inspiration for the first David Hunter novel came after a visit to the world-renowned Body Farm in Tennessee introduced him to the work of forensic anthropologists.
Joint-winner (with Arne Dahl) of Europe’s largest crime fiction prize – the Ripper Award 2018/19 – he has also won the Raymond Chandler Society’s Marlowe Award and been short-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger, CWA Dagger in the Library and Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year awards. He is also the author of several stand-alone novels including Stone Bruises and Where There’s Smoke. Simon Beckett lives in Sheffield.