The Chemistry of Death (Dr. David Hunter) [Kindle Edition]

Simon Beckett (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British author Beckett (Fine Lines) delivers a promising serial-killer whodunit, the first of a new crime series. Dr. David Hunter, a successful forensic anthropologist, retreats to the quiet Norfolk village of Manham, where he works as a general practitioner, after a drunk driver claims the lives of his wife and daughter. Three years after this tragedy, the shattering discovery of the mutilated corpse of a neighbor, Sally Palmer, forces Hunter back into the world of studying decomposing corpses. When another woman disappears, Hunter and the police conclude that a serial predator is at work, and they race against time to prevent a second murder. High quality prose and a compelling if flawed hero haunted by the memory of his family help compensate for a plot that starts strongly but winds down to a somewhat predictable resolution. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

With so many women forensic specialists on the mystery circuit, it's a pleasure to have a man join the ranks--even if he is a reluctant draftee. Endeavoring to escape a tragedy that took his wife and young daughter, David Hunter leaves forensics behind to take a job in a rural medical practice in a tightly knit English village. Although still an outsider even after three years on the job, David has begun to make a friends; he has even met a woman he likes. Suddenly, the village is turned on its ear; one of its own is a serial killer, and David, at first a suspect, is enlisted to apply his medical specialty to find the killer. When his girlfriend is kidnapped, he can no longer pretend detachment, and his involvement leads to unraveling some terrifying, surprising secrets about people he thought he knew. Let's hope Hunter returns quickly and Beckett continues to find such a nice balance between forensic detail and thrilling action. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 389 KB
• Print Length: 464 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0385340044
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (September 26, 2006)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000JMKTJQ
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,627 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars `A human body starts to decompose four minutes after death.', March 27, 2008

By 

J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chemistry of Death (Mass Market Paperback)

Dr David Hunter seeks refuge in general practice in a remote Norfolk village after a family tragedy. When the police seek his expertise in forensic anthropology to find the killer of a young woman, he is anxious not become involved. When a second woman goes missing, the small community is deeply unsettled and suspicious. As events unfold, and it becomes fairly clear that the murderer is a member of the community, accusations follow.

I read this novel in two sittings, and a number of the characters are going to occupy my consciousness for a while. This novel is full of page turning twists and turns. It is also full of detail which, while it may be too much for some, adds to the complexity of solving the case and increases the tension in the tale. I also enjoyed `Written in Bone' and will be looking for more from this author.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Edgy, January 30, 2008

By 

Linda Pagliuco "katknit" (CT, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Chemistry of Death (Mass Market Paperback)

Move over, Patricia Cornwell, Simon Beckett's on your turf. The Chemistry of Death is a page turner of a new, forensic/police procedural novel, with lots of psychology, chemistry, medicine, and red herrings. The stage for this creepy serial killer story is set as a young woman on her morning run through the woods and marshes senses that someone or something is watching her, and the suspenseful atmosphere is sustained throughout. Just about any of the male residents who patronize the local pub could be the sick murderer, not excluding Dr. Hunter, the forensic anthropologist upon whom this new series centers. Manham, whose population is being terrorized, is a remote, somewhat inbred village in the Norfolk downs, where there is no shortage of interest in blood "sports".
Chemistry is no cozy English mystery. Forensic detail of the type contained in this book is not for readers with easily-turned stomachs. But neither is it not one of the repulsive tales, so popular now, with plots that focus primarily upon sadistic, endless, gruesome torture scenes (ala Chelsea Cain, for instance.) Simon Beckett is a promising newcomer to the genre.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I like to be led astray, February 20, 2008

By 

Kathy from Anchorage (Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chemistry of Death (Mass Market Paperback)

As an avid and long-time mystery reader, I like to be fooled. More often than not, I correctly figure out the perp by the halfway mark. In "Chemistry of Death," I changed my mind about "who done it" three times in the course of reading this excellent yarn. Highly recommended for those who like twisty mysteries and can handle a fair amount of gruesome details.