Whispers Of The Dead [Paperback]

Simon Beckett (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books; British Edition edition (2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553817515
• ISBN-13: 978-0553817515
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Sometimes it seemed I was dogged by ill luck and disaster.", May 23, 2009

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Whispers of the Dead (Hardcover)

In Simon Beckett's "Whispers of the Dead," the narrator is forensic anthropologist Dr. David Hunter, who leaves London for a month-long stay in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is still scarred both physically and emotionally from stab wounds that he received at the hands of a madwoman. Unfortunately, David's life has been marred by a series of tragedies from which he has never fully recovered; he wonders if he still has what it takes to do his job effectively. To find out, he accepts the invitation of his former teacher, Tom Lieberman, who invites him to conduct research at the facility that he directs, the University of Tennessee's Forensic Anthropology Center, better known as the Body Farm. This is an outdoor laboratory in which scientists examine human cadavers to learn more about decomposition and other factors pertaining to the time and cause of death.

If David had any illusions that this would be a relaxing vacation, he quickly learns otherwise. Not only is Tom clearly suffering from a debilitating heart condition, but David's old mentor is soon called in to assist in a homicide investigation. Tom wants to take advantage of David's expertise, but the law enforcement agents assigned to the case resent the Brit's presence and do whatever they can to exclude him. As the search for a monstrous fiend heats up, David is caught in the middle. To make matters worse, he misses his former girlfriend, Jenny, and is intensely lonely.

"Whispers of the Dead" is sinister and unnerving. There are enough gory scenes to turn the stomach of all but the most hardened reader, but the fascinating forensic details almost make it all worthwhile. Beckett describes the dead bodies, and there are quite a few of them, in such excruciating detail that we can almost smell the rotting flesh and visualize the maggots feeding on the corpses. Although the psychopath is another one of those weirdoes that we encounter time and again in novels of this type, his methods and motive are unique, and the author springs a number of surprises on us as the story progresses. This is an edgy and nightmarish thriller in which Beckett raises the suspense to an almost unbearable level before concluding with an explosive and violent finale. After his traumatic ordeal in Tennessee, Dr. David Hunter would do well to seek treatment from the best therapist in London.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start at the body farm, June 8, 2009

By 

Ruth B. Ingram (East Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Whispers of the Dead (Hardcover)

Anyone who is knowledgable about forensics knows the body farm and what they study and do there. Dr David Hunter is in Tenneessee visiting with an old friend and doing some research in the body farm. Dr. Hunter is from England and does what Kathy Reichs and Kay Scarpetta do in this country. There is a serial killer about and he taunts and teases law enforcement with the dead he has killed and he has been a busy boy. Law enforcement has no inkling of the dimension of his miss deeds. Dr. Hunter becomes deeply involved and eventually a target for the killer. I suggest you do not start this book unless you have time to read it all at once because it will not let you put it down. This is my fourth Dr. David Hunter book and I am totally captivated. Well written, terse prose, well structured mystery. Enjoy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good, pacey thriller, January 31, 2010

By 

Helen Simpson (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Whispers of the Dead (Hardcover)

Having read and enjoyed all three of Beckett's 'David Hunter' series, in my opinion this one is the best so far.

A serial killer who is enjoying being one step (or six months!) a head of the crime team.

A character who is trying to escape some haunting memories and needs to test himself by returning to the Tennessee Body Farm he

once trained at.

Some fascinating forensic facts and descriptions on decomposition.

A good plot which is well paced and keeps the tension up throughout.

All in all a very readable thriller.

In addition, at the back of the book there is some background to where Beckett got some of his ideas from along with an account of his meeting with Patricia Wiltshire, one of Britains "foremost forensic ecologists and botanists".