After an MA in English, Simon Beckett spent several years as a property repairer before a stint teaching in Spain. Back in the UK, he played percussion in several bands. He has been a freelance journalist since 1992, writing for The Times, The Independent on Sunday Review, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer and other major British publications. In 2002, as part of an article on the National Forensic Academy, he visited the Body Farm in Tennessee. This last commission was the inspiration behind the internationally bestselling The Chemistry of Death, which was shortlisted for the CWA's Duncan Lawrie Dagger and has been translated into 21 languages. Simon Beckett is married and lives in Sheffield. The author of six novels, his second David Hunter thriller, Written in Bone, is published as a Bantam paperback in April 2008.
Der Rechtsmediziner David Hunter untersucht eine verkohlte Leiche auf der schottischen Insel Runa. War es ein tragischer Unfall oder gar Mord? Der Fall scheint 盲u脽erst mysteri枚s zu sein. Bevor David Hunter sich n盲her mit dem Superintendenten auf dem Festland besprechen kann, wird die kleine Insel durch ein Unwetter von der Au脽enwelt abgeschnitten. Und dann wird der Polizist, der den Fundort der Leiche bewachen sollte, tot aufgefunden鈥� ermordet. Der T盲ter muss auf der Insel sein鈥� ** Ich habe Band 1 dieser Reihe vor ziemlich genau drei Jahren gelesen. Das Buch hatte damals auch f眉nf Sterne von mir bekommen, und ich kann mir gar nicht erkl盲ren, warum ich damals nicht gleich weitergelesen habe!? Nun musste dieser zweite Band gute drei Jahre warten鈥� Ich habe mir fest vorgenommen, Band 3 nun m枚glichst bald zu lesen! 鈥enn ich mag diese Reihe wirklich sehr gerne! Rechtsmedizin finde ich grunds盲tzlich schon sehr spannend, und David Hunter ist ein sympathischer Protagonist. Der Fall mit der verkohlten Leiche war sehr geheimnisvoll und spannend. Ich habe mitr盲tseln k枚nnen, wurde dann am Ende doch 眉berrascht. Ich liebe 眉berraschende Wendungen in B眉chern, wenn sie schl眉ssig und nachvollziehbar sind. Das war hier f眉r mich der Fall. Auch das Setting fand ich super! Schottland sowieso, und dann diese kleine Insel, die pl枚tzlich ganz abgeschnitten ist vom Festland鈥� Schon eine gruselige Vorstellung unter diesen Umst盲nden! F眉r mich hat alles gepasst. Handlung, Charaktere, Setting. Der Spannungsaufbau war da, die Spannung auch immer sehr hoch. Ich freue mich nun auf den n盲chsten Band!
After enjoying the hell out of "The Chemistry of Death" I was very eager to start reading the second book about Dr Hunter. And... oh boy. I don't really know where to begin. The book starts interestingly enough: gruesome murder, interesting location, good ol' Dr Hunter... But then it takes over a hundred pages until something, ANYTHING happens. Some of the characters in the book were so cartoonish I was afraid I might injure my eyes with all the eyerolling. Here's your token single mother with a dark past, there's your incompetent and drunken police officer who is completely oblivious to the most obvious facts, there's your spunky young journalist who "just wants to get to the bottom of things". The only reason we know that the retired detective Brody is "meticulous", is because we are told so about ten times, without actually ever really witnessing it through his actions. Dr Hunter is equally infuriating with his sixth sense telling him multiple times "something doesn't quite add up" but we never really get to find out why until it's too late. Come on, Mr. Beckett, let your readers join in on the fun, let them think a little! And then the plot... oh the plot. Formulaic (albeit entertaining) at first, but then within 50 pages it's plot twist after plot twist after plot twist to the point where it was giving me a major headache. What's even worse, by the time I got to the end of the book I realised I don't even care anymore what happens to Dr. Hunter or, for that matter, who the killer is. I gave the book 3 stars because it's still a kind of entertaining read. The reason I'm so harsh is because my expectations were high after Beckett's first David Hunter book. Sadly, "Written in Bone" wasn't half as entertaining as I wanted it to be.
Mir f盲llt es ehrlich gesagt immer schwer Thriller zu bewerten, da das einfach nicht (mehr) mein Genre ist. Aber trotzdem 眉berkommt mich ab und an mal das Verlangen wieder einen zu lesen. Und SuB sei dank hatte ich noch den zweiten Teil der David Hunter Reihe da (so wie auch noch Band 3...). Band 1 hatte mir damals gut gefallen, auch Band 2 gl盲nzte mit tollem Schreibstil und einem interessanten Fall. Au脽erdem ist David Hunter einfach ein super spannender Protagonist und ich finde seinen Job auch echt cool. Das Setting fand ich auch gut gew盲hlt mit dieser kleinen einsamen Insel. Allerdings wurde mir die Handlung gegen Ende etwas zu diffus und wirr. Es wurde irgendwie permanent versucht noch einen drauf zu setzen, obwohl der Fall auch so schon "abgefahren" genug war... Und was war das f眉r ein seltsames Ende mit einem echt 眉bertriebenen Cliffhanger? Also muss ich dann wohl doch mal den dritten Teil lesen, gut dass ich den sowieso schon da hab :D
En esta segunda entrega el autor nos lleva, al igual que en la primera, a un lugar con una comunidad cerrada y reticente con los extra帽os, creando una atm贸sfera de tensi贸n, donde todo el mundo guarda alg煤n secreto.
Beckett nos aporta detalles forenses muy interesantes pero con un lenguaje sencillo, que hace de este libro una lectura amena y entretenida.
Con un ritmo pausado pero no exento de algunos giros, iremos desgranando los entresijos de esta nueva investigaci贸n, llegando a un final abierto que nos empuja a continuar con la siguiente entrega.
"It's the things you never see coming you have to watch out for."
With WRITTEN IN BONE, a solid sequel to his debut novel THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH, Author Simon Beckett continues to effectively cash in on his real life anthropological experience working with Bill Bass of Tennessee's world famous Body Farm. Unlike many of his competitors in the crowded medical thriller genre who have concentrated on thrill and suspense at the expense of science and medicine, Beckett writes a solid forensic procedural with plenty of interesting details on such minutiae as the rate of decay of human bodies under a variety of conditions, the nature of pre- and post-mortem wounds and the tiny differences between slashing and stabbing wounds and their effects on soft tissue and bones that is superbly balanced with the bloody bits and the actual action. Nor has he forgotten about suspense, twists, turns, red herrings and surprise endings!
Forensic anthropologist David Hunter has been dispatched to Runa, a God-forsaken barren spit of land in the remote Outer Hebrides in the frigid Atlantic north of Scotland, to investigate a death so bizarre that the first cause coming to everyone's mind is spontaneous human combustion. When a ferocious Arctic storm eliminates all communication with the mainland and clues finally surface that prove the death was in fact murder, the game, as Sherlock Holmes would have said, was definitely afoot! Hunter, cut off from any possible assistance from his police colleagues in Britain and Scotland, is forced to investigate the murder with the only assistance available on the island - Neil Fraser, an unhappy, angry officer who wants nothing more than to stay under the radar until his retirement quietly drinking his way to oblivion and Andrew Brody, an embittered former investigator who retired to the seclusion of Runa after the mysterious unsolved disappearance of his daughter many years earlier.
WRITTEN IN BONE is most definitely NOT a cozy mystery in the style of Agatha Christie. That said, the resemblance to AND THEN THERE WAS NONE is unmistakable as the body count on the foul weather-locked island mounts and the only possible suspects are the remaining inhabitants who are looking over their shoulders with growing fear and suspicion. But no potential reader should get the mistaken impression that I'm suggesting WRITTEN IN BONE is derivative. Absolutely not! The characterization is superb, the relationships are as edgy, angsty and as dark as any thriller available today, the dialogue is natural and credible, the twists and turns are devious and ... oh my goodness ... that ending out of left field will leave every reader with a smile knowing that entry #3 in the David Hunter series is just around the corner.
Patinka man 拧i serija ir net labai. 馃槈 "I拧 dalies patologin臈 anatomija, i拧 dalies archeologija - tai, k膮 veikiu, per啪engia abiej懦 ribas. Netgi suirus 啪mogaus k奴nui, net jame plast臈jusiai gyvybei virtus p奴v臈siais, d奴l臈siais ir senais, sausais kaulais, mirusieji vis dar gali liudyti. Jie gali papasakoti savo istorij膮, jei tik gebi j膮 suprasti. "
Creepy! Like tiny hairs buzzing on the back of your neck, creepy!
"Our lives, and sometimes our deaths, are stories written in bone. It provides a telltale record of injuries, neglect or abuse. But in order to find what was written here, first I had to be able to see it."
When a body, burned beyond recognition, is found in an abandoned hut on the island of Runa, the local authorities call forensic pathologist, Dr. David Hunter for help. At first, David refuses, wanting to continue his journey home. He wants nothing to do with it. But David's sense of duty to help the deceased find his or her way home is too much to turn his back on. After all, David will only there to assist the local police in setting the perimeters of sex, approximate age, and, with any luck, the cause of death. Then the case will be turned over to them to carry in whatever direction is necessary. It's only supposed to take a couple of days, then he can return home to his wife. But things don't go that way. Not by a long shot.
by takes place in the Western Isles, a coastal island chain that's separated from the Scottish mainland. The small, sparcly populated island of Runa is even more isolated which sets the scene perfectly for an eerie, ominous feeling, beginning from the very start and becoming more nightmarish and terrifying as the story goes on. The story has plenty of twists and turns that kept me completely unbalanced throughout, all the way to the startling conclusion.
This is the second book in the David Hunter series and I loved it just as much as the first book, . Both books are chilling, with likable characters, a rapid pace, and lots of authentic forensic evidence. I'm a huge fan of factual forensic science and this series has plenty of it! I devoured the story from beginning to end and the disturbing, macabre factor is off the scales! Perfect! I am looking forward to the next book in this series!
Beckett returns with a stellar sequel to his opening book, which captured the hearts of readers. When an apparent spontaneous combustion case pops up on the remote Scottish island of Runa, what looks like an open and shut case soon reeks of murder. Before long, a murder spree commences and the small island population begins to wonder who among its own is wielding the knife and setting fire to the victims. With a collection of new small-town characters, Beckett returns with a great new plot as wonderful narrative to bring the story to life. The reader will surely devour this book as they did the opening in the series and scramble for the latter two as well. Absolutely spectacular last 50 pages has the reader picking their jaw off the floor more than once. Mystery at its best!!!!
Beckett sets himself up to possibly be the UK's Jefferson Bass. While the books do have a great forensic aspect to them, the level of scientific osteo-based learning is less intense. A strong murder theme with wonderful medical references that keeps the reader hooked, I will not deny. I like the idea of using our main character as one who is parachuted into small-town scenarios, as it keeps the story fresh and rids any wonder about Jessica Fletcher syndrome (wherever you go, murder follows or your small town is repeatedly victim to a killer when you are around)!
Kudos Mr. Beckett for a sensational piece of work. Bring on Book #3!
Terminado de leer por primera vez en marzo del 2022. Rele铆do en octubre del 2024.
La primera vez que lo le铆 lo disfrut茅 un porr贸n y creo que esta segunda, me gust贸 todav铆a m谩s. 驴Os cont茅 que encima me encantan los de forenses?. Este adem谩s, al igual que el anterior, se inicia con una estremecedora imagen de la f铆sica de la muerte, terrible pero impresionante. Muy bien retratado, de nuevo, ese "pueblo peque帽o, infierno grande", ese paisaje verde, aislado y asolado por las tormetas, una peque帽a isla cuya naturaleza se presenta muy hostil todo el tiempo arrasando el caso en oleadas de lluvia, aislada e incomunicada cada poco, con frecuentes cortes el茅ctricos, donde se destilan secretos, que muchas veces llegan a saberse pero se callan. Un caso lleno de giros que a veces eran mucho girar, pero que disfrut茅 absolutamente... y la inolvidable imagen, para m铆 imborrable, de este protagonista tan serio y hasta algo distante, tras casi quemarse, discutiendo todo digno con el pelo todo churruscado y sin cejas馃ぃ馃ぃ馃ぃ Es que le quita toda la seriedad a la escena, no lo pude evitar馃槀. En fin que me lo he pasado bomba y por m谩s de un motivo. GL Bis (Negro Bis. David Hunter)
Der vorliegende Roman ist unbestreitbar (vor allem gegen Ende zu) 盲u脽erst spannend. Die medizinischen Erl盲uterungen zum Feuertod der Opfer fand ich sehr interessant und lehrreich. Das Setup der Geschichte auf einer kleinen, abgelegenen Insel nahe Schottland, die dann auch noch durch eine Unwetter von der Au脽enwelt abgeschnitten wird, ist zwar nicht unbekannt (man denke nur an die durch Schneesturm im Scvhloss eingeschlossenen Weihnachtsg盲ste), dennoch aber immer wieder spannend zu lesen.
Zwei Aspekte haben mich aber dennoch gest枚rt:
Zum einen die bis zum Gehtnichtmehr ausgewalzten Stereotypen, z.B. der versoffene und gr枚脽tenteils unf盲hige Dorfpolizist, die 眉beraus neugierige und und unvorsichtige Lokaljournalistin oder die 眉berm盲脽ig verschworene Dorfgemeinschaft, die jeden Au脽enseiter mit Z盲hnen und Klauen abwehrt. Hier w盲re meiner Ansicht nach weniger mehr gewesen.
Enorm gest枚rt hat mich, dass in der zweiten H盲lfte des Buches eine unerwartete Wendung nach der anderen hochpoppt. Und das sind beileibe kleine Kleinigkeiten, die der geneigten Leserin hier um die Ohren gehauen werden, sondern echte H盲mmer. Und dann holt der Autor noch auf der letzten Seite den Schachtelteufel raus und l盲sst uns mit einem brutalen Cliffhanger zur眉ck.
Da das Buch dennoch ein spannender Lesestoff war, auch wenn ich mich 枚fter als ich mir gew眉nscht h盲tte, 盲rgern musste, vergebe ich so gerade noch 3 Sterne.
-------------------------------
The present novel is undeniably (especially towards the end) extremely exciting. I found the medical explanations of the victims' deaths by fire very interesting and instructive. The set-up of the story on a small, remote island near Scotland, which is then cut off from the outside world by a storm, is not unknown (just think of the Christmas guests locked in the castle by a snowstorm), but it is always an exciting read.
However, two things bothered me:
On the one hand, the stereotypes that are rolled out to no end, e.g. the heavily drinking and mostly incompetent village policeman, the extremely curious and careless local journalist or the overly conspired village community, who fends off every outsider with teeth and claws. I think less would have been more here.
What bothered me enormously was that in the second half of the book one unexpected twist after the other popped up. And these are by no means trifles that the willing readers are hit in the face with, but real hammers. And then the author pulls out the jack-in-the-box on the last page and leaves us with a brutal cliffhanger.
Since the book was an exciting read, even if it annoyed me more often than I would have liked, I awarded 3 stars.
Es gab so viel coole Wendungen in der Geschichte! Hat mir sehr gut gefallen! Ich liebe halt auch einfach David Hunter 馃槱馃槏 der n盲chste Teil der Reihe ist nat眉rlich bereits heruntergeladen 馃槍
Segundo libro de la serie del antrop贸logo forense David Hunter, una historia que vuelve a desarrollarse en un pueblo peque帽o pero que me ha gustado m谩s que su predecesora.
Pese a que no llega a ser trepidante, la lectura consigue mantener la tensi贸n y el inter茅s, la atenci贸n nunca se despega del caso y eso es algo que agradezco. La resoluci贸n tuvo sus partes predecibles pero me pareci贸 mucho mejor ejecutada que la del libro anterior.
Lo mejor ha sido la ambientaci贸n. Primero, porque se sit煤a en una isla perteneciente a las H茅bridas, un destino que de por s铆 me parece muy atractivo, sobre todo en mis momentos m谩s ermita帽os, a pesar de la dureza de su clima. Luego, justo por eso 煤ltimo. La tormenta que azota contra la isla durante todo el tiempo que duran los sucesos, aunada a lo complicado del terreno, le confieren esa atm贸sfera sombr铆a y refuerza la sensaci贸n de estar atrapados sin remedio y a merced de cualquier peligro. Al autor se le ha dado de maravilla conseguirlo sin necesidad de excederse con las descripciones.
De nuevo he disfrutado con las interesantes explicaciones forenses y David, aunque por momentos me dan ganas de zarandearlo para que reaccione, me cae bien, sobre todo porque no es el t铆pico prota grosero y antip谩tico. No estoy muy segura de que me guste ese gancho final pero cumpli贸 con su cometido por lo que, seguramente, volver茅 a encontrarme con el buen Hunter.
3 veriyorum ama 5 y谋ld谋zl谋k hikaye gibi geliyordu ba艧ta. Hala emin de臒ilim ama bu kitap beni sinirlendirdi garip bir 艧ekilde. 艦imdi kurgu 艧ahane bence - muhtemelen spoiler ile devam edece臒im onu s枚yleyeyim - adada mahsur kal谋n谋yor, 莽谋k谋艧 yok, bir katil ba艧谋 bo艧 dola艧谋yor felan filan... Tess'in Buz Gibi So臒uk kitab谋yd谋 san谋r谋m, bir de onda b枚yle bir tekinsiz gerilim ya艧am谋艧t谋m; k谋sacas谋 her 艧ey 艧ahane. David bir 艧eyler 莽枚zmeye 莽al谋艧谋yor, zaten adada az谋nl谋k bir say谋dalar, tabi 枚l眉mler art谋yor vs. Yava艧莽a sonuna geliyoruz de臒il mi? 艦imdi 枚nceki kitapta yazar谋n sevdi臒i 艧eyi anlam谋艧t谋m, b枚yle dan diye ters k枚艧e yap谋yor, siz ne oldu臒unu anlamadan beyin ambelesi ya艧谋yorsunuz biraz. Dedim bu da kesin 枚yle, okurken hi莽 olmayaca臒谋n谋 d眉艧眉nd眉臒眉m karakterlerden k谋llan谋yorum felan. Netice olarak 艧枚yle bir son var, duble ters k枚艧e. Yani birinden 艧眉phelendik hep birlikte - tabi ben yemedim biliyorum ki o de臒il - sonra as谋l ki艧iyi 枚臒rendik... Ve dan! Bitmemi艧. Yani sevgili yazar, niye bu kadar zorluyorsun. Ben ters k枚艧eyle biten polisiyelere bay谋lan biriyim, ilk defa - ciddiyim - fazla geldi. Bir de en son sahne var, ka莽 oldu d枚rt ters k枚艧e mi... Ger莽i o k谋s谋mdan i莽ten i莽e 艧眉phelenmi艧tim ama bu kadar da olmaz heralde demi艧tim. Sanki ikinci-眉莽眉nc眉 s谋n谋f bir aksiyon filmi izlemi艧im de o tip bir filmi izlerken s眉rekli g枚z devirdi臒im sahneleri tek tek okumu艧um gibi. 陌nan谋lmaz ak谋c谋yd谋, hakk谋n谋 yiyemem. Ama bir de sinir oldu臒um b眉y眉k bir 艧ey daha var; o da tam biri bir 艧ey s枚yleyecek oluyor, s枚yletmiyor yazar. Yani bir kez olur anlar谋m, her defas谋nda da olmamal谋. Bu kitap beni 莽ok yordu, sinirlendirdi, bence herkes benim gibi d眉艧眉nm眉yor; zaten listemdeki herkes 5 vermi艧... Bir de utanmadan cliffhanger ile bitirmi艧 sanki yeterince 艧ey ya艧amam谋艧谋z.
B枚yle olmamal谋yd谋 k谋sacas谋. Yorumlarda 艧ey g枚rm眉艧t眉m twist over twist diye, aynen 枚yle. Bu kadar zorlamaya gerek yok, ger莽ekten. Bitmi艧 olmas谋 gereken yer iyiydi, b谋rak orada. 陌nsanlar谋 nas谋l daha da 艧a艧谋rtabilirim diye d眉艧眉nmekten g枚z眉ne uyku girmiyor san谋r谋m yazar谋n. Devam kitab谋na da ge莽tim 莽眉nk眉 nas谋l ilerleyece臒ini bilsem de cliffhanger beni 莽ok rahats谋z etti. Sinirimi hala 眉zerimden atamad谋m. 脺艧enmeden pc'yi a莽t谋m ki bu yorumu s谋ca臒谋 s谋ca臒谋na i莽imden atabileyim. Yar谋n kitab谋n puan谋n谋 a艧a臒谋 莽ekebilirim bile emin de臒ilim, duygular谋m da kar谋艧谋k. Kli艧e dolu bir hikaye bir de ayr谋ca, anlat谋m tarz谋 bir 眉莽眉nc眉 tekil 艧ah谋s - sonra David'e ge莽iyoruz hop birinci tekil 艧ah谋s felan... Neyse k谋sacas谋 benim bu siteye yazd谋臒谋m en uzun yorumlardan oldu san谋r谋m. En son bu kadar sinirli hissetti臒im kitap Sar谋 Odan谋n Esrar谋'yd谋 diye d眉艧眉n眉yorum, orada bir 艧eyler eksik gelmi艧ti; burada ise bunlar谋n fazlal谋臒谋 beni yordu. 陌ronik.
David Hunter va a ayudar a esclarecer unos asesinatos sucedidos en un peque帽a Isla, donde cualquiera puede ser el culpable. Una trama, una ambientaci贸n y unos personajes bien trabajados con un final inesperado. Muy recomendable.
Von Anfang bis Ende spannend, wobei sich mehrere Interessante Themen verflechten und die Spannung immer mehr aufbaut. Alle Charaktere, die Stimmung auf der Insel und die Umgebung sind so toll beschrieben, dass man praktisch dabei ist. Das n盲chste Buch in der Reihe wird auf jeden Fall auch bald gelesen!
As a forensic anthropologist, Dr. David Hunter is reminiscent of Dr. Nikki Alexander of television's "Silent Witness". He frequently gets far too close to suspects and police investigators of the cases he consults on, putting his personal relationships under strain and inevitably leading to dramatic life-or-death confrontations near the conclusion of each book. They are thrillers, after all. is the second solid instalment in the Dr. David Hunter series by Beckett and revolves around the discovery of burned bones in a remote cottage in the Outer Hebrides. Fans of Ann Cleeves' D.I. Perez (Shetland) series will appreciate the bleak and isolated setting. While the actions of the central character defied realism, this was an entertaining and evocative read.
The story moves along at a fairly leisurely pace for most of the book, then suddenly starts taking off near the end like a rocket with action and surprises galore (not to mention gore). Some of the characters I liked didn't fare too well, but I'll get over it, I think.
Much like the first book in the series, it takes place in a small town that makes city living sound ideal. Lots of people either die, come close to dying, or come back to life when seemingly dead. It gets pretty weird towards the end, and ends with an unsatisfying cliffhanger. I think I'll need to read the next one right away to see if it resolves any of the issues.
David Thorpe narrated the audiobook, and in my opinion did an excellent job with the accents. He made it all sound more authentic, but was still easy to understand.