The Chemistry of Death

(David Hunter 1): Harry Treadaway is Dr David Hunter: the darkly compelling new TV series ‘The Chemistry of Death’ – streaming now on Paramount+

By: Simon Beckett

Narrated by: Greg Wise

Brought to you by Penguin.

'A classy debut' The Times

'Best thriller I've read all year' Tess Gerritsen

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.


© Simon Beckett 2006 (P) Penguin Audio 2006

©2006 Simon Beckett; (P)2006 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

The best thriller I've read all year - I just couldn't put it down...fast-paced, fascinating and heart-stoppingly exciting

Spine-tinglingly frightening...hits the bull's eye from the word go!

Fresh and original...Simon Beckett perfectly captures the claustrophobic horror of a rural community in crisis...absolutely compelling - and deliciously scary

Excellent...plotted and written with panache, with high marks for characterisation and shock value...an absorbing, scary tale (Marcel Berlins)

In the mould of Patricia Cornwell, but by a Brit...brilliant

Very distinctive...a cut above the average, with a convincing central character, a gripping plot and a fine store of morbid information

A cool talent...evokes a creeping atmosphere of dread

A book that truly deserves the description "a real page-turner"

A gruesome forensic mystery...has the makings of an intriguing series

Terrifying...rarely have the mechanics of suspense been so efficiently utilised outside a Hitchcock movie

Rushed

It's a strongly abridged version and the story feels very rushed this way. Read the full book some years back, and must say beckett is an awesome writer. Performance was okay, if a little flat.