Whispers of the Dead

by Simon Beckett

Book Overview

While visiting his mentor in Tennessee, a forensics expert matches wits with a killer of terrifying skill in this acclaimed crime series.To escape the violence that nearly killed him, forensic... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385340060
• ISBN13: 9780385340069
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 307 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A good, pacey thriller

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".

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

Talk about a page turner! In the third installment of Simon Beckett's Dr. David Hunter series, a serial killer is at large in Tennessee and he seems to be taunting the police and the forensics team as one by one, the body count increases while members of the team become drawn into the sick mind of a psychopath. While only a few painful physical reminders remain from the knife attack portrayed in the last book, Written in Bone, Dr. Hunter has not recovered psychologically and is plagued with self doubt and second guessing which affects his ability to confidently carry out his work. He journeys from London to Tennessee to get his mojo back and carry out research with his elderly mentor and friend, Dr. Tom Lieberman, director of The Body Farm. Many twists and turns in this book lead us down the humid, bug-infested trails in the Tennessee woods which will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page. Simon Beckett has earned a place on the top of my 'favorite authors' list. I really hope we don't have to wait long for the next book in this series.

A big shout for "Whispers"

"Whispers of the Dead" is Simon Beckett's third novel in this series, and it's certainly the best. All three of the forensic mysteries are good ones, certainly: they're well written and carefully plotted. The background is interesting, as well, and shows signs of thorough research. All three novels have interesting, conflicted characters, and all three turn to the unexpected in the final pages of the book. If I have a quarrel with this book, it's that the main villain (and for that matter, the secondary bad guys as well) need a little more character development--they shock us with their evil, and we have no 'aha' moments: we couldn't have seen it coming because there hasn't been enough information to have any kind of revelation about the evil that men do. Good reading, though--assuming you have a strong constitution. I kept thinking these books would make great Spielberg movies, too.

Start at the body farm

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.

terrific forensic investigative thriller

Forensic anthropologist Dr. David Hunter still recovering mentally from his near death experience (see WRITTEN IN BONE) decides to leave his London home to spend time at Tennessee's renowned Body Farm where his mentor Tom Lieberman is the director. Tom asks David to assist him on a particularly diabolical murder in a nearby cabin in the Smoky Mountains. David hesitates as he has doubts about his skills in reading the CHEMISTRY OF DEATH following his recent Scottish fiasco, but reluctantly agrees. The fascination in this gruesome murder is the culprit's understanding of forensics; the killer made sure the entire crime scene left nothing that the death readers could interpret. The investigation turns personal when team profiler Alex Irving is abducted most likely by the same predator. David concludes a brilliant serial killer is targeting the investigative team with booby trapped corpses, body exchanges, and redoing the homicide scenes to give wrong data. Now this lethal forensic expert chooses to hunt Hunter. This is a terrific forensic investigative thriller starring a hero who struggles with confidence as his last case still haunts his psyche and a cold blooded killer who seems to know forensic science as well as the police experts do. Throughout the fast-paced story line, the culprit provides small insights to the schemes to kill and fool the investigators. Thus when Hunter becomes the focus, the super plot spins into a cat and mouse game in which Vegas will place the killer as the prohibited favorite. Filled with suspense, WHISPERS OF THE DEAD is a fabulous entry as David gets a rude welcoming to America. Harriet Klausner