Helpful Score: 4
I was fortunate to be chosen to read this prior to its release and I really loved it. I raved about it to everyone I knew, telling them they had to run out and buy it as soon as it was available! I can't wait for his next book. It'll be one that I run out to buy as soon as it is released.
Helpful Score: 2
Remember way-back when Patricia Cornwell wrote great thrillers that were chock-full of forensic detail? Beckett is better.
FYI: book does contain some rather unpleasant violence towards women.
FYI: book does contain some rather unpleasant violence towards women.
This was an excellent read! It's full of forensic detail, and very atmospheric. There's just enough introspection to flesh out the main character, without getting too bogged down or giving away all of his secrets, and it's rare to find even a minor character who doesn't have some complexity. As far as finding whodunnit, the reader is kept guessing right to the end.
Helpful Score: 1
The Chemistry of Death is by the up-and-coming British author, Simon Beckett. It's a forensic mystery/thriller akin to Kathy Reichs' "Bones." It has well-developed, believable characters and great plot twists that you don't see coming. Don't miss this one! (Can't wait to read the sequel, "Written in Bone.")
Karin M. (happy-cats) reviewed The Chemistry of Death (David Hunter, Bk 1) on + 43 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book will grab you from the first page and won't let you go until you are finished. If you expect light bedtime reading to make you drowsy, this is not for you. Outstanding! And I can't wait to read the next one.
Simon Beckett's books are always great, and this is no exception. I was surprised when the villain was revealed, and that doesn't happen very often.
Becky T. (beanie5) -
This is the first book in what I think will become a very popular new series. It is full of forensic anthropology and wonderful twists of plot. I have read this one and the second in the series as well. I recommend highly to anyone who enjoys a really good forensic read!!!
After reading the rave reviews I'll probably be only one to be negative BUT to each their own
I found this to be very slow, very draggy, story not at all engaging by the 100 page mark (which is all I allow to hold my interest), I gave up on the series Bones by Kathy Reichs or any other author that is a forensic 'bug' person, just not my interest and most of the time the stories are slow and draggy
NOW, I will give it another try because sometimes it isn't always the first in a series that is the best and maybe after another try Beckett will have a better story without being boring
I found this to be very slow, very draggy, story not at all engaging by the 100 page mark (which is all I allow to hold my interest), I gave up on the series Bones by Kathy Reichs or any other author that is a forensic 'bug' person, just not my interest and most of the time the stories are slow and draggy
NOW, I will give it another try because sometimes it isn't always the first in a series that is the best and maybe after another try Beckett will have a better story without being boring
Nadine (23dollars) -
Read this for my online book club, The Reading Cove. Maybe it's just me, but I found this to be a cookie-cutter "who dunnit." It was very predictable. One woman goes missing, body turns up dead. Another woman goes missing, body turns up dead. On and on. The phrase "the killer" was used a lot. You get the picture....There was a surprising twist at the end, but it seemed more contrived to shock the reader than plausible.
This was not exactly boring but it was very formulaic. It's a British murder mystery but not hard at all to get through the dialect.
The main character is a trained forensic pathologist the likes of Reichs and Cornwell but there were very few actual facts presented, forensically speaking, to be able to clearly state that this was a book about forensics. The forensic aspect was a very minor sub-plot. It felt as though a few rudimentary story lines were added without a lot of thought, just to fit the particular niche the author desired.
The writing was good, the plot was just middle-of-the-road and the characters were just moderately fleshed out. I wasn't drawn to care about any single character one way or the other.
The ending was no surprise to me, but maybe it will be to some others. I knew who the killer was just shortly after the introduction of the character, although I doubt that was what the author intended. It was the formulaic aspect of the plot that made the killer so obvious.
I am going to read the next book in the trilogy just because I have it. But I don't think I would seek it out if I didn't. I didn't hate it, but I can't say I found much to love either.
I bought this book due to the pretty good reviews but I doubt very much that it isn't a book you've read many, many times, albeit with characters that have different names.
The main character is a trained forensic pathologist the likes of Reichs and Cornwell but there were very few actual facts presented, forensically speaking, to be able to clearly state that this was a book about forensics. The forensic aspect was a very minor sub-plot. It felt as though a few rudimentary story lines were added without a lot of thought, just to fit the particular niche the author desired.
The writing was good, the plot was just middle-of-the-road and the characters were just moderately fleshed out. I wasn't drawn to care about any single character one way or the other.
The ending was no surprise to me, but maybe it will be to some others. I knew who the killer was just shortly after the introduction of the character, although I doubt that was what the author intended. It was the formulaic aspect of the plot that made the killer so obvious.
I am going to read the next book in the trilogy just because I have it. But I don't think I would seek it out if I didn't. I didn't hate it, but I can't say I found much to love either.
I bought this book due to the pretty good reviews but I doubt very much that it isn't a book you've read many, many times, albeit with characters that have different names.
