Book Discussion : The Restless Dead by Simon Beckett

This is the group for the book discussion by the Mystery and Suspense Group of The Restless Dead by Simon Beckett, which is the fifth book in The Dr David Hunter Series.

All are welcome to join the discussion whether you are a member of the Mystery and Suspense Group or not, but please ensure that you you do not leave any spoilers if you finish the book before Wednesday 30th January when others will be reading the final section.

Schedule
Saturday 26th January : 1 - 7
Sunday 27th January: 8 - 15
Monday 28th January : 16 - 20
Tuesday 29th January : 21 - 26
Wednesday 30th January : 27 - 32 & Epilogue

Book Description (From www.simonbeckett.com)

It was on a Friday evening that forensics consultant Dr David Hunter took the call: a Detective Inspector Lundy from the Essex force. Just up the coast from Mersea Island, near a place called Backwaters, a badly decomposed body has been found and the local police would welcome Hunter’s help with the recovery and identification . . .

Because they would like it to be that of Leo Villiers, the 31 year-old son of a prominent local family who went missing weeks ago, and they are under pressure to close the case. Villiers was supposed to have been having an affair with a married woman, Emma Derby. She too is missing, and the belief is that the young man disposed of his lover, and then killed himself. If only it was so straightforward.

But Hunter has his doubts about the identity of the remains. The hands and feet are missing, the face no longer recognisable. Then further remains are found – and suddenly these remote wetlands are giving up yet more grisly secrets. As Hunter is slowly but surely drawn into a toxic mire of family secrets and resentments, local lies and deception, he finds himself unable, or perhaps unwilling, to escape even though he knows that the real threat comes from the living, not the dead.

With its eerie and claustrophobic sense of place, explosive heart-in-mouth moments, and viscerally authentic forensics and police procedural detail, coupled with David Hunter’s own uncanny ability to understand the living as much as the dead, The Restless Dead stands as a masterclass in crime fiction and marks the stunning return of one of the genre’s best.