GUYS GUYS GUYS!!
I am here today as part of a blog tour, to talk to you about a thriller. I LOVE A THRILLER.
This one is by Simon Beckett and is called The Scent of Death.
It's book 6 in Beckett's David Hunter series, but I can tell you quite confidently that it matters not a jot if you haven't read the others in the series, as this works perfectly well as a standalone. I can tell you this as I haven't read any of the others and enjoyed this immensely.
I always find it really hard to review thrillers, actually, because a lot of what makes them good often comes in the suspense so it's hard to talk about them without risking spoilers and I want to say more than just 'yes this is a good book, excellent suspense is excellent', you know?
I'll give you a bit of background to start, so you know what you're getting into.
So the protagonist is David Hunter (soz for stating the obvious there) who is a forensics expert, called to take a look at a body found in an old disused hospital. Creepy setting is creepy. The body of the woman, who turns out to be mummified and also pregnant, isn't the only one though; the floor collapses to find a secret room where bodies lie strapped to bed. SO CREEPY.
I liked it.
The forensics felt real and authentic - not that I am any kind of expert - and I found it really fascinating; it makes a change from the usual police procedural (it kind of reminded me a little of Tess Gerritsen who I used to read compulsively) and the story is well crafted with a slow unwind that makes your palms a little sweaty. So tense. That's the mark of a good thriller for me, when I cantt stop reading and I feel a bit edgy and I'm second guessing myself and this book has it in spades although the second half is better than the first. It does take a while to get going.
I liked David a lot - although, honestly I wished he'd show a little bit more emotion because nobody is that controlled, are they, and I liked how the bits of backstory that we need to know (that you probably do know if you started this series at book 1) are revealed in a way that they just fit seamlessly with what's happening on the page right now so I wasn't confused or feeling like I was playing catch up. I enjoyed how there were twists that I didn't see coming and I liked the ending WHICH I DON'T ALWAYS IN A THRILLER. I hate when you get all caught up in a really tense story and then the ending just falls flat. That doesn't happen here: the story is satisfying right to the end so high five, Simon Beckett.
I just....I want to go back and read the other books in this series and basically: if you're in the mood for a thriller then you could do so much worse than this.
