A forensic pathologist gets mired in the deadly secrets of an English
backwater village in this "tense, gripping" crime thriller (The Sunday
Times).
Top forensics expert Dr. David Hunter is facing an uncertain future. His
career hangs in the balance and his personal life has taken a turn for
the worse. Then, he takes a call from Detective Inspector Lundy from the
Essex force. Just up the coast from Mersea Island, a badly decomposed
body has been found. The local police would welcome David's help with
the recovery and identification--and they would especially like it if
the body was identified as Leo Villiers.
Leo Villiers is the adult son of a prominent regional family who went
missing weeks ago, and the investigators are under pressure to close the
case. Villiers was allegedly having an affair with a married woman, Emma
Derby, who is also missing. The theory is that the young man disposed of
his lover and then killed himself. But with the hands and feet missing
and the face no longer recognizable, David has his doubts about the
identity of the remains. As the remote wetlands give up ever more grisly
secrets, David is slowly drawn into a toxic mire of family betrayals,
provincial lies, and deadly stakes.
"The Restless Dead is a deep dive into darkness. Simon Beckett's
masterful storytelling and macabre forensic details make his novels
utterly chilling reads." --Tess Gerritsen, author of *New York
Times-*bestseller Harvest
"The forensics are chillingly authentic, the writing is both taut and
atmospheric." --Anne Cleeves, bestselling author of the Vera Stanhope
series
