This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

I’m not sure why I let this book sit on my unread shelf for so long! Perhaps because of its slightly intimidating heft, or discovering it’s the fifth in a series. However, neither of those things ended up affecting my enjoyment on this well written mystery. I am now intrigued with David Hunter’s character and his back-story and would love to read the earlier books in the series to find out more.

Especially interesting were the facts about forensic anthropology, skilfully woven into a multi-layered plot. The isolated, atmospheric moorland setting was an extra bonus, and I felt myself easily transported there. The Maunsell Forts are a real place and lend themselves perfectly for an eerie backdrop. I do believe that there was a bit of repetition and the story could have been trimmed slightly to speed up the action in the earlier part, but towards the finale there was no shortage of adrenaline and I easily got my fix.

All in all, THE RESTLESS DEAD was a well-written mystery with a solid plot and interesting characters I would like to see more of in other books in the series.

if you want a good crime book this is worth a try.
It has nice twists and turns, a good plot and ending, nice writing. Its nothing world chancing, nothing unique or special overall but its still entertaining.

What a great read this turned into.
I would have no problem recommending this book.
Thanks for the chance to read this book.

op 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. So when he gets a call from Essex police, it comes at the perfect time.

A badly decomposed body has been found in the mudflats and salt marshes of the Backwaters. Could it be linked to two unsolved missing-person cases?

But then more remains are discovered. And as these desolate wetlands begin to give up their grisly secrets, Hunter is reminded that it’s not the dead we need to fear . . .

The fifth book in a series - very easy to read = flows along at just the right pace.

I have been a fan of Simon Beckett since the wonderful Chemistry of Death, which was his first book about David Hunter, then a GP now a forensic anthropologist. I love the way he writes in such a detailed manner about the procedure surrounding the work of a forensic anthropologist. The information picked up from the infamous Body Farm about rates of decomposition, entymological signs, the effects of heat or cold on time of death etc. It fascinates me. This time, Dr Hunter is called when a body is found in an estuary. A man and a woman are both missing - could the body be either of them? As the investigation progresses, he becomes more and more involved and the plot becomes thicker and thicker, until all becomes clear in a violent and bloody denouement. Well drawn characters, an involving storyline, and detailed description of forensic and police procedures all combine to make this an unputdownable book.
Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a copy, via Netgalley, in return for an honest review.

This is final book in the David Hunter series. I've had the series minus this one for a while. So I've sat and read/listened to the series.

I've found I hated a couple of characters in this book (not David Hunter). David has been called out on a body in the water. Is the body someone who went missing 7 months ago or is it the person who was last seen 6 weeks ago. Who is the body in the water? You need to find out by reading The Restless Dead to see what David Hunter can do to help with who is the body and how they died.

This was the fifth book in the David Hunter series and I enjoyed it even more than the previous books. I like the way anthropology is presented to the reader without getting too technical and complicated. David Hunter is a brilliant character and brings his own special brand to the book. Highly recommended.

The Restless Dead Simon Beckett

This is the fifth book in the Dr David Hunter, Forensic Anthropologist series. He works at the university and he’s also a part time Forensic consultant for the police, although his future is looking rather bleak with both services as he thinks he has been blackballed.
In this instalment DI Lundy calls him to the wetlands to a body that has been badly mutilated and is now so decomposed that discovering the identity isn’t straightforward. The locals and the police seem to have already decided that they know who it is, or rather who they would like it to be, Leo Villiers, the son of a local landowner and suspect in the disappearance of Emma Derby.
He has a problem with his car and ends up having to stay with a local family who have close link to the crime, watching the bodies mounting up he begins to get close to Rachel Derby which presents a conflict of interests professionally for him.
The descriptions of the wetlands are eerie and atmospheric. It’s not a place you shouldn’t go there at night and obviously because of this we find at least one character doing exactly that and drama ensues.

This is a good read but in my opinion it would be better to read the earlier books just to get a proper feel for David and his previous adventures.

Read for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Bantam Press.

Another awesome book by Simon Beckett! Poor old Dr David Hunter can't take a trick. After being ostracised by his peers and police departments after his last case, Hunter is finally asked to oversee the removal of a body that has been discovered under water. It seems relatively simple, but just when he's about to leave another body is found. Every time Hunter tries to get away more bodies are found and he keeps getting dragged deeper and deeper into this quiet country towns dirty little secrets.

Another brilliant story from Simon Beckett (and one I've waited a while for!). This book keeps you on your toes and you wonder just what Hunter is going to discover next. The story had an eerie and uncomfortable atmosphere to it and the twists and turns just kept on coming. Highly recommended!

The restless dead by Simon Beckett.
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.
Good read with good characters. Little slow in places. 4*. Netgalley and random house UK.

This felt like a really, really long book. The story was very well written, and a great read; intriguing, engaging, interesting.... it just felt too long. Thinking back over it, it's difficult to say where it could be abbreviated, but it did drag for me in the end. I also felt like the conclusion was a bit of a leap; some new ideas introduced that were convenient to an ending but not incorporated in the long build up.
I haven't read any other of the books in this series, and judging by other reviews this is a beloved character, so perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I had an existing affection for the protagonist.

Hi Karen,
My next Review is:-
"The Restless Dead:(David Hunter 5)"written by Simon Beckett and published in hardcover on 6th April 2017 by Bantam Press. 416 pages.

It seems simply amazing that this is only the fifth book in this series by this incredibly gifted author. I have had the good fortune to read all of them and I was very pleased to read this one. It is a great pity that he has not published more but then perhaps the quality would suffer and we would not want that.

Once one of the country’s most respected forensics experts, Dr David Hunter is facing an uncertain professional – and personal – future. So when he gets a call from Essex police, he’s eager for the chance to assist them.

A badly decomposed body has been found in a desolate area of tidal mudflats and saltmarsh called the Backwaters. Under pressure to close the case, the police want Hunter to help with the recovery and identification.

It’s thought the remains are those of Leo Villiers, the son of a prominent businessman who vanished weeks ago. To complicate matters, it was rumoured that Villiers was having an affair with a local woman. And she too is missing.

But Hunter has his doubts about the identity. He knows the condition of the unrecognizable body could hide a multitude of sins. Then more remains are discovered – and these remote wetlands begin to give up their secrets . . .

With its eerie, claustrophobic sense of place, viscerally authentic detail and explosive heart-in-mouth moments, The Restless Dead offers a masterclass in crime fiction and marks the stunning return of one of the genre’s best.

This is the fifth David Hunter thriller by the author and it is developing into a well written and gripping series but the previous one ( fourth) was published in 2012 which is a long time between books. The author has to repeat most of the back story of the life of David Hunter because even if you have read all the previous ones I bet you've forgotten most of them! One always hope that Hunter will find love and a settled family life as his wife and daughter were so tragically killed as described in a previous book. This book is so well researched by the author, a freelance journalist, but unfortunately a lot of the procedures he first outlined in his first book "The Chemistry Of Death" are now featured in so many books and TV programmes it is difficult for the author to still remain original. I, however, remember the shock I felt when he first outlined those procedures and he still continues to keep my attention with the high quality of his writing.

A very gripping and highly atmospheric book that once started is very difficult to put down. I recommend this book most strongly for the very detailed plotting and characterisation. A very welcome return to Dr David Hunter after five year absence. I look forward to reading many more books about him..

Best wishes,

Terry
(To be published on eurocrime.co.uk)

A well written gripping atmospheric book. Everything is really well described and really well researched. I really enjoyed it and would read more books by this author.

Forensic anthropologist David Hunter is at a low ebb, his job is in jeopardy and his career as a police consultant seems to be over. On the point of visiting friends in the Cotswolds he is surprised by a call from Essex police, they have a body and they want David to consult. Therefore he drives down to the Backwaters, a marshy, creek area in Essex where mobile signal is weak and sat-nav no existent. The body is thought to be that of Leo Villiers, son of a powerful landowner and suspect in the disappearance of Emma Derby, supposedly his lover. Hunter becomes stuck in the area after car problems but then the bodies start to mount up.

I had not read any of Beckett's books about Dr Hunter before this one, in reading it I didn't realise that was the fifth in the series! However that is a testament to the engaging nature of Beckett's writing. There are references to Hunter's backstory and the events of previous books, but not enough to put one off. The attention to detail is excellent, whilst there descriptions of anatomical features they are not so detailed as to confuse a layperson and the actual plot is twisty without being completely unrealistic. A very enjoyable read.

My Review:

WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! – that is a WOW for every well deserved star I gave this book as guess what…I bloody LOVED it!

Set in a place called the Backwaters (of Essex) this book is filled to the brim with loss, jealousy, greed, secrets & betrayal, sadness and the ultimate search for answers.

Plot wise, there is an obvious forensic focus as Dr David Hunter, the main character is a forensic expert. The pace builds up beautifully from the get go and once it reaches the plateau – well OMG, you had better hold on as it just takes off, leaving the reader to race through the pages for the ultimate conclusion. I loved the storyline and the descriptive text and narrative was perfect – it didn’t leave me confused or having to google every second paragraph. This book reminded me how much I love this sub-genre in crime fiction as you get down to the nitty gritty of the murder(s) and use the techniques so often over-looked when solving a crime! Bloody brilliant!!

Anyone who follows my blog/reads my reviews will know that characters are the one thing I absolutely adore in books. In The Restless Dead the reader is offered some amazing and fascinating characters who develop wonderfully throughout the story. I could go through each and every one of them and explain why (a) they were necessary to move the story along and (b) they were believable and had an impact on me as a reader, but that would take too long – so I will touch upon a few to give you a taste of what I mean.

I have to mention Dr David Hunter, not only because he is the main character of the book/series, but also because I was totally drawn to him as a person! A forensic anthropologist, though he was a GP at one point – I guess working with the dead can sometimes be easier than working with the living! He is haunted by his past and this makes him somewhat guarded. He was vulnerable yet had strength to persevere even when his body and mind told him not to. He is not afraid to challenge others and go against what he is told to do. He is just such a likeable character!

DI Lundy – I wasn’t sure what to make of him at first or whether I liked him or not. He is quite abrubt, gruff and a bit moody – but as the story unfolds, he really grew on me. I also felt the same about Rachel – initially I just did not warm to her. She has massive barriers up to keep most people….even the reader, lol, out! But once the barriers started to come down and the real Rachel was revealed, well she was pretty damn awesome! Edgar was a fantastic throwaway character. He progressed the story and showed just how easy it was to point the finger of blame at someone who is vulnerable and easily led. He suffered his own tragedy and my heart really went out to this character. Finally, I just want to mention Leo Villiers – the rich boy who disappeared when a local woman went missing. It seemed his family practically owned the Backwaters and were above the law. I did not like him one bit….but things change.

This book had everything! Twists, suspense, murder, mystery and some wonderful characters. Do I recommend this read? Hell Yeah I do! Although it can easily be read as a stand-alone, I loved it so much, I went and bought myself the first two books in the series! To grab a copy of The Restless Dead, just click on the book below!

The Restless Dead is book five in the David Hunter series. I have not read any of the previous books in this series, but I have heard about it and have wanted to read them so I was happy to get the chance to participate in a blog tour for this book.

David Hunter is blacklisted after events in the previous book so when he gets a call for help to identifying a body doesn't he hesitate to go. This seems to be an open and shut case, they have a missing man and now they have found a body, but Hunter feels that something is wrong, despite the missing man's father confirmation that the dead man is wearing his son's clothes. And on his way to the mortuary for the autopsy does he take the wrong turn and suddenly he runs into problems with a flooded road and car that ends up stuck in the water and ends up taking refuge at a family that not only is acting hostile to him, but they also seem to have some secrets....

With this action, just getting stuck and having to accept help from strangers is Hunter suddenly drawn into a web of secrets. There is something odd going on, people are harbinger secrets and when the young daughter in the family that Hunter is staying with goes missing will the case suddenly take a different direction.

The Restless Dead never made me feel lost, despite not having read the previous four books. Instead, was I fascinated by Hunter and his tragic past with the death of his family and other events that have hit him hard (like a knife attack). The story in this book is intriguing and poor Hunter just doesn't seem to be able to do anything without stumbling over a dead body or being in the middle of things that go out of hand. I was engrossed with the story and I loved that it was hard to see how it all would end. Then, we have the interesting ending of the book when everything has been resolved, wow what a perfect and frustrating cliffhanger!

4.5 stars!

I don't general like reading books in the first person, but this one couldn't have been written any other way. The story just had so many facets within it, a good mystery within mysteries that I really didn't see coming; a bit of a romance: suspense and best of all the inside information on forensics. I found this book fascinating and I really could not put it down until the end. The other thing I like about this was that there was no unnecessary violence, bad language and the suspense was done very well.
The only issue I had was the epilogue at the end, just could have left it off - I would have looked out for the next book without the cliffhanger.

It was a long waiting for the next Dr. David Hunter book but finally it's here. And as usual Simon Beckett does not disappoint. It took me some pages to get into the story, but after that I couldn't stop reading. The guessing to the "who dit it" held throughout the book and I was satisfied with the ending. Hopefully we don't have to wait for too long for more Hunter stories. I definitely recommend this book to all thriller readers, but think it is a better to have read he first books in this series to get a better understanding.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House UK!