I know, I have been absent for a while but that was due to my new start back in Germany. I now have a new job which involved moving down south. After a few weeks of work I have now settled pretty well and actually find the time reading again! I have missed it a lot! I hope I will be able to update my blog regularly but I cannot guarantee that there will be breaks again! :-)

So here comes my first review after my little break:

Goodreads Summary: Forensic supremo David Hunter is chafing from the after-effects of the gruesome events of his last assignment and has made an ameliorative journey to the research faculty at which he polished his skills: the institution known as the Body Farm in Tennessee. Hunter receives a request from the man who polished his forensic skills to take a trip to a crime scene – a cabin in the woods, miles from anywhere. The grisly scenario that awaits him there is all too redolent of the horrors he has encountered in the past (the victim’s body is in an advanced state of decomposition, but it has been bound and tortured). Shortly after, a second corpse is discovered, and David Hunter is once again treading familiar territory involving lethal mind games with an ingenious and relentless psychopath.

My Thoughts: Whispers of the Dead has been a bit disappointing for me. After reading the first two novels of the series, I expected a well written crime story that keeps me excited and curious from the beginning until the very last page. Well, it did if the Book had started 150 pages before the end. The First half was not a dramatic and suspense-packed as I had expected it from Simon Beckett. This might also be a reason why it took me so long to read the full story.

This weekend I reached the second half and actually managed to get through that part of the book fairly quickly compared to the other half. The second half really is great because it gets really mysterious and as a reader I felt as part of a thriller movie. This is material that I expect from a crime author. I need this bit of thrill that keeps me awake in the evenings in order to go on reading.

This book definitely isn’t for people with weak nerves. It is extremely Disgusting in certain parts and describes these disgusting scenes in an even more disgusting way. Of course, Hunter, the protagonist of the book, is dealing with dead bodies and this directly entails something disgusting but in this novel, there are a lot of dead bodies…

Especially the end is great and well written! Beckett manages to leave you in the dark about what is really happening and who is the murderer for quite a long time and even when you think you know exactly what is going on and you strongly believe that you discovered the murderer, Beckett will certainly surprise you in the end. I love stories like these!

This book has a lot of potential but I think it did not reach its best. The first half is just too boring with not that much happening and that is what makes me sad because the other half is so much better. Well, it will not keep me from buying the fourth novel of the series. A friend of mine just recently recommended the next book and I am a strong believer in Simon Beckett.

It is a great book and if you ever get the chance to read this one and the whole series, do it! And do not give up reading during the first half since I can promise you that it will get better!

To get more information about Simon Beckett and / or is novels, check out his website.

My Rating: First half: ★★☆☆, Second Half: ★★★☆