The scent of death

It's been a good summer for forensics expert Dr David Hunter. His relationship is going well and he's in demand again as a police consultant. Life is good. Then a call comes from an old associate: a body has been found, and she'd like Hunter to take a look. The empty shell of St Jude's Hospital now stands awaiting demolition, its only visitors society's outcasts, addicts and dealers. A partially mummified corpse has been discovered in the hospital's cavernous loft, but not even Hunter can say how long it's been there. All he knows for sure is that it's the body of a young woman. And that she was pregnant. But the collapse of the loft floor reveals another of the hospital's secrets. A sealed-off chamber, still with beds inside. Some of them occupied... For Hunter, what began as a straightforward case is about to become a twisted nightmare that threatens everyone around him. And as the investigation springs more surprises, one thing is certain. St Jude's hasn't claimed its last victim . . . With its viscerally authentic forensics, menacing atmosphere and nerve-shredding tension, Simon Beckett's new crime thriller will leave you gasping.