Cold ashes
Kalte Asche ( Written in bone ) is a thriller by the British writer and journalist Simon Beckett . The original edition was published in 2007 by Bantam Press in London.
The paperback was number 1 in the Spiegel top list for five consecutive weeks . Cold Ashes is the sequel to The Chemistry of Death .
content
action
Dr. David Hunter is a recognized forensic anthropologist and is asked by Detective Superintendent Graham Wallace of Inverness Police Headquarters to examine a cremated body on the remote Scottish island of Runa.
Hunter investigates the body and its location with Sergeant Fraser, Constable Duncan McKinney and former police officer Andrew Brody, who discovered the body in a remote abandoned cottage. While all possible causes from a fire to spontaneous human self-ignition are first considered, Dr. Hunter finds out that it is murder. McKinney guards the crime scene from a mobile home until reinforcements arrive from the mainland, which, however, cannot arrive for a few days due to a severe storm that also interrupts electronic communication channels. Hunter examines the body at the community center and identifies it as a prostitute from Stornoway . The community center, cottage, and trailer are burned down and Duncan killed; the perpetrator obviously wants to cover his tracks.
Runas patron, Michael Strachan, is arrested after further incidents such as the murder of a journalist. He testifies that his wife Grace, who is actually his sister, must be the perpetrator. He explains that they began an incestuous relationship as a teenager and that his jealous sister kills rivals. After each murder, the Strachans start over in a different place. Strachan was also a customer of the dead prostitutes. Since Grace has learned a few hours earlier that Anna, the daughter of the local hotel owner Ellen McLeod, is a secret daughter of Michael, Hunter, Fraser, Brody and Michael Strachan rush to the hotel. When they get there, Grace has already killed someone who happened to be there and is threatening Anna with a knife. Michael Strachan overwhelms his sister, who accidentally injures him seriously. Grace had previously destroyed the kitchen in her anger, gas is pouring out of the stove . Michael, bleeding to death, takes the stove lighter and sends everyone out of the house, holding Grace so that she does not flee. When the others have escaped to safety, the building explodes.
After the storm subsides, a team of specialists from the mainland investigates the case, but Hunter suspects that Brody killed the prostitute and Constable McKinney. Brody explains himself: While searching for his missing daughter Rebecca, he became aware of the murdered women and Michael Strachan. He followed him to Runa to watch him and collect evidence. Strachan was a client of the prostitutes. Brody accidentally killed her in an argument and burned the body in the cottage on Runa to alert the police to Michael Strachan as a possible serial killer. Brody killed the cop McKinney on suspicion. After the confession, Brody commits suicide.
Months later, a woman contacts Dr. Hunter posing as the missing Rebecca Brody. It is Grace Strachan who managed to save herself from the explosion. She stabs Hunter and escapes. The book ends with no indication of whether Hunter survived the attack.
people
Dr. David Hunter, a forensic anthropologist from London who trained on a body farm in the United States. He is very committed to his job, but since the accidental death of his wife and daughter has struggled with the necessary distance from the victims he is investigating. He has a difficult relationship with Jenny.
Andrew Brody is a retired homicide detective who spent a long time searching for his missing daughter and is retiring on Runa. He reports the body to the police at the cottage and works closely with Hunter. He holds a grudge against Michael Strachan.
Sergeant Fraser is a low-engagement cop. He is overweight, a grumpy alcoholic, and puts unpleasant activities on his subordinate colleagues. He does not want to attract his superiors by allegedly overdramatizing the events and therefore leaves important decisions regarding the investigation to Hunter and Brody.
The couple Michael and Grace Strachan come from South Africa, have traveled the world and now support the island of Runa with a lot of money. Both are popular with most of the islanders for their attractiveness and charming characters.
Ellen McLeod runs Runa Hotel and Bar. She lives there with her daughter Anna, whose father she keeps a secret. She is very popular and knows how to deal with the locals when there are problems.
The rest of the residents are a tight-knit community. The general meeting place is the hotel bar, where some regulars drink too much alcohol. The residents do not want to believe that anyone from their ranks can be a murderer and react to the investigators and their findings with suspicion and even aggressiveness. It was only when locals, along with the journalist and Grace Strachan, were attacked that they realized the seriousness of the situation and supported the investigation.
background
The fictional island of Runa is actually called North Rona and is not inhabited; only the neighboring island of Lewis and Harris with the capital, Stornoway, is inhabited, the deserted island of St. Kilda is often mentioned.
Reviews
“Again something strange and threatening breaks into an isolated community. Again, murders create growing hysteria. A simple act, but the audience likes it. "
“And the author actually manages to surprise with the solution at the end of the book. It's a shame that he has to put up with presenting a very well constructed finale. "
“TV series like“ CSI ”have shown how it is: scientific combined with well-told stories seems to be a recipe for success. [...] Beckett succeeds in translating the TV series' recipe for success into literature. "
expenditure
- Original edition: Written in Bone . Bantam Press, London 2007, ISBN 978-0-593-05524-3 .
- German edition: Cold ash. Thriller . Rowohlt Taschenbuchverlag, Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-499-24195-6 (translated by Andree Hesse ).
- Audiobook : Cold Ashes . Argon Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86610-313-9 (6 CDs, read by Johannes Steck ).
More novels with David Hunter
- 2006 The Chemistry of Death
- The chemistry of death , German by Andree Hesse , Wunderlich, Reinbek 2006, ISBN 978-3-8052-0811-6 .
- 2009 Whispers of the Dead
- Corpse pallor , German by Andree Hesse, Wunderlich, Reinbek 2009, ISBN 978-3-8052-0866-6 .
- 2010 The Calling of the Grave
- Decay , German by Andree Hesse, Wunderlich, Reinbek 2011, ISBN 978-3-8052-0867-3 .
- 2017 The Restless Dead
- Totenfang , German by Sabine Längfeld and Karen Witthuhn, Wunderlich, Reinbek 2016, ISBN 978-3-8052-5001-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Spiegel best list of paperbacks week 37/2008 , September 8, 2008
- ↑ Spiegel.de
- ↑ Kulturnews.de
- ↑ Stern.de