Putrefaction (book)
Decay is a thriller by the English author Simon Beckett . The novel, which was published by Wunderlich-Verlag in2011, isthe fourth story about the forensic anthropologist David Hunterafter The Chemistry of Death , Cold Ashes and Paleness . The original English-language edition is entitled The Calling of the Grave .
action
The plot begins with a look back. Eight years ago, Dr. David Hunter called in to find a body in Dartmoor. It turns out to be one of the victims of Jerome Monk, a gigantic man who has already been convicted of the murder of four women. However, three of these bodies were not found - up to the time the body was found described. For this reason, Monk is brought from prison to Dartmoor to lead the investigators around investigator Terry Connors, Detective Bob Roper, archaeologist Prof. Wainwright and profiler Sophie Keller to the other two as yet undiscovered graves. However, he uses the chance to escape, but can be stopped by Connors.
In the present, Hunter learns that Monk was to be taken to hospital after a heart attack in prison and was able to escape. Shortly afterwards, Keller answers and asks him to meet her. When she does not show up at the meeting point, Hunter drives to her and finds her unconscious in the bathroom. However, she cannot later recall the attack.
Since Connors suggested to Hunter that Monk might want to take revenge on everyone involved in the investigation, Hunter drives to Prof. Wainwright, who suffers from dementia. Days later he is found dead. When Sophie is released from the hospital, she drives Hunter to Dartmoor to look for the graves of the other three bodies. There they meet Monk, who has already dug a few holes and is chasing them through the moor. Hunter and Keller escape.
Then a search is started in Dartmoor, and it turns out that Monk is hiding in the extensive mine system. But Monk remains missing. In addition, it turns out that Connors has been demoted and suspended for a long time. Two officers are assigned to Sophie to ensure her protection. When Monk calls Keller and announces his arrival, they take Keller and Hunter away in their car. On the run, Monk takes the car off the road. Both bodyguards suffer serious injuries and Hunter tries to prevent Monk from kidnapping Keller, which he fails. When Hunter pursues Monk through the mines, he loses his flashlight and after a while is discovered disoriented by Monk, who takes him to the cellar and tells his story.
Monk says that he has had uncontrollable seizures since childhood and has no memories of his actions later. One of the victims was his girlfriend, whom he killed in one of his seizures. He was caught and also confessed to the other murders as he could not be sure that he was innocent. When he learned from an inmate eight years later that a police officer had manipulated evidence, Monk broke out by faking a heart attack. He wanted to look for the graves with Keller's help to determine his innocence.
When Hunter discovers that Keller has a hematoma , Monk leads them both out of the cramped mine to take Keller to the hospital. Monk gets stuck and dies after a while.
While Keller is still in the hospital, Hunter visits her house, in which Roper is already located. When Hunter tells Monk's story about the policeman who allegedly manipulated evidence, Connors shows up and knocks Roper down. Connors says that he was the one who murdered the other three women and wanted to put the blame on Monk. In the ensuing fight, the dilapidated building collapses and buries Connors and Roper, who both die.
At the end, Hunter has an inspiration and goes to Dartmoor again. At a point where Keller suspected the bodies eight years ago, he struck gold.
background
The Dartmoor with the mines described in the book really exists and is located in the English county of Devon . The village of Padbury, where Keller lives, is an invention of Beckett.
Reviews
"Simon Beckett has taken the throne of the crime throne."
“Decay wouldn't be a Beckett crime thriller if it weren't for the suspense until the last minute. And yet it is not quite as captivating as its predecessor. The mood is less gloomy and oppressive, the resolution not quite as surprising, the descriptions less cruel and rich in detail. "
“In 'Verwesung', Simon Beckett relies on the tried and tested stylistic elements that have made his three previous novels into bestsellers. The fact that 'rot' is storming the bestseller lists has nothing to do with the quality of the novel, but with the advance praise that Beckett rightly received for his three previous novels. "
expenditure
- Putrefaction . Wunderlich Verlag, Reinbek 2011, ISBN 978-3-8052-0867-3 . (For 9 weeks in 2011 at number 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list )
- The Calling of the Grave . Random House Uk, Transworld Publishers 2011, ISBN 978-0-553-82559-6 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ rowohlt.de decomposition - Dr. David Hunter's toughest case
- ↑ stern.de decomposition of Simon Beckett - caught up with the past
- ↑ hr-online.de ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Simon Beckett "Decay"
