75. Written in Bone by Simon Beckett

Forensic anthropologist David Hunter is back for his second English mystery. This time, Hunter is asked to investigate a mysterious death on the small Hebrides island of Runa in Scotland. In a small cottage, a woman’s badly burned body is found, with her feet and one hand untouched by the fire. The cottage itself is also barely hurt by the flames. Police wonder if spontaneous combustion is to blame, and are also baffled by who the person could be since it is such a small, remote island. As Hunter investigates, his stay on the island becomes more deadly, with a powerful storm knocking off access to the mainland and the body count on Runa growing.

The second book by Beckett is much better written and more suspenseful than is first novel, The Chemistry of Death. The remote coastal setting and the power of the deadly storm battering the island lends to the suspense and effectively builds tension. For those who like forensic details in their mysteries, this is a new author to watch. Those interested in a review of Beckett’s first novel should check out http://www.tcpl.org/sarah/2007/02/6-chemistry-of-death-by-simon-beckett.html and for readers who like mysteries set on remote islands should check out http://www.tcpl.org/sarah/2007/06/28-pig-island-by-mo-hayder.html.