A HARD DEATH, a novel, by JONATHAN HAYES

A HARD DEATH, a novel, by JONATHAN HAYES (including Gene's Books)

It is exceptional to be allowed to pass by a bookshop without having to drive into the parking lot, park up and enter. We were driving along Periwinkle Way on Sanibel Island on the western edge of Florida State when 'Gene's Books' appeared on the starboard side.
Inside it was a beautiful sight. Shiney 'proper' wooden bookcases laden with enticing covers. I browsed. I paused at a corner and there piled up were several copies of Jonathan Hayes' book seducing me with its reddish cover advertising death. At $3.98 plus tax I had to pick one up and scan a page or two. I was persuaded. The marked down price making my decision so easy and I am glad that I did. I had discovered a new author (to me, at least) and a tale of enforced fear, torture and gratuitous violence.
He had introduced Dr Edward Jenner in his first book Precious Blood and both he and Jenner have the same background. Jenner is the protagonist he has chosen to fight for justice after being forced out of New York City. That's a story in itself.
A Hard Death is a story of Florida, with some chapters set in or close to the swamp where many things can be found. There is one paragraph that made me wriggle in my chair and to get over it I had to carry on reading.
This is a 'page-turner'. The plots and the actions flow from page to page with a velocity that kept me reading on and on. There are twists and turns aplenty.
Social issues are included, there is some sex, the dialogues are explicit and since this is a crime novel there is a lot about both criminals and victims. This writer is a veteran forensic pathologist and he includes ample detail. Jenner is the protagonist that he has chosen to combat the bad boys and I think that I like him.
In over 400 pages I found only one piece that stretched my idea of reality close to implausibility. I recommend this book and I will seek out his first one, Precious Blood, and try and discover what makes these investigators of cadavers so willing to write about their work!