{"product_id":"the-restless-dead-5-david-hunter","title":"The Restless Dead (5) (David Hunter)","description":"\u003cp\u003eComposed of over sixty per cent water itself  a human body isnt naturally buoyant. It will float only for as long as there is air in its lungs  before gradually sinking to the bottom as the air seeps out. If the water is very cold or deep  it will remain there  undergoing a slow  dark dissolution that can take years. But if the water is warm enough for bacteria to feed and multiply  then it will continue to decompose. Gases will build up in the intestines  increasing the bodys buoyancy until it floats again. And the dead will literally rise . . .  It was on a Friday evening that forensics consultant Dr David Hunter took the call: a Detective Inspector Lundy from the Essex force. Just up the coast from Mersea Island  near a place called Backwaters  a badly decomposed body has been found and the local police would welcome Hunters help with the recovery and identification . . . Because they would like it to be that of Leo Villiers  the 31 year-old son of a prominent local family who went missing weeks ago  and they are under pressure to close the case. Villiers was supposed to have been having an affair with a married woman  Emma Derby. She too is missing  and the belief is that the young man disposed of his lover  and then killed himself. If only it was so straightforward. But Hunter has his doubts about the identity of the remains. The hands and feet are missing  the face no longer recognisable. Then further remains are found - and suddenly these remote wetlands are giving up yet more grisly secrets. As Hunter is slowly but surely drawn into a toxic mire of family secrets and resentments  local lies and deception  he finds himself unable  or perhaps unwilling  to escape even though he knows that the real threat comes from the living  not the dead. With its eerie and claustrophobic sense of place  explosive heart-in-mouth moments  and viscerally authentic forensics and police procedural detail  coupled with David Hunters own uncanny ability to understand the living as much as the dead  The Restless Dead stands as a masterclass in crime fiction and marks the stunning return of one of the genres best.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44949265645621,"sku":"ByrdShop_0553820664","price":93.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780553820669_2009c8fa-b3ba-43ed-bf73-afb6250d9d3e.jpg?v=1770323932","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-restless-dead-5-david-hunter","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}