“The human body starts to decompose four minutes after death.”
Forensic anthropologist Dr David Hunter is no stranger to the physical process of death. The dead all have their story and Hunter is determined to find it . . . regardless of the personal cost.
CHARACTERS
David is a forensic anthropologist- renowned in his field. When a terrible accident occurs, he turns his back on his old career and moves to Manham to become a local GP. His peaceful life is interrupted when a dead body is found brutally killed in the woods outside the village. He is forced to use his forensic skills to try to find the killer before more innocent people are hurt. But in re-opening the door to that chapter of his life, his past tragedy also comes back to haunt him
An ex- police officer who stumbles across a body while walking his dog, Bess. Due to the storm and few resources David comes to him for guidance and Brody finds himself back in the thick of his old job he thought he he'd left behind.
DCI MacKenzie leads the investigation when a dead body is found in macabre circumstances. In his pursuit to find the killer he forces David to resume his role as a forensic anthropologist. His objective is to find the killer and he has no problem in making enemies in the town along the way.
Jenny is the new schoolteacher in Manham. When two of her students stumble across a body in the woods and need medical attention the native German becomes close to David. Will she manage to be the first person to break down David’s barrier since his wife died five years ago?
Grace Strachan runs the clinic on the island providing the only source of medical treatment for the whole island. Her husband is Michael whose extracurricular activities cause strain on Grace and their marriage. As she struggles David helps her when things get tough.
An investigative reporter who takes no prisoners- Maggie is not someone you want to cross. She has an instinct for sniffing out dirt, and while visiting her Grandma on Runa she isn’t disappointed. As she discovers the many secrets of the people of Runa, she endeavours to share her evidence with David.
CHARACTER QUOTES
“A body starts to decompose four minutes after death. Once the encapsulation of life, it now undergoes its final metamorphosis. No longer animate, the body becomes a feast for other organisms.”
David Hunter
“Us islanders don’t take kindly to outsiders telling us how it is. Trust is a precious thing and to our ears it’s beginning to sound like you don’t trust us.”
Ian Kinross
“The dead won’t leave you alone.”
Grace Strachan
“I did a spot of research after our chat. You’ve quite a CV, Dr Hunter. Not what one might expect from a village GP.”
DCI Mackenzie
“Given the right temperature, everything burns – wood, clothing, people. At 250 degrees celsius flesh will ignite, skin blacken and muscle contract. Of the soft tissue the organs are always the last to go – cocooned in moistness they will hold out to the bitter end. But bone is different. It resists the hottest of fires, often retaining its ghostly shape even when all the carbon has been burned from it – a final bastion stubbornly clinging to the memories of a life once lived.”
David Hunter
