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    Hard Death: A Novel
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    Hard Death: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Hard Death: A Novel
    Ebook516 pages7 hours

    Hard Death: A Novel

    By Jonathan Hayes

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “A real player in the game of forensic sleuthing.” —Kathy Reichs, author of Spider Bones 

    “Forensic pathologist Jonathan Hayes brings his authentic voice—and a fascinating protagonist—to the crime novel.” —Linda Fairstein, author of Silent Mercy 

    Forensic pathologist Edward Jenner returns in this explosive sequel to Precious Blood—an edgy, electrifying thriller set in a small-town coastal community where nothing is as it seems. Fans of Sam Bourne, Jefferson Bass, and James Grippando will be captivated by Jonathan Hayes’s intricate tale of betrayal, blood, and conspiracy—a chilling suspense novel made all the more enthralling by author Hayes’s vivid details, culled from a lifetime of first-hand experience as a homicide forensics specialist in New York City.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 12, 2011
    ISBN9780062079053
    Unavailable
    Hard Death: A Novel
    Author

    Jonathan Hayes

    Jonathan Hayes, a veteran forensic pathologist, has been a New York City medical examiner, performing autopsies and testifying in murder trials, since 1990. A former contributing editor at Martha Stewart Living, Hayes has written for the New York Times, New York magazine, GQ, and Food & Wine. He is also the author of Precious Blood.

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    Reviews for Hard Death

    3.5/5

    31 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Monday, April 4, 2011A Hard Death by Jonathan Hayes Article first published as Book Review: A Hard Death by Jonathan Hayes on Blogcritics. Helping an old friend in Florida after losing his job and reputation in New York gives Edward Jenner time and space to make decisions. Of course, it would have to be soon, money was running out. A forensic pathologist by trade, and brilliant in his field, he is in the area helping as a medical examiner.Working second fiddle to his friend Doc Roburn his life is more sedate. Covering while the Doc is on vacation, Jenner realizes he will have to make his funds stretch to cover his expenses.Jenner receives information about some bodies, and as he investigates, he finds not one set of bodies but two. The victims’ cause of death was hanging. Finding two sets of bodies, one set current, and the other from several months prior, is a surprise, hanging is no longer a common form of murder. Many farms and ranches dot the area so when the bodies are of Hispanic decent it is no surprise. Many illegals still work the area and it will be difficult to establish identities. Deb Putnum from the Ranger service joins the search, and Jenner finds her to be capable as well as attractive. Detective Rudge is also at hand and Jenner finds comfort in having someone he can trust.Later, coming on the scene of a car accident, Jenner is shocked to find his mentor as well as his wife in the car, but the deaths are not due to the accident. Both are murdered, and Jenner finds the similarities to the other bodies found to be an odd coincidence. Is it possible the murders are related? Will his professionalism allow him to autopsy his old friend? He is not so sure.When the murders attract national attention, Jenner is again in the middle of a controversy. The same reporter that dealt his career as a Pathologist in New York a death blow, is back on the chase with every intention of dragging him down again. Can he do his job and still maintain his distance? Little does he know that his life has just tilted again and he will not only be responsible for his life but that of many of the people involved. Can he find the answers before it is too late? Someone from the force is leaking information, and it takes a deft hand to stay ahead of the killers. Only with answers can Jenner stop the killing, but can he find them in time, his only hint at the truth lies in a small package found in the Doc’s car. In A Hard Death, Jonathan Hayes has taken a community and cordoned it off from society. Small towns are often close and suspicious, but Jonathan takes it to another level. Jenner is scraping rock bottom, putting his life back together. Losing everything in New York, he is determined to begin again. Unaware how his life will shift with his friend and mentor’s murder, he thinks he can determine the cause of death. When more deaths pile up and those he most loves are in the cross hairs, can he find it within himself to dig out the answers? Hayes has written his character as a fractured soul with the heart of a hero. The character comes to life, and when attacked it becomes personal, as if he is our own family or friend. The depiction of who he is resonates.His friends and coworkers become our friends and coworkers and when danger and death occur, we are mortified, sad and disheartened. The pathology, done with an eye to the nonprofessional is laid out for easy perusal. Jenner is brilliant, move over Kay Scarpetta; there is a new pathologist in town. The story resonates and I read it in one sitting. I found I could not put it down; I was immersed in the menace and following the danger, willing it all to work out. This would be a great book for a reading group and a must for your library.If you enjoy thrillers this is a first class read. Jonathan Hayes has found the perfect pace to keep the reader involved from the first page to the last. Make time, for you will not want to put it down. I received this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.
    • 3/5
      Jonathan Hayes' Precious Blood touches on NYC during the time of 9/11. The hero is NYC medical examiner Edward Jenner who worked throughout the horrifying days after 9/11. The aftermath left Jenner emotionally scarred and he'd left the field of pathology. But when one of his closest friends calls for his help, Jenner is forced back to help in the forensic investigation of the brutal mutilation of a young woman.The victim is found naked and nailed to the wall. Jenner is certain that there is a serial killer prowling NYC. Jenner has taken it upon himself to help his friend's niece, the victim's roommate and a witness to the crime. The young woman's stay brings about all sorts of complications for Jenner - in his personal life and professional - and draws the attention of the dangerous and unstable killer.While I enjoy a certain amount of violence and action in my thrillers, my threshold for gore is quite low. As far as graphic violence goes, Precious Blood is quite explicit. That was something that kept me from fully enjoying the novel. On the other hand, the plot is complex and the lead characters are well fleshed out. If you enjoy the grittier, violent, thrillers, then Precious Blood will give deliver both in excitement and thrills. It has the added bonus of giving us an inside view of what NYC was like during the frantic days after 9/11 from the point of view of someone who truly lived it.
    • 4/5
      I didn’t read the first book in this series. Despite there obviously being a lot that happened, you get the gist of it through this book. Jenner took things into his own hands while in New York, and as a result he is now working in Florida, trying to lay low and just do his job. But when the man who hired him is found dead, just the first in a chain of strange events, laying low is no longer an option.This isn’t a happy book. Hayes does a nice job of maintaining the noir feel, even when there is a little bit of romance involved. I thought the forensics were well handled, and was interested in the portrayal of the migrant farms, of both the workers and the people who run them. And Jenner is a man who believes in doing what’s right, no matter the consequences to himself.My one complaint is that Hayes goes a bit overboard with making the bad guy bad. There’s one aspect of him that is particularly horrifying, and I’m not sure it was necessary. The guy was bad enough without throwing in that extra dysfunction.Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to not only picking up the first in the series, Precious Blood, but seeing what comes next.
    • 5/5
      When disgraced pathologist Dr. Edward Jenner loses his medical license in his home of NYC, he is happy to receive the invitation from his old mentor to fill in during his vacation. The pay in Port Fontaine, Florida might not be much, but it's something. That is until he called to the site of a body found out in the glades, a body that appears to have been tortured before his death..and it turn out to be that same mentor, Dr. Martin Roburn. Things get even worse when he is called to another murder, in fact four decomposing bodies, of Mexican migrant workers, tied up in the trees on an island deep in the swamp, and their are signs the murders may be connected.Before you can jump in the airboat, we are in the middle of a fast paced thriller involving drug cartels, the very wealthy local country club set, child sex trade, and a sick and violent conspiracy that will go to the very heart of the community. It soon becomes apparent to Jenner that there may be very few people he can trust and it will be a race to see who will get taken down first, them or him.Jenner is a classic flawed, troubled hero, yet smart and with a deep sense of justice. I think to fully understand that you would have to read the author's first book, Precious Blood, that had Jenner in NYC pursuing a serial killer. I didn't, but I think we receive enough information in this book for that not to be an issue.Jenner, like so many of these flawed fellows. has a bad habit of going after the wrong woman, in this case a local rich girl, Maggie Craine. Her scene with her father by the pool was truly creepy and will leave you considering taking a shower. Meanwhile there is that nice park ranger Deb, who our good doc seems to ignore again and again. Will these guys never learn? But Jenner is not above talking on some danger, even the female variety, for a good cause.A fast paced, totally entertaining thriller, as hot and dangerous as the steamy Everglade setting.
    • 5/5
      This book is brutal but real. Jonathan Hayes writes cleverly and the main character Dr Edward Jenner is so likeable, flaws and all. You wonder how one person can have so much bad luck. I preferred Precious Blood, and recommend that it is read first to understand Jenner's situation better, but this still get a 5 star rating from me. More please.............
    • 4/5
      Former NYC medical examiner Dr. Edward Jenner is asked by a friend to look into the case of his daughter's murder, which turns out to be one of a string of serial killings. The young woman's roommate turns up at his home, asking for shelter, and a relationship develops between them as they search for the madman together.
    • 4/5
      Edward Jenner is a former medical examiner living in New York City. He is pulled back into his craft when his good friend, Douggie's niece, Ana, witnesses the gruesome murder of her roommate, Andy. Andy's father hires Jenner to examine his daughter's case alongside the New York City medical examiner, Steve Whittaker. When Whittaker overlooks a vital piece of evidence left on the body, Jenner doesn't. The murderer left markings on the body, markings that resemble Greek writing. The case turns out to be more than Jenner bargained for when a string of similar murders, also with the strange writing, are discovered and the monster comes after Ana.PRECIOUS BLOOD is not for the squeamish reader. Hayes is a medical examiner himself, and he didn't hold back on the graphic details involved in the deaths at the hands of his psycho killer. Hopefully that statement doesn't sound like a negative point against the novel because it isn't. The detail was very realistic; the kind of detail that makes you double check your door locks at night.Edward Jenner is a character that intrigues me. He comes into this story with baggage from his experiences through the 9/11 tragedy. His foil is Steve Whittaker. Jenner is a character who is capable of compassion and emotion. Whittaker is cold and unrelenting. Jenner is driven by his relationships with others, even the dead bodies. Whitaker is driven only by his ambition and his desire to be recognized. But Jenner isn't predictable. Often when we have a character who is compassionate and kind and whatnot, we can predict everything that person is going to do, or we know HOW that person is "supposed" to behave in accordance with the stereotype. Jenner doesn't always follow that pattern, and that can be unsettling. Even now having finished the book, I'm still trying to figure out little nuances about Jenner's character. I think Hayes wants Jenner to maintain that little bit of mystery but still be a dependable character. And let's face it, how often are "real" beings truly predictable 100% of the time?Jun is probably my favorite character in the book. He brings a touch of comic relief to the extremely dark plot. And the idea of the leather pants, the orange fur coat...he definitely stands out. I'm often critical of female characters, especially if they fall too closely to the "stereotypical" damsel in distress. Ana was too much of a "damsel in distress" for me to really like her. But I regularly reminded myself that she was supposed to be a typical, college-age, party girl. That was supposed to be her role. And she fit that role well.The plot of PRECIOUS BLOOD was a complex series of events. I listened to this book on audio and I'm not sure if I maybe missed some points at the end, but there were some elements that I thought were left hanging; they didn't quite end up all neatly knitted into the design of the plot. And the other possibility is that Hayes is impressing on the reader that a psychopath can't be explained. There will always be questions left hanging; it's the nature of the beast.The questions that obviously were not answered for a reason are the ones that I am confident will appear in the sequel to this novel. I don't see Whittaker going away. Hayes left the door wide open for Jenner to return.The reader for this audio book was Kirby Heyborne. I believe this is the first audio I've heard of his reading, and I think he did an outstanding job. I'm not an expert on dialects, but I was impressed with his changing between Asian, Hispanic and Irish throughout the novel. Heyborne provided each character with a distinct sound. And he infused a very darkly dramatic tone befitting the novel.