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Title: The Calling of the Grave

Author: Simon Beckett

Narrator: Jonathan Keeble

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-18-11

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 56 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

At first glance it could have been anything a stone, a knotted root until you looked more closely. Thrusting out of the wet earth, its bones visible through rags of flesh, was a decomposing handIt was eight years ago that they found the body buried on the moor. They were certain that this was one of psychotic rapist and multiple murderer Jerome Monks teenage victims. Which left just two more bodies to find? But the ill-conceived search ended badly. And with Monk safely behind bars, the momentum faltered. For forensics expert David Hunter, and those others who were part of the recovery team, life moved on. And the dead were left undisturbed.

Now, though, a nightmare scenario unfurls. Monk has escaped and seems to be targeting anyone involved in that original ill-fated operation. Lured back to the moors by a desperate call for help, Hunter begins to realise that neither the events unfolding now nor those of eight years ago are quite what they seem. And as the maniacs violent trail edges ever closer, the past is suddenly anything but dead and buried

Members Reviews:

A Course in Forensics

This is not Simon Beckett's first novel centered around forensic anthropology, but it is the first available on Audible. The plot--the search for a corpse believed to be a victim of an imprisoned serial killer--keeps twisting as little can be taken for the truth.

Oh Dear

The readers performance does much to salvage this book. The plot however is overfilled with ridiculous contrivances and hackneyed plot devices. I spent too much time to tutting and rolling my eyes during this one.

The good doctor gets pulled in and pulls us along

If you could sum up The Calling of the Grave in three words, what would they be?

Linear, effective momentum

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It was interesting how effective it was to have a protagonist (Dr. David Hunter) who's essentially passive as a character----or who at least is an obvious vehicle for the reader to get pulled along into the story. He gets pulled into the whole "Where are the bodies of the dead missing girls and the guy who killed them?" saga, allowing himself to be available to several other characters with more active personas. You would think this would make him a boring or contemptible character, but while Dr. Hunter's not the most wildly exciting person on his own, his amenableness to enter exciting situations brings us interest and he never comes off as totally clueless.

Also, although the story itself was quite linear and simple-- agreeable forensic doctor gets pulled into potentially dangerous amateur sleuthing, with increasingly perilous encounters--the author made different choices for several of the characters than I would have expected. I liked that. There were several notable surprises related to both minor and major characters, some life-altering and shocking, others simply a matter of the character's motivations or choices being different than I half-consciously assumed based on their familiar character "type" when first introduced to us.

What does Jonathan Keeble bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

I bought this audiobook specifically because I wanted more mysteries narrated by Keeble. He's really good for this genre.