A Hard Death

With none of the unnecessary gore of the Cornwall / Reichs school, this is a surprisingly emotional book.  It feels as if Hayes is trying to preserve the innate, haunted humanity of Jenner, no matter how ugly the events that can happen to him.  He is a fine creation, as I'm sure Hayes will show in the novels to come.

Hayes...has a gift for gory, scary set-pieces

Jonathan Hayes is a British-born career forensic pathologist. Having studied pathology in Boston, he became an Associate Medical Examiner in Dade County, Miami at the height of the Cocaine Wars of the late 1980s. His investigations included multiple homicide scenes and the recovery of dumped bodies from the Everglades. He is currently a Senior Medical Examiner in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Manhattan, and a clinical assistant professor at New York University School of Medicine. He lectures on forensic topics at the New York Police Department Homicide Investigation School, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the FBI Academy.

Jenner, the brilliant forensic pathologist hero of A PRECIOUS BLOOD, has survived the horrific final denouement of the Inquisitor serial killings, but not the political fall-out. His medical license suspended, Jenner finds himself banished from New York to Douglas County in coastal Florida, and settles in to work as a Medical Examiner in the balmy seaside resort of Port Fontaine. 
 
But nothing in Douglas is as it seems. First, Jenner's former mentor is found savagely murdered, then an anonymous call in the middle of the night leads Jenner to a nightmarish discovery in the Everglades. He finds traces of a shadowy criminal conspiracy, and soon learns that he can trust no one. Even after an attempt on his life, Jenner refuses to walk away and let his friend's murder go unpunished. The result is an explosive, edge-of-the-seat thriller in the tradition of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs.

Jonathan Hayes

Precious Blood is a brilliant debut . . . an intelligent thriller that takes you down the meanest streets, peopled by complex characters, pacing that doesn't let up until you've turned the last page, and dialogue that crackles and cuts to the bone

Linda Fairstein author of the New York Times bestsellers Bad Blood and Death Dance

Taut and chilling . . . a fast-paced thriller written by a real player in the game of forensic sleuthing.

Precious Blood carves out a new, wonderfully literary space in the world of crime and thriller fiction. Jonathan Hayes has written a startling debut, demonstrating his mastery of suspense, characters, dark details and beautifully evocative language. Once you've read it you'll be pacing anxiously for the arrival of his next book

Glenn Cooper, author of The Library of the Dead

Fans of CSI and the like would definitely like this one

'They found her in the East Village, nailed to the wall of a railroad flat' 
 
Dr. Edward Jenner is a New York forensic pathologist: he has attended countless murder scenes and performed thousands of autopsies but the killing of 21 year old Andie Delore is different. The naked body is marked with an indecipherable ancient script and is arranged in the shape of a ritual sacrifice. 
 
The murderer poses as a cop. The sole eye witness is Andie's flatmate, Ana da Jong. She can't trust the police anymore. Instead she turns to Jenner for help. 
 
But then a second victim is found in rural Pennsylvania. Her head has been placed in a puddle of milk. 
 
And then the third. Another decapitation: her naked torso is decorated with exotic bird feathers... 
 
Both corpses have the same mysterious script. The killer is leading Jenner and Ana into his own private nightmare. A place from which there will be no escape.

Jonathan Hayes

Praise for Precious Blood

Precious Blood is a brilliant debut . . . an intelligent thriller that takes you down the meanest streets, peopled by complex characters, pacing that doesn't let up until you've turned the last page, and dial ...

Taut and chilling . . . a fast-paced thriller written by a real player in the game of forensic sleuthing.

Precious Blood carves out a new, wonderfully literary space in the world of crime and thriller fiction. Jonathan Hayes has written a startling debut, demonstrating his mastery of suspense, characters, dark de ...

Precious Blood is a brilliant debut . . . an intelligent thriller that takes you down the meanest streets, peopled by complex characters, pacing that doesn't let up until you've turned the last page, and dial ...

Taut and chilling . . . a fast-paced thriller written by a real player in the game of forensic sleuthing.

Precious Blood carves out a new, wonderfully literary space in the world of crime and thriller fiction. Jonathan Hayes has written a startling debut, demonstrating his mastery of suspense, characters, dark de ...

Precious Blood is a brilliant debut . . . an intelligent thriller that takes you down the meanest streets, peopled by complex characters, pacing that doesn't let up until you've turned the last page, and dial ...

Taut and chilling . . . a fast-paced thriller written by a real player in the game of forensic sleuthing.

Precious Blood carves out a new, wonderfully literary space in the world of crime and thriller fiction. Jonathan Hayes has written a startling debut, demonstrating his mastery of suspense, characters, dark de ...

Books by Jonathan Hayes

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