Previously available only in Canada and the United Kingdom, Jonathan Hayes’ second Edward Jenner series novel, A Hard Death, had its U.S. release today, April 12, 2011. In this latest work, Jenner, who shares with his author a career as a forensic pathologist, has relocated to Florida after the suspension of his New York State medical license.
Although A Hard Death can be read independently of its predecessor, Precious Blood (2007), it frequently references the traumatic events of that novel. The Inquisitor killings still haunt Jenner, as does the murder of his friend, NYPD detective Joey Roggetti.
Jenner suffers a second loss as A Hard Death begins when the bodies of Marty and Roberta Roburn are pulled from an Everglades swamp. Marty, who had been Jenner’s mentor early in his career, had arranged for Jenner to substitute for him as medical examiner in Port Fontaine, Florida while he and Roberta left on a long deferred cruise.
Discovering that Marty had been tortured to death, Jenner is intent on finding his killer. A late night call soon leads Jenner back into the Everglades where he finds the bodies of four Mexicans who met their death by hanging. The search for connections takes him to La Grulla Blanca, a pig farm whose rank odor masks an even more offensive activity – the manufacture of methamphetamine.
Working with Jenner is David Rudge, a detective with an unblemished reputation for integrity. Jenner will learn that trait is far from the norm in Port Fontaine where many police officers are involved in the drug trade. He will also meet two women who play key roles in the novel’s conclusion – Maggie Craine, the daughter of wealthy Chip Craine, and Deb Putnum, a young park ranger.
By having a forensic pathologist as his central character, Jonathan Hayes invites the inevitable comparisons to writers such as Kathy Reichs (Temperance Brennan series) and Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta series). Like both these writers, Hayes’ own expert knowledge is obvious throughout the novel in his description of Jenner’s occupation.
However, Reichs and Cornwell’s works are closer to the “mystery” segment of the crime fiction continuum in their primary emphasis on the determination of the identity of the criminals involved in the story. A Hard Death is better classified as a “thriller” in which exciting adventure outweighs deduction.
A Hard Death certainly provides thrills. Its action is, on more than one occasion, quite literally explosive. But it is a book that also attracts through the characterization of Edward Jenner, a man of violence whose compassion nonetheless extends to stray dogs, abused women and imperiled children. Readers will welcome his appearance in Hayes' subsequent novels..
FTC disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by its HarperCollins publisher.
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