A Hard Death - Couverture souple

“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.

Forensic pathologist Edward Jenner survived the horrific ordeal of the Inquisitor serial slayings in New York, but not the political fallout. With his state medical license suspended, he hopes to repair his shattered life while working as a medical examiner in Douglas County, Florida. But evil is not confined to big cities alone.

Two corpses pulled from a sunken car—followed by the grisly discovery of four more bodies hanging in the Everglades—are evidence of an insidious rot infecting this quiet coastal resort community. Suddenly Jenner's investigation is turning up grim traces of a nightmarish conspiracy—and with no one to trust and nowhere to turn, his only hope of survival is to walk away . . . something Jenner could never do.