Written in Bone (31 page)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Embarking on a sequel is a daunting task for any writer. A number of people helped bring
Written in Bone
to fruition. DC Iain Souter of Shetland Police gave invaluable background on the difficulties of policing remote Scottish islands, as well as insights into island life—thanks, Iain. Dr Tim Thomson, lecturer in Forensic Anthropology at the University of Teesside (formerly of the University of Dundee), generously shared his expertise on fire deaths, and Dr Arpad Vass of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee once again fielded queries promptly. Further forensic background came from several non-fiction works:
Death’s Acre
, by Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson;
Introduction to Forensic Anthropology
, by Steven N. Byers;
Flesh and Bone
, by Myriam Nafte; and
Corpse,
by Jessica Snyder Sachs. Barry Gromett of the Met Office advised on winter storm conditions in the Outer Hebrides, while the South Yorkshire Community Fire Safety office and the press offices of South Yorkshire Police, Northern Constabulary and the Nursing and Midwifery Council were extremely helpful. Any factual errors or inaccuracies should be laid firmly at my door, not theirs.
I’d like to thank my agents, Mic Cheetham and Simon Kavanagh; Camilla Ferrier, Caroline Hardman and the rest of the Marsh Agency; my editor Simon Taylor and all at Transworld, and my US editor Caitlin Alexander. Thanks also to Jeremy Freeston for grabbing his video camera at short notice, to Ben Steiner for his suggestions, to Kate Hurley and SCF for their read-throughs, and to my parents, Sheila and Frank Beckett, for their continued support and enthusiasm. Finally, thank you to my wife Hilary for her sometimes painful editorial insights, and above all her patience.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SIMON BECKETT is a freelance journalist and writes for national newspapers and colour supplements. The author of the international bestseller
The Chemistry of Death
, he lives in Sheffield, England, where he is at work on his novel featuring Dr. David Hunter.
Also by Simon Beckett
THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH
WRITTEN IN BONE
A Delacorte Press Book/October 2007
Published by arrangement with Transworld Publishers
Published by Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2007 by Simon Beckett
Delacorte Press is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Beckett, Simon.
Written in bone / Simon Beckett.
p. cm.
1. Forensic anthropologists—Fiction. 2. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. 3. Scotland—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6052.E286W75 2007
823'.914—dc22
2007017215
eISBN: 978-0-440-33720-1
v3.0