Simon Beckett (born 20 April 1960) is a British

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. His books, in particular the crime series around forensic anthropologist Dr David Hunter, have sold 21 million of copies worldwide, and enjoyed particular success in Germany and Scandinavia.

Life and works

Simon Beckett was born on 20 April 1960 in Sheffield, England, UK, to a working-class background. After earning a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in English, Beckett taught in Spain and played in several bands before becoming a freelance journalist. He has written for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', amongst others. He wrote several novels, including ''Fine Lines'' in 1994, before publishing the first novel in the David Hunter series, ''

The Chemistry of Death ''The Chemistry of Death'' is a novel by the British crime fiction writer Simon Beckett, first published in 2006. The novel introduced the character of Dr David Hunter, who has gone on to feature in other novels by the writer. ''The Chemistry o ...

'', in 2006. A

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

centred on a forensic anthropologist, Dr David Hunter, as the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, ''The Chemistry of Death'' was shortlisted for the 2006

Gold Dagger The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year. From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From ...

award. Sequel novels featuring David Hunter have been released in August 2007 (''

Written in Bone ''Written in Bone'' is a novel written by the British crime fiction writer Simon Beckett, first published in 2007. It is the second novel to feature Dr. David Hunter. Set in the Outer Hebrides, this crime novel features forensic anthropologis ...

''), January 2009 ('' Whispers of the Dead''), 2010 (''

The Calling of the Grave The Calling of the Grave is the fourth instalment in the Doctor David Hunter Series by Simon Beckett. Plot The book starts as a prequel to the entire series as it is set some time before the events of The Chemistry of Death, when David Hunter' ...

'') and 2017 ('' The Restless Dead''). The series has sold several million copies worldwide and is particularly popular in Germany and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. The books and protagonist were inspired when Beckett visited the " Body Farm" (by its official name: the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, founded by forensic anthropology pioneer Dr Bill Bass) in 2002, doing research for an article for the ''Daily Telegraph''. Having watched—and participated in—"live" exercises involving manufactured crime scenes containing real decaying corpses, and having witnessed the sciences employed to ascertain how, when and where death occurred, Beckett was inspired to create a central character who is, in his own words, "vulnerable" and "very human", while authoritative and knowledgeable regarding forensic anthropology. Simon Beckett is married and currently lives in Sheffield, England. Beckett's novels are very popular in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

; by 2010 he had sold over four million books outside of the United Kingdom and in the same year had outsold

J K Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...

and

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. In February 2019, he was presented with a Ripper Award (the European Prize from Criminal Literature). He received the award jointly with novelist Arne Dahl as they both received the same amount of public vote. In March 2020, Trapeze Books announced that Beckett had signed a two-book deal with them to release the new ''Jonah Colley'' series which revolves around a police officer from the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

in London. The first book, titled ''The Lost'', was released in July 2021.

Bibliography

David Hunter series

*''

(2006) *''

'' (2007) *'' Whispers of the Dead'' (2009) *''

'' (2010) *''

Cat and Mouse Cat and mouse, often expressed as cat-and-mouse game, is an English-language idiom that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes." The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse ...

'' (2013) - ebook *''

Snowfall and a Normal Day Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

'' (2016) - ebook *'' The Restless Dead'' (2017) *''

The Scent of Death The Scent of Death is the sixth novel by Simon Beckett to feature Dr David Hunter, a forensic anthropologist. It was first published in hardback in the United Kingdom in April 2019. It was published in Germany in February 2019 as Die ewigen Tote ...

'' (2019)

Jonah Colley series

*'' The Lost'' (2021)

Other novels

*''

Fine Lines Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an off ...

'' (1994) *''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

'' (1995) *'' Where There's Smoke'' (1997) *'' Owning Jacob'' (1998) * ''Stone Bruises ''(2014)

References

External links

Official website
(en)
Interview with Simon Beckett
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Simon 1960 births Living people 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists English male novelists English crime fiction writers English male journalists Writers from Sheffield