Simon Beckett (born 20 April 1960) is a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

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

Life and works

Simon Beckett was born on 20 April 1960 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England, to a working-class background. After earning a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

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 Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', ''

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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 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'', in 2006. A

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

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 ...

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

Gold Dagger The CWA 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. ...

award. Sequel novels featuring David Hunter have been released in August 2007 ('' Written in Bone''), January 2009 ('' Whispers of the Dead''), 2010 ('' The Calling of the Grave'') and 2017 ('' The Restless Dead''). The series has sold several million copies worldwide and is particularly popular in Germany and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. The books and protagonist were inspired when Beckett visited the

University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility The University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, better known as the Body Farm and sometimes seen as the Forensic Anthropology Facility, was conceived in 1971 and established in 1972 by anthropologist William M. Bass as the first ...

(the

body farm A body farm is a research facility where decomposition of humans and animals can be studied in a variety of settings. The initial facility was conceived by anthropologist William M. Bass in 1981 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn ...

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. Beckett's novels are very popular in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

; 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 ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has sold over 600&nb ...

and

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British 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 the ...

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland 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 som ...

. 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 in London. The first book, titled ''The Lost'', was released in July 2021. In 2023, a TV series with 6 episodes named ''the chemistry of death'' was released, starring

Harry Treadaway Harry John Newman Treadaway''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 10 September 1984) is an English actor. His credits include '' Control'' (2007), '' City of Ember'' (2008), ''Fish Tank'' (2 ...

as David Hunter, Ellen Francis, and Rosa Whimster, written by Sukey Fisher and directed by Richard Clark.

Bibliography

David Hunter series

*'' The Chemistry of Death (2006) *'' Written in Bone'' (2007) *'' Whispers of the Dead'' (2009) *'' The Calling of the Grave'' (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 "mous ...

'' (2013) - ebook *'' Snowfall and a Normal Day'' (2016) - ebook *'' The Restless Dead'' (2017) *'' The Scent of Death'' (2019)

Jonah Colley series

*'' The Lost'' (2021)

Other novels

*'' Fine Lines'' (1994) *''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

'' (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