Oh yes! This series has just jumped, body and soul, into my must read category. Cassie Raven is a brilliant character. Senior mortuary technician, goth, body whisperer, she is everything I look for in a compelling character driven narrative. As I read more and more crime fiction, I find I am increasingly drawn to those characters that have a unique voice. Cassie Raven is a brilliant example of that. Cassie is a young woman with her own individual style who does not easily fit into the standard societal image of a mortician. But she is intelligent, intuitive and most of all she cares about her job and the people who are under her care.

A.K. Turner’s character springs out from the pages as a lively and wholly formed character that I just took to straight away. Lovers of Turner’s previous Kiszka and Kershaw series will recognise that 25 year old Cassie’s Polish heritage is something that is close to Turner’s heart and it’s good to see it used here to great effect in cementing the bond between Cassie and her grandmother.

Strange happenings in the mortuary and the death of a much-loved mentor provide the basis for an excellent plot and lots of entertaining moments in a fantastic read that has a great deal to commend it. I found the forensic science aspects of the book really fascinating, providing an authentic look at the role of a mortuary technician as well as offering instruction and insight.

Great storytelling combined with relatively short chapters help to make this a read that I was eager to not put down, such was my interest in both the plot and the characters. Body Language is an easy, fast paced read, and also a gripping one.

Not only is Cassie a great character, but there’s enough interest in her co-workers and in the fantastic character of Flyte, to sustain my interest for quite some time in the future. Flyte is a police officer with a rod up her back and one who Cassie finds so straight-laced – yet ultimately her dedication to her job mirrors Cassie’s own so closely that the two find they have more in common than they initially imagined. I can see these two having an interesting future together!

Verdict: This is a compelling start to a new series and it’s not hyperbole to suggest that I am already addicted to Cassie Raven. This series has at one bound become unmissable.

“ THE DEAD CAN TALK - WE JUST NEED TO LISTEN .”
Cassie Raven is a mortuary assistant having turned her life around thanks to a chance meeting of a former teacher from being on the streets and a drug fueled life. She is talented and has insights sometimes where the pathologists are stumped- something some are rather put out by. When a body arrives and it is her old teacher Mrs E she wants to treat it with the very greatest of respect as she does every body but she also wonders how Geraldine E got there- she was healthy and not that elderly. A little digging and she finds that Geraldine had a fiance- someone neither they or the funeral directors have heard from, only her estranged alcoholic son. I really enjoyed this to the point of almost racing through it- I say almost as I was enjoying it so much I wanted to savour it. Despite the subject matter (and I find pathology/forensic medicine very interesting) it made me smile- Cassie has a certain “ je ne sais quoi” about her, that certain something in her attitude to life and death and someone you would want as a friend. This is almost a cozy crime mystery- there is that warm familiarity and nothing to put you off your dinner (other than the odd “ brain in formaldehyde type” mention of autopsy thing). A wonderful read, an excellent plot, one I thoroughly enjoyed.

A.K. Turner is a new author for me and I really enjoyed this book. 
Cassie is a mortuary technician and when she is faced with someone she knows in a body bag, her heart stops. 
The Police have said it was an accidental drowning in the bath but Cassie is not convinced. 
Cassie hears messages from the dead so when Mrs E asks her to help her, she knows her death was not an accident, but murder. 
Detective Flyte meets Cassie after another person is taken to the mortuary and Cassie asks for her help in finding Mrs E’s killer. 
They make a great team as each of them find out new pieces of information that leads them to the killer. 
This is a great crime thriller that well and truly had me hooked throughout the book. 
Thanks to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Camden Mortuary assistant Cassie Raven has pretty much seen it all. But this is the first time she's come face to face with someone she knows on the slab. Someone she cared about, her friend and mentor Mrs E. Deeply intuitive and convinced she can pick up the last thoughts  of the dead, Cassie senses that there must be more to the ruling of accidental death. Is grief making her see things that aren't there, or is intuition right and theres something more sinister to her friends death than the ME thinks?

Cassie Raven has a difficult past and I liked the fact that she could listen to the dead and she has the ability to analyse key details. The first half of the book is quite graphic. Cassie is strong willed, compassionate, feisty and unique. I also liked DS Phyllida Flyte even though she's a bit of a cold fish. This is a very well written book and I was hooked straight away.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #BonnierBooksUK and the author #AKTurner for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read, enjoyed it thoroughly, great storyline and loads of twists and turns , highly recommend this book x

Body language introduces one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Losing both her parents in a car crash, at a young age Cassie Raven goes to live with her polish grandmother and starts an obsession with dead things. Then as a teen she starts to rebel and moves out to live in squats and take drugs, her turn around comes from a chance meeting, while selling the Big Issue, with science teacher Mrs Edwards. Signing up to her course at the adult education centre she gets her A levels and now works as a technician in a mortuary.

She cares for the dead as if they are still living and shows them a great deal of tenderness, often getting fleeting moments of an almost supernatural response from them. Until the day Mrs Edwards is on her table from an apparent drowning, being found dead in the bath at only fifty one. Then a body goes missing from the morgue, the police get involved and Cassie who distrusts the police immensely is the number one suspect.

Narrated by Cassie and then also DS Flyte this is a fast paced read with short snappy chapters that held me in complete rapture. With a unique protagonist, Carrie not only spoke to the dead she spoke to me. I too was obsessed by death, horror and the macabre from a young age and I find it more strange that people shy away from it. We are all going to get there eventually after all.

So if you fancy a crime thriller with a difference and a complicated unusual main character, this will pull you in with the back story and keep you there with the deftly crafted plot.

Body Language is the first instalment in a new supernatural thriller series, set in Camden, London and featuring 25-year-old mortuary technician Cassie Raven, a goth-girl living with her Polish grandma, whose parents were killed in a car accident before she could remember them. She a loner, an introvert who is cynical and doesn't trust people easily unless they've earned it. The job suits her; the dead sometimes ‘speak’ to her and she has visions of their lives before they died. These fleeting ‘communications’ are a source of intrigue and comfort to Cassie but don’t spill over into her life outside work. Cassie’s world is rocked when her old science teacher, 51-year-old Geraldine Edwards, is brought into the morgue – Cassie owes her a great deal as she saved her from a life of drugs and homelessness by tempting her back into education – and is perturbed by the inconclusive autopsy. Meanwhile, the body of elderly Harold Hardwick vanishes from the morgue and fingers are pointed at Cassie – it was her passcode that was used to gain entry. When the missing body is found in a bag in the canal five days later DS Phyllida Flyte is called in to investigate and when Cassie herself is attacked she begins to wonder whether these things may be connected and sets off to investigate…

This is a compulsive, engrossing and twisty read, and although I'm not usually a fan of thrillers with a supernatural element to them, it worked brilliantly in this case. It's well written and carefully plotted, and protagonist, Cassie, is a breath of fresh air; she has an intriguing backstory, she's flawed and human and a tad weird which all makes her very relatable. She's also a quirky and refreshingly original character and the type we rarely see in crime fiction. Unique, compelling and spirited, Cassie Raven is a captivating character and Alison Turner weaves a clever story that keeps you guessing the whole way with great twists and turns. It's a compelling read from first page to last and the way it is written it just flows beautifully and you quickly become immersed in Cassie’s world. It's well-paced, gripping and entertaining, although I wasn't sure about DS Flyte, who came across as a judgemental battle-axe who appears emotionally cold and initially this makes her quite abrasive. She’s certainly interesting, though, and the two get off on the wrong foot at the beginning but mellow as it progresses. There's also a lot of information about forensics and mortuary etiquette, which I found fascinating. This riveting and thoroughly enjoyable page-turner comes highly recommended.

"From her first day in the mortuary five years ago it had felt totally natural to talk to the bodies in her care, to treat them as if they were still alive — still people. Occasionally they would even answer."
 
Body Language introduces us to a new and original voice in crime fiction. Cassie Raven is a goth mortuary assistant who secretly believes the dead speak to her, practices taxidermy in her free time and has held a fascination with the dead since childhood. It goes without saying that she's viewed as strange by some. But I liked this complex, flawed and slightly offbeat protagonist. 

When the body of her former teacher, mentor and friend Geraldine Edwards is brought into the morgue following her sudden death, Cassie is hit by not only a tidal wave of grief, but the feeling that this wasn't a natural death. When the police and pathologist rule out foul play she decides to listen to what the body is telling her and embarks on her own investigation. 

This was an entertaining read. It took me a while to get into, but asked halfway through the pace picked up and oozed tension. From that point on I was unable to stop reading and stayed up until the early hours finishing the whole thing. 

The novel is full of interesting and memorable characters and storylines that feel both far-fetched and relatable. The author's examination of grief and trauma stood out to me in particular for the sensitive, moving and realistic way in which it is portrayed. And Cassie isn't our only protagonist. We are also told the story from the point of view of DS Phyllida Flyte. She and Cassie are poles apart and yet at their core they are very much like. They are both strong women who are seen as outsiders and believe in fighting to get the answers and justice that victims deserve. I liked how the pair paralleled each other while instantly disliking each other and enjoyed watching the slow shift in their dynamic over the course of the book. 

A tense, twists, darkly humorous and sometimes grisly read that keeps you guessing, this is a great start to a new series. I'm especially excited to see where the author takes Cassie next after the jaw-dropping conclusion.

Body Language - A.K Turner

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Zaffre and Netgalley. 

Camden mortuary assistant Cassie Raven has pretty much seen it all. But this is the first time she's come face to face with someone she knows on the slab. Someone she cared about. Her friend and mentor, Mrs E. Deeply intuitive and convinced that she can pick up the last thoughts of the dead, Cassie senses that there must be more to the ruling of an accidental death. Is her grief making her see things that aren't there, or is her intuition right, and there's something more sinister to her friend's death than the ME thinks? 
Harbouring an innate distrust of the police, Cassie sets out to investigate and deliver justice to the woman who saved her life.

Cassie is dedicated to her job as a mortuary assistant, she listens to what the dead have to say. When her friend Geraldine turns up in the mortuary, Cassie is determined that the cause of death isn’t as obvious as it seems. 

For fans of crime and mystery, this book has been left open to turn into a series. If you are a fan of Silent Witness, then this is the book for you. 

Rating: 4/5

The cover and blurb of this book really appealed to me, with the tools in the image it could have been gruesome but, I didn’t find it so. I found this a slow-burner and would have liked more to have happened sooner but, really enjoyed it when the plot started to evolve and at the point of Cassie being chased I couldn’t race through the pages fast enough and felt like I was running with her! Cassie wanted to find out the real cause of her friend Mrs E’s death DS and this led to her playing detective in a hurry before the cremation of the body and therefore the destruction of any potential evidence. DS Flytes’ character intrigued me and we learned more about her as she softened through the book, I liked the relationship she was forming and the respect she had for Cassie. The ending took a few twists and turns and not what I had thought would happen; I really enjoyed that!

I loved this book, I thought Cassie was a really good lead character, I liked the fact she was so quirky, and feisty and a very original character. I knew this book was going to be a bit different from the description, and I loved that ,.it was refreshing to read such a fresh take on this genre. I liked the pace of the book, the other characters in it and the plot kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Cassie Raven, a mortuary technician. She take her job very seriously with a personal touch. She talks to the dead, she treats them with respect.
One day a new body is brought in, only to find it was an old teacher of hers, who she had an incredible bond with. Something about her death just dosent sit right woth Cassie, she investigates further, hitting many obstacles on the way, she never gives up.

Ummm wow!!! I absolutely loved Cassie!! I loved her personality and dedication. I though she was fab. Wasnt too sure on Flyte to begin with, but she didn't grow on me!
It found it so easy to get lost in this one. It was brilliantly gripping, and the twists completly blind sided me. Just as I thought I'd figured it all out, something else happened to throw me off. A hard one to put down. Well deserved 5 stars from me. I can say with confidence that it is a must read!!

If you liked the series Bones then this is the book for you. A good police procedural and a lot of medical research.  A good thriller that kept me entertained. The start of a new series. Almost four stars. 
Thanks to Bonnier Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Laboured mortuary set crime caper that drags with two underdeveloped mystery elements.

Having enjoyed A.K Turner’s Kiszka and Kershaw novels written under her pen name of Anya Lipska I was keen to read Body Language, despite the kooky premise of a mortuary technician with a sixth sense communing with the dead.  Twenty-five-year-old Cassie Raven is an archetypical rebel with tattoos, piercings, a shaved undercut and a serious mistrust of the police but she is also very conscientious and not to underestimated.  Having worked as a mortuary technician for five years and acquired enough qualifications at evening classes to train to become a coroner she prides herself on treating the dead with respect and taking the utmost care of her clients.  Brought up by his Polish grandmother after her parents died in a car crash in her early years, Cassie has long had a strange relationship with death and has difficulty forming lasting romantic relationships, being reluctant to let people in.

Cassie’s personal involvement in her job goes to new lengths when she unzips a body bag to be confronted by the face of the woman who taught her science and was pivotal in taking her from squats and casual drug usage to her current career.  Discovering that Geraldine Edwards (“Mrs E”) was only fifty-one and in the best of health, Cassie gets a intuitive feeling that there is something a little fishy about the way she died.  Deciding to do a bit of her own investigating and ensure Mrs E gets the justice she deserves Cassie is surprised to learn about her recent engagement and the arrival of her alcoholic adult son pushing for a quick cremation adds to her concerns.  Meanwhile the theft of a body overnight from the mortuary sees the officious DS Phyllida Flyte arrive to investigate.  A recent transfer from leafy Winchester for personal reasons and none too keen on her grubby new beat, DS Flyte quickly takes a dislike to Cassie’s alternative appearance and surly demeanour and makes her number one suspect for the body theft.  As the gradual frostiness between cop and mortuary technician thaws, each coming to realise that they might both be able to help each other, Cassie decides to shed some light on the missing body in return for DS Flyte doing a little bit of digging about the circumstances of Mrs E’s death.

Although there are two mystery elements at play I didn’t find either particularly compelling not helped by the fact that so much is overexplained, slowing the narrative down and dragging the story out.  Whether Cassie experiences the apparitions and words of the recently deceased or whether she projects them onto the customers she is taking care of is not made entirely clear but either way I found it a far too tenuous starting point for a realistic mystery, particularly one that uptight DS Phyllida Flyte’s goes to entirely unrealistic lengths to investigate.  Narrated in the third person the story switches between focusing on Cassie and DS Flyte, allowing the reader to be privy to both of their separate efforts.  Overall I just think the book tried too hard to be edgy and descended into a stupidly far-fetched caper with policing along the lines of a cosy mystery.  The main characters had me cringing and Cassie’s supposedly druggy past and DS Phyllida Flyte’s awkward persona were harped on about to the point that it became tiresome.  

Despite being set in a mortuary the story isn’t dark or gritty at all and both mystery elements become a little farcical and I doubt I will be following any future outings.  I was, however, very impressed with the obvious amount of research undertaken and the author did a superb job of broadening my knowledge of the post-mortem procedure and illustrating the differences between a routine and a forensic post-mortem.

You may know A.K.Turner better as the author who writes under the pen name of Anya Lipska with her ‘Kiszka and Kershaw’ thriller series.
“Body Language” is her first crime novel under her real name and features Camden mortuary assistant Cassie Raven. 
When a body comes into Cassie’s mortuary that she recognises as her old friend and former teacher Mrs E, she is convinced that the ruling of death as an accident doesn’t feel right. Does she trust her instinct and investigate the death herself? With her deep rooted distrust of the police, she is determined to serve justice for her old mentor on her own but is she putting herself in danger? Will DS Phyllida Flyte who suspects Cassie as being involved in another incident at the morgue, start to come around to her way of thinking?
Although this story does require some suspension of disbelief - with Cassie being able to hear thoughts from the dead - this was quite an enjoyable read. I didn’t like Cassie at first, she came across as a rather unusual character with quite a unique personality but I do have to admit, she did grow on me as the story developed. DS Flyte on the other hand was an extremely strange and unique police detective which I’m not convinced was actually realistic in today’s policing. 
The plot was certainly entertaining enough, though there were a few ‘eye rolling’ and ‘raised eyebrow’ moments which I’m not sure were needed in the narrative. I find it hard to believe that ‘fishcakes’ as an exclamation used by a Detective Sergeant, would be a viable and authentic use of language but I assume the author was trying to create a character, who was not the norm and had her own distinctive ways.
The pace picked up towards the end and ventured into a decent crime thriller and although “Body Language” was a tad far fetched it was entertaining enough in its own right.
An abundance of graphic mortuary descriptions and anatomical detail just proves the extensive research carried out by the author. If you’re squeamish or recently bereaved this may not be for you but I found the process of post mortems and the delicate handling of dead bodies, an overall informative read. 

3 stars

This book gripped me from the first page, it was one of those books that I picked up in every spare moment just to read the next little bit. 

Cassie was such an engaging character and her determination to find answers and look after the dead in her care made her very likeable. She felt very ‘real’, with a plausible history and a real sense of self.

DS Flyte was also an interesting character and her experiences of joining a new team and feeling like an outsider also rang true. The two of them made a brilliant ‘odd pairing’ and it was interesting to watch their interactions over the course of the book. 

The mortuary setting was interesting and the author handled it really well, it never felt gratuitous, instead it was an examination of a part of life that comes to all of us in the end. 

An excellent story with characters who were well rounded from the start. I very much hope we will see more of Cassie Raven and DS Flyte in future.

This is a great debut novel introducing some wonderful characters that I'm looking forward to reading more about in future books: Cassie, the mortuary assistant who can't be taken at face value, and DS Flyte, an uptight cold fish who may have hidden depths. 

The investigation of the crime, like with a lot of this style of novel, may need a little belief suspension to allow for the story moving on & clues to be found, but I was happy to do this as it wasn't completely ridiculous. 

The story was well paced & reminiscent of early Kathy Reichs & Patricia Cornwell, not just for its subject matter but for it's very readable style.

Unfortunately I was unable to gel with this book and haven’t been able to finish. 
I will not be writing a negative review as that is unfair to the author and I will revisit this as I’m aware I’m a mood reader. Updated review to follow.

I loved this book right from the first page.  There was just something about the main character Cassie that gave so much heart and soul to this story.  She is a troubled character but a good kind person who treats the dead with so much tenderness.  She is very sensitive and intuitive and so believes she hears the last thoughts of the dead.  The story was very well thought out with a good ending and a hint that there may be more darker stories with Cassie to come....

Cassie Raven is a mortuary assistant in Camden who has seen it all but for the first time she comes face to face with someone she knows well and cared for.  Affectionately known as Mrs E, Cassie senses and refuses to accept that her friend’s death was accidental.  Not trusting the police Cassie sets out to investigate her friends murder, making some unlikely friends and discoveries about herself along the way.

This book was interesting i think its sometimes hard to get into a book when you can overly relate to chatacters so i did struggle in places and realt it dragged a little bit however i really did like cassies and fealt for her towards the end the same with the police lady.