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.

Body Language by A K Turner is such a unique crime thriller. It’s one of the most original crime novels I’ve read in a long while.

I really liked Cassie, who is the lead protagonist. She works in a mortuary, and she is a character who has a unique interest in dead bodies. It’s something she has been fascinated by since she was a child, from around the time of her mother’s death. Back then, she would bring home dead animals to study. Even she sometimes looks back on the interests she had as a child and thinks they were strange interests to have. But her grandmother, says otherwise and has never been slightly perturbed by her granddaughter’s interests. I really liked Cassie’s relationship with her grandmother; her grandmother is a straight talker, and she doesn’t appear to be afraid of anything.

I liked how Cassie treated the bodies of the deceased she is working with. Cassie claims that the dead can talk, but people just need to listen. She is really attentive towards them, and she treats them still as if they were living and breathing and with respect as well. But things begin to take an interesting turn when the body of her former teacher turns up at the mortuary. Cassie is concerned that there may be something more to her teacher’s death than first meets the eye. But it will take a lot of convincing on her part to get the police to investigate further. Cassie is determined, however, to make sure that if someone is responsible for the woman’s death, that they do face justice.

The other character who I liked was Detective Flyte. She and Cassie get off on the wrong foot right at the beginning, but throughout the novel, they begin to develop a friendship. I’m interested to see how this will progress in future books. I’m hoping that there are going to be many more books to come in this series.
Although this is quite a dark novel, there are some moments of humour as well. Although it sounds quite macabre, there is one particular scene with a human skull in a bathroom which did make me smile.

Body Language is cleverly plotted, and I’m really excited to read more from this series. If you’re a crime fiction fan, then you definitely need to add this to your to be read pile. I loved it. I’m looking forward to seeing where A K Turner will take Cassie next.

This is the first book of a series following Cassie, a mortuary technician and DS Flyte.

I have to confess that I have chosen this book because it sounded like Kathy Reichs books but I have to say I have mixed feeling about it.
Although the blurb and cover intrigued me I didn’t really realise that Cassie could actually hear the dead. Although it might interest other readers and it works well for the story, it is not something I particularly enjoyed.

I enjoyed the bickering relationship between Cassie and DI Flyte and I really thought I would enjoy the mystery (despite Cassie’s “power”) but I felt that the mysteries were just a bit too bland. There are some nice twists and I enjoyed to see the motives and how the plot was going to develop but it never completely got me hooked or made me feel that urge to keep turning the pages.

Overall, I liked it but didn’t really loved this book. I would still recommend it as it was a good mystery book and I would like to see what happens next but haven’t yet been completely sold out on this series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK/ Zaffre for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Personally I found this to be a very strange book and I couldn't get into the story line. I read to about 25% but then gave up, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

A gritty new series featuring unconventional mortuary assistant Cassie Raven and by the books detective Phyllida Flyte. Both have mysteries of their own to be revealed alongside solving the crimes that bring them together.
The characters in the story are perhaps more engaging than the crimes they solve in this first book, but things are revealed which hint at darker and more interesting strands for future stories.

AK Turner writes an engaging crime mystery set in London and featuring an intriguing and edgy Camden mortuary technician, 25 year old Cassie Raven, a goth with her dyed hair, lip ring, eyebrow bolt, and wariness of the police. Conscientious Cassie takes her care of the dead seriously, even staying with dead children through the night, gifted with the ability to talk to the dead. She lost her parents very young in a car crash, brought up by her beloved bright and courageous Polish grandmother who has never been forthcoming about her father, although she had never hid her dislike of him. Cassie developed early in childhood an affinity with dead animals, she is currently doing a online beginner's course in taxidermy, and spent time living in squats in her past. She is the textbook loner, reluctant to let people too close her, which has resulted in all her relationships, with men and women, being of short duration.

A new pathologist has started, Dr Archie Cuff, a man who makes the common mistake of underestimating Cassie's abilities, she has often proved to be of invaluable help to pathologists, due to her education and experience. Totally loving her work and at home with the dead, Cassie is shocked when her surrogate mother, mentor and science teacher, 51 year old Mrs Geraldine Edwards's body turns up at the mortuary. Mrs E. was responsible for rescuing Cassie from a bleak future of drugs and the streets, believing in her and building her self esteem, bringing her back into education and responsible for her working in her current profession. Cassie cannot believe Mrs E. has died so young, leaving behind a son, Owen, that she cannot help trying to find out what happened to her. In the meantime, there are strange goings on at the mortuary when the body of an elderly man is taken at night. This brings in the police, a uptight, judgemental DS Phyllida Flyte, who initially views Cassie as a prime suspect, but the two eventually tentatively begin to become closer.

AK Turner's new series is well plotted and well written, an absorbing piece of crime fiction with a terrific and unusual protagonist in Cassie, driven to do all that she can to ensure justice for Mrs E., a teacher who had been instrumental in turning her life around. Cassie contrasts sharply as a character with Flyte, a police officer with a traumatic history of grief and loss she has yet to come terms with. Turner develops their relationship with skill, I presume laying the groundwork for what I assume will turn out to be first of a series featuring the two of them. This is a compulsive and entertaining read, that I think will particularly appeal to those who love forensic science playing a leading role in their crime fiction. Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for an ARC.

Lots of very interesting characters,especially Cassie the mortuary technician with a difference. A storyline which kept my interest and held lots of surprises. A good read.

I absolutely loved this crime novel and it's unique creation, mortuary technician Cassie Raven. Cassie listens to the bodies in the mortuary for the stories they can tell her about their deaths. this becomes very personal when she finds herself examining her ex science teacher and mentor and is not prepared to accept the pathologist's verdict of accidental death.
Cassie is a likeable, realistic character that I really found myself rooting for. I loved the setting and the dark humour in this book and can't wait for the next book in the series.
Highly recommended.
Many Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC

Body Language is such a brilliant title for this crime drama centred around Cassie a pathology assistant. Cassie is a wonderful main character whose outward appearance most people find to be at odds with her moral and spiritual code. She's certainly someone I'd like to learn even more about.

A compelling read that I totally recommend.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

Cassie Raven is a mortuary technician who can hear the dead (suspend disbelief here). Cassie is very stereotypical goth/mortuary tech trope; but it’s a good story.

Someone Cassie knows well ends up on the table and she doggedly pursues what she believes to be a suspicious death with a difficult detective; an excellently written Phyllida Flyte, an uncompromising, play by the rules detective new to Camden.


It’s a good debut and I would be interested if this becomes a series.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in return for an honest review.

Cassie works in the morgue. She treats the dead as if they were alive and talks to them. Sometimes they talk back! Not through speech but quietly in another sense. Like the last unsaid words.

When her former teacher and good friend Mrs E, who was like a mother to her, is brought in. She doesn't hear anything at first....

A body goes missing from the morgue and Cassie is the prime suspect. During an incident in her youth she has a mistrust of the police. Can Cassie solve the mystery surrounding Mrs E's death?

I really enjoyed this mystery book. I was fascinated by sassy Cassie's job as a morgue technician and her interesting views on death, even her hobby as a taxidermist. Mainly wrote from Cassie's point of view it also had the policewoman's thoughts. Both characters had interesting backgrounds

Cassie Raven herself is an interesting character.
From her looks,to her job,to her ability to "hear" the dead.
For me though,she was as interesting as it got,and I found the rest of the story just not that interesting.
It picked up at the end,but it's not one that will stick with me.

Forensics are now part and parcel of crime investigations both in real life and fiction. They can make or break cases in court, especially as some jury members think they understand all the forensic details having watched a few episodes of CSI. Authors nowadays have to be on top of the forensics, to be sure that what’s being written is realistic. It’s clear that A.K. Turner has very much done her research.

Novels set in mortuaries have been around for quite a while but there’s a new girl in town and her name is Cassie Raven. With dyed black hair, piercings and tattoos, she’s not your average mortuary technician. And thank goodness for that. A.K. Turner has breathed fresh life into a setting that has to remain within the rules of science. Cassie is a wonderful character with a fascinating backstory. She’s intelligent enough to become a pathologist but being a technician allows us far more insight. Not everyone needs a full forensic post mortem so Cassie mostly deals with unexplained deaths. As well as bringing her expertise to the table, Cassie also has another skill – the dead talk to her. Cassie’s supernatural talent allows her to look at the evidence in a new way. The problem comes though when the dead person talking to her is a dear friend.

DS Phyllida Flyte, the other narrator in Body Language, is the polar opposite of Cassie – uptight, judgemental and pedantic when it comes to upholding the law. She’s also new to London after leaving Winchester so she’s struggling to fit in. The two women clash from the outset but if they’re going to find the truth, they’ll have to learn to trust each other.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot, not least because it’s quite involved and I don’t want to give anything away. But what I will say is that A.K. Turner looks at death and grief in an incredibly sensitive way. There’s one very poignant moment (you’ll know when you get to it) that brought tears to my eyes.

Overall this is a fantastic book that is crying out to be made into a TV series. Cassie Raven is highly original and I look forward to reading more. Her partnership with DS Flyte is set to run and run.

I think this is the first in a new crime series starring mortuary technician Cassie Raven and if so, I am all for it. While many don’t understand Cassie’s keenness for her work, they don’t know that she’s able to read or listen to those under her care. In some cases, she’s able to get clues and snippets of information that relate to how they died. But when a former teacher of Cassie’s is brought in, a woman who she credits for getting her life back on track, Cassie knows she must do all she can to solve the mystery – even if no one else believes there to be one. Couple this with a family set-up that will surprise you until the end of the book, a new police officer who is more concerned with rules and regulations than getting the job done, and worrying developments in the mortuary and you have a cracking read. When’s the next one out?