Fifteen-year-old Harris Johnson, much to the distress of his mother, has long been interested in what happens to the dead. When he gets a work experience position at the State Coroner’s Office he’s thrilled – he’ll get to see what involved in determining cause of death. He thoroughly enjoys the experience, rotating through the grief counsellors’ office, sitting in on a case, inputting data, and learning about the many people required to solve the mystery of unclear deaths. He’s protected from actually seeing bodies, and has no particular desire to change that.
When, a few days after he starts, the body of a young woman is brought in though, the exercise becomes less academic and more real – Tansy is a murder victim, the daughter of one of the Coronial pathologists, and Harris had played with her as a child. The media attention to the case, the activities of a journalist, and an attempt on his own life, spur him on and Harris discovers links between Tansy’s case and a long-unsolved murder.
There’s no description of any distressing post-mortem details (not even a passing description of the autopsy suite), making it suitable for squeamish readers, and the chief effect of the book is normalise and encourage an interest in this vital area of health care. This is a strong and engrossing YA novel that conveys a strong but understated sense of place, an absorbing and believable plot paired with a protagonist who noticeably matures and grows over the course of the book. I’m hoping Pausacker has a sequel in the wings. - Alex
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