Jonathan Hayes Books In Order

Publication Order of Dr. Edward Jenner Books

Jonathan Hayes is an English author and veteran forensic pathologist. He has also written articles for publications like the New York Times and GQ.

+Biography

Jonathan Hayes was born in England. The early years of his childhood were spent in Jamaica. He also got to visit New York City and it left such an impact on him that he left having vowed to return and live there someday.

The author went to boarding school in the United Kingdom. That paved the way for medical School in London, a course in Pathology in Boston and further studies in the area of forensics in Miami.

Hayes proceeded to become a medical examiner in New York City and participated in the identification of the victims of 9/11.

As a child, Hayes was never squeamish. He wasn’t drawn to blood or grotesque images but they did not scare him either. At St. Thomas’ Medical School in London, the author remembers being excited by the prospect of cutting into a real human body.

The actual experience did not meet his expectations because the bodies they handled had been embalmed. They didn’t really feel like people to Hayes. Though, the author admits that those first few incisions presented a challenge.

The subcutaneous fat made everything slippery and the bodies had a searing scent. But after a few minutes, Hayes was fine. His first real encounter with blood did not come until they started surgery.

Hayes remembers leaving the operating room with entire pints of blood in his boots. The experience also gave him a new appreciation for the human body because he got to see up close how every organ and blood vessel worked to maintain the spark of life.

Hayes eventually left St. Thomas and moved to the United States to study Pathology. The author immediately regretted the decision. The field, while vitally important, was also quite dull.

And the best part of Jonathan Hayes’ days were the hours he spent hanging out with the medical examiners in his building. And that was where his love for forensics was sparked.

While pathology and forensics share a few aspects, Hayes found that forensics brought with it a story. So Hayes took the first opportunity he got to move to Miami and study forensics.

The author remembers being astounded by the diversity of Miami. The location had a massive South American population that caused a shift of sorts in culture. It was an absurd life that Hayes lived for a while, and that was without all the dead bodies he was called to examine.

Where others might have balked at the blood and violence, Jonathan Hayes’ English sensibilities saw adventure in the murder and crime scenes of Miami. He loved looking at dead bodies, gleaning vital information, working with police officers and even testifying in court.

It felt like he was part of a Hollywood film. And for a long time, the author reveled in the madness, largely because he became desensitized to death, learning to treat it as some abstract force that happened to other people.

But then Hayes’ lost a colleague, a fellow medical examiner. And then 9/11 happened and it all became too real. Hayes never abandoned the forensics field but his perception of things changed. The adventure of it all began to fade.

The author has since traveled the world giving lectures on Forensics. Hayes’ lectures are normally targeted towards law enforcement organizations looking to diversify their forensic techniques.

Hayes’ literary career began in 2007, though he is still known more for his work as a pathologist and medical examiner.

Outside of those two fields, Hayes has a wide variety of interests, and he blames his addictions and obsessions on his scientist of a father and artist of a mother who sparked in him a desire to try and understand all things.

As such, Hayes is very passionate about music, especially the electronic stuff. He loves movies and television, and he also adores video games. That isn’t even taking into account his curiosity for fine art and photography.

Hayes’ list of interests is so long that it is a wonder he ever finds time to write.

+Literary Career

Jonathan Hayes grew up reading American Pastoral by Philip Roth, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and T.S. Elliot’s many poems.

Hayes read stories and poems because they gave him a new appreciation for the beauty of language. And he read both fiction and nonfiction. He remembers having a penchant for violent thrillers.

Though, his teenage years forced Jonathan Hayes’ reading habits to stagnate. By that time, he knew he would go into medicine. That meant discarding anything artistic in favor of exclusively reading science-related literature.

By the time the author cemented his place as a medical examiner and pathologist and could afford to diversify his reading habits, he found that he had such a backlog of fiction to consume that he spends so much of his time trying to catch up.

The author started out writing articles on music and culture and the nightclub scene in his local area. He got into food and proceeded to produce numerous articles on gastronomy for publications like GQ.

His first novel, Precious Blood, came out in 2007 and it allowed the author to use his extensive pathology and forensic skills to tell hard-boiled procedurals.

+Precious Blood

Edward Jenner left the forensics business after September 11. He is forced out of retirement when the mutilated remains of a young student are found hanging on the wall.

Jenner’s extensive skills tell him that they have a serial killer on their hands. Jenner must pit his wits against those of an elusive psychopath that always seems ten steps ahead of the police.

Drawn back into the dark streets of New York City, this is one case that will test Jenner’s physical, mental, and emotional limits.

+A Hard Death

Edward Jenner brought the serial killings haunting New York to an end. He should have been celebrated. Instead, the powers that be saw fit to suspends his medical license and banish him to Douglas County in Coastal Florida.

Jenner is ready to settle into the seaside resort of Port Fontaine as the new medical examiner. Unfortunately, Douglas isn’t quite as safe and sound as people think. First, a former mentor dies.

Then a mysterious phone call leads Jenner to a discovery in the Everglades he’d rather forget. There’s a shadowy criminal conspiracy at play and Jenner is determined to get to the bottom of it.

One Response to “Jonathan Hayes”

1. Mary guajardo: 11 months ago

   Love love love precious blood. Can’t wait to read mire

   Reply