But, why hasn’t her valued friend sent her a message from beyond the grave?Ĭassie is a ‘face’ in Camden’s nightlife, but most of the time, she’d rather be at home, stuffing one of the squirrel carcases she keeps in her kitchen fridge. Few people would be capable of doing this for someone they knew, but to Cassie, it is a sign of respect and a final act of gratitude. When fifty-one year old Mrs E dies suddenly and her body is brought to the mortuary, Cassie proceeds with the post-mortem in spite of feeling devastated. Because of this, Cassie completed her education and is now a senior technician, responsible for carrying out post-mortems and supervising the activities of junior staff. tracked Cassie down when she was living rough and selling the Big Issue, and persuaded her to attend the classes she taught at the Community College. The death of Cassie’s old science teacher catapults her into the world of police investigations. It looks as if there is no future for this collaboration, but when their bosses attempt to play down incidents related to the death of Cassie’s mentor, the two young women are united by concern and find a way to work together. The mortuary technician is equally repelled by the detective’s colour co-ordinated pale pink finger nails. Having recently transferred to one of the most edgy districts in London from an idyllic small town, Flyte finds Cassie’s dyed black hair, eyebrow bolt and lip ring alienating. When DS Phyllida Flyte arrives at the mortuary to investigate the theft of the body of an elderly man who died of natural causes, communication problems soon develop. However, being a committed Camden Goth, Cassie makes an exception for the constabulary. As the plot of Body Language unfolds, Cassie is revealed as an empathic listener, equally open to the living and to those transitioning to the next world. Her job as a mortuary technician gives full rein to her natural affinity with death, which is also expressed through her fascination with dead animals and her enrolment in an online course in taxidermy. That’s the philosophy of twenty-five year old Cassie Raven, whose secret super-power is ‘hearing’ messages from those who have recently passed away.

Respect the newly dead, and they will share their stories.

Body language ak turner