The Cleaners: Absent Bodies

In the dark tradition of Los Angeles noir, The Cleaners is the story of a ragtag team of for-hire trauma-scene cleaners led by ex-surgeon Robert Bellarmine. Contracted with sanitizing some of the nastiest crime and accident scenes in the tri-county L.A. basin, the team battles against what could only be described as the grim, unknowable face of the supernatural. But by focusing on the scientific explanation, no matter how aberrant or extraordinary, they counteract centuries-old superstition to prove things are seldom what they seem... In Absent Bodies, Bellarmine and his crew take on a series of gruesome tasks starting with a bloodbath that covers an entire neighborhood. This investigation leads them toward uncovering a disturbing mystery involving missing people - mostly children - which dates back longer than the history of the city itself.

From Booklist

Devotees of forensics TV shows like CSI and its spin-offs are the target audience for this riveting tale about a freelance crime-scene clean-up crew. Team leader Robert Bellarmine is an L.A.-based ex-surgeon with a knack for reeling in clients by stoking fears of blood-borne contamination. He also has more than a passing interest in conducting his own behind-the-scenes investigations, as in this episode involving the discovery of multiple blood types splattered over an L.A. back alley. With his dual-purpose cleaner crew helping with the legwork, Bellarmine is soon uncovering clues connected to decades-old missing-children cases and a mysterious figure with a deadly taste for blood. Not one to indulge superstitions, however, Bellarmine uses his scientific training both to identify the killer as a woman with a rare blood disorder and to keep her subdued during a final showdown. Artist Rahsan Ekedal’s full-color illustration is superb, complete with jarring perspectives and CSI-like close-ups of tissue samples. An outstanding debut of a promising series. --Carl Hays

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