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Without Mercy: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass (William Morrow, $26.99, 342 pages)

As we headed to the Anthropology Department’s pickup truck, the back loaded with body bags, shovels, rakes, cameras, and anything else we might need to work a death scene, I felt a surge of energy – excitement, even – and for the moment, at least, I forgot to be morose about the prospect of Miranda’s graduation and departure.

Faithful readers of the celebrated Body Farm novels will delight in the measured pace taken by the authors to gently move into a tale bound to contain ghastly examples of man’s inhumanity to man. Before the shocking jolt brought on by the remains of a crime, there are the beautiful descriptions of the locale, usually on or near the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Along with the botany and geography, one can expect information regarding the sociologic background of the region where the tale takes place.

A call for assistance has come to Dr. Bill Brockton from Jim O’Conner, sheriff of Cooke County. As with many of the past requests for assistance received by the UT Anthropology Department, the remains of a crime discovered long past its commission pose a difficult challenge for Sheriff O’Conner and his deputy, Waylon. Dr. Brockton and his PhD candidate/assistant, Miranda Lovelady, drop what they are doing and get on the road to help their friends.

What makes this, the tenth book in the Body Farm series, unique is that it ties together a new plot line with an old one that has been revived with a twist. Moreover, there’s a surprise ending. Rather than posting a spoiler alert, this reviewer encourages loyal readers to consider the time, effort and painstaking care that goes into the creation of these books. The authors provide well-written, well-researched and heartfelt novels worthy of the praise that they have earned.

A world in which fiction characters live out their destiny is all the more enjoyable when the basic foundation is located in the real world. On a recent weekend, this reviewer and her husband were having an early Saturday dinner at a local restaurant. Of course there were televisions mounted in the corners of the dining room playing the afternoon college football games one expects to see. The game nearest our table featured the University of Tennessee Volunteers. The game held no fascination for me; however, when the camera pulled away from the field for a long view of the stadium, I nearly screamed, “OMG, it’s Neyland! Dr. Brockton’s office is underneath it!” That’s a real testament to the fascination and connection the Body Farm novels have created for me.

Thank you Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass.

Highly recommended.

Ruta Arellano

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

This book was released on October 4, 2016.

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It Takes Two

Writing Teams Present Prequels to Their Mystery Series

A Fine Summer’s Day: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd (HarperLuxe, $26.99, 368 pages)

Just months before the outbreak of the Great War, Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard anticipates a wonderful future with a beautiful woman. The peril that his country will face isn’t yet a concern. His life as an inspector is satisfying and he uses his instincts while he chases after killers.

At the outset of the book, a series of events are presented to the reader in order to establish their gravity as they coalesce into the tale that unfolds thereafter. Rutledge is a 24-year-old who sees a great life ahead for himself, his fiance, Jean, and his beloved sister, Frances. Together they will become a new family after the loss of his parents. The notion of those left behind, surviving family members, runs through the book.

The mother and son writing team billed as Charles Todd has produced a prequel of sorts, or perhaps a reflection of the pre-World War I challenges and choices faced by Rutledge. Unique to this writing team is the balance between male and female points of view and characterizations.

The resulting tale reads not as neutral, but rather as a subtle balance between points of view. The plot is enriched by myriad details – be they scenery, modes of transportation, clothing, manners or class distinctions specific to the time period in which this complex English mystery occurs.

Highly recommended.

The Breaking Point: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass (William Morrow, $26.99, 373 pages)

As the 10th novel in the series opens, Dr. Bill Brockton is in his element at the Body Farm located at the University of Tennessee. Offering wry humor to FBI agents studying decomposition to aid them in solving crimes. The time is June 18, 2004. This tells the reader that a flashback/prequel is about to unfold.

Brockton, for lovers of mysteries who have not yet discovered the series, is a warm, caring man whose unlikely expertise brings him into startling crime scene investigations as he assists law enforcement agencies all over the USA. He exhibits reverence and respect for the bodies entrusted to his first-of-its-kind research facility.

The crime scene this time around is a fiery private plane crash site in southern California. The victim is a philanthropist who Brockton and his equally talented wife, Kathleen Walker Brockton, Ph.D., have supported with both financial and personal time and effort donations. The loss of this man is not the only one to be endured in the tale.

The writing duo, Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson, are head and shoulders above other writers of the same genre (i.e., Patricia Cornwell). This novel puts a lock on their ability to engage their readers with facts, gore (though tempered just this side of grossness) and compassion for the suffering of mankind.

The Breaking Point is a deeply moving tale that fills in the events in the years preceding the rest of the books in this fascinating and educational series. Family, trust, caring and civic duty make their presence notable in a struggle between good and evil of many sorts. No spoilers here out of respect for the talent this awesome twosome display in book after book.

Highly recommended.

Ruta Arellano

Review copies were provided by the publishers.

Brand New Key

The Inquisitor’s Key by Jefferson Bass (William Morrow, $25.99, 350 pages)

“I had never stayed in a place this fancy, and surely never would – the rooms start at eight hundred dollars a night – but how could I pass up a chance to take Miranda to a swanky restaurant that bore her name?”

Dr. Bill Brockton is back on the trail of a historic mystery in this, the seventh book in the Body Farm series.   Authors, Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson, who together write as Jefferson Bass, have produced several novels based on the work of Dr. Bass – a highly-respected forensic anthropologist.   (See a review of The Bone Yard posted earlier on this site.)   As is their custom, the authors put Dr. Brockton in the role of narrator.   The action in The Inquisitor’s Key takes place primarily in Avignon, France.   Dr. B’s assistant, Miranda Lovelady, puts out a medical distress call to him from her post in Avignon and he drops everything he’s working on in Tennessee to fly to her side.

Dan Brown’s 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code, seems to have made an impression on the authors as there are some thematic similarities to this story.   The Catholic Church made Avignon the home of the Papacy during the span of years between 1309 and 1376.   The cruelty of one pope in particular, the commercial value of religious artifacts and the Inquisition are the focal points of the tale.   As a fan of the Body Farm mysteries might guess, there are bones to be authenticated and Dr. Brockton is the expert who is called upon to lead the analysis.

The technique of alternating between time periods at the same location is one used by the authors in The Bone Yard and it’s put to good use in this novel as well.   Charming cross references between present day spiritualist Eckhart Tolle and Meister Johannes Eckhart of the early 14th century create a bridge between the widely separated periods in time.

Dr. Brockton’s view on death has broadened in this book and so has his take on what he wants from life.   The underlying philosophical journey brings him and Miranda to a thrilling and deadly conclusion.   Ah, but wait, there are bound to be more books forthcoming from the Jefferson Bass duo.   This reviewer is counting on more, please!

Highly recommended.

Ruta Arellano

A review copy was provided by the publisher.   Here is a review of The Bone Yard: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass:

https://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/monster-mash/

Coming Up Next…

A review of The Inquisitor’s Key: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass.

Coming Up Next…

A review of The Bone Yard: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass.

Bone Chilling

The Bone Thief: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass (William Morrow, $24.99, 359 pages)

The authors of this true-to-life, crime scene investigation novel are a team:  Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson.   Together they write as Jefferson Bass, in the same fashion that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child write as Preston Child.  

Bass and Jefferson have written several novels based on the work of Dr. Bass, who is a highly respected forensic anthropologist.   In these novels, unlike the CSI shows on television, there is no criminology practiced that relies on magic technological crime-fighting equipment dreamed up by a screenwriter.   The characters in The Bone Thief  must employ intellect, observation, and plain old footwork to solve a most perplexing series of body part thefts.

Dr. Bill Brockton, the chief protagonist, is a forensic anthropologist who works at the University of Tennessee managing the Body Farm, where the decomposition of human remains is studied.   He and his research assistant Miranda Lovelady (a name that’s a bit overly obvious) are drawn into a mystery involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation, while at the same time they’re on a quest to find a fresh set of hands for a colleague who received a massive dose of radiation while performing an autopsy.   The surgeon’s skillful hands are being destroyed by the radiation he encountered.

The story here is told in the first person by Dr. Brockton.   The underlying theme of the tale is Brockton’s introspection on choices he and others make, relationships and human frailty.   Recommended.

This review was written by Ruta Arellano.   Reprinted courtesy of Sacramento Book Review.   It is said that there is a real-life Body Farm managed by Dr. Bass.