Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass

"The small, fragile bone I held in my hand not only proved that a murder had been committed, it also told us how it happened. A rush of excitement surged through me. I liked to think of it as the wholesome satisfaction of a fruitful scientific inquiry. The truth was, though, it was more like a drug. Other people were hooked on cocaine or cigarettes or runner's high; I was addicted to forensic discovery."


Dr. Bill Brockton is one of those genuine characters that I instantly liked. He's a forensic anthropologist and head of the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and he's a bit of a bone geek. Death and decay are his life. He searches for the truth that's written on the bones of the dead, and he's very good at his job. (Though not as good at telling jokes.) He's also a character with a lot of depth and authenticity.

His latest case involves the corpse of a young woman found in a remote cave in the mountains of Appalachia. The secrets he uncovers about her life, and her death, "reopens old wounds and rekindles an old feud" that started decades ago. Carved in Bone is a compelling mystery, with good suspense and a lot of forensic science. (Some might not like the detailed explanations about Brockton's work and how he examines the bones of the dead, but I found all those science-y details fascinating.) And the pace really picks up towards the end. This turned out to be a 4-star read for me.  I'm really looking forward to checking out the next book in this series.

Happy Reading!

27 comments:

  1. Sounds good to me. Do we need to read this in order?

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    1. I've only read the first book, but I think if you wanted to start with a later book in the series you'd still be fine.

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  2. I've been eyeing this series ("Body Farm" definitely catches my attention), but I haven't tried it yet. Good to know the books are worth reading.

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    1. I liked both the mystery and the characters!

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  3. The purpose of the body farm is interesting and has provided so much information for forensic science. I've only read one book by the team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson--thanks for the reminder. :)

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    1. They've apparently written a nonfiction book about Bass's work at the body farm which also sounds interesting. :)

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  4. I haven't seen this series, sounds creepy.

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    1. Dealing with the dead bodies and bones is a little unsettling, but it's not the kind of book that'd give you nightmares.

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  5. This sounds like a fascinating mystery!

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  6. Adding this to my TBR immediately!! Thanks for putting this one on my radar!!

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    1. Glad to be of bookish assistance. ;D Happy reading!

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  7. Ooh glad this was good. That excerpt you provided definitely sounds interesting!

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  8. This sounds good! Like maybe for reader who also enjoy Kathy Reichs' books?

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  9. An old feud huh? Sounds good to me!

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    1. Cooke County, TN, where he ends up helping with the investigation, is one of those backwoods, moonshine kind of places where people hold grudges and families have feuds. :)

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  10. I really like the cover of the book-pretty yet creepy!

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  11. Carved in Bone sounds like an interesting mystery series that will involve solving cold cases which can be so fascinating with the killer finally being brought to justice. Dr. Brockton sounds like an interesting character as well.

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  12. Have you heard of the Dr Thorndyke books by R. Austin Freeman? I recently finished 'The Vanishing Man' and it was very enjoyable. It's an older book, early 1900's and the author had a medical background so his knowledge of forensic science is a major component in his books & his detective uses these means to solve cases.

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    1. I haven't heard of those books, but they sound really good. Thanks for the recommendation! :)

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  13. I have read one of this books before and thought it was quite entertaining. Thank you for reminding me about this series!

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    1. I'm excited to find this series; it's one I'll be reading more of soon. :)

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