Customer Reviews

The Devil's Bones: A Novel (Body Farm Novels)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE DEVIL'S BONES by Jefferson Bass is the third novel in the Dr. Bill Brockton forensics series. Jefferson Bass is the pseudonym of Dr. Bill Bass, a forensics specialist that founded Tennessee's Body Farm, and Jon Jefferson, the journalist who co-wrote Dr. Bass's nonfiction books.

I enjoy the CSI world a lot, and I can differentiate between Hollywood DNA results (done while you wait) and real-world DNA results (six months waiting list), but I'm still a sucker for a well-told tale with plenty of hard science behind it. THE DEVIL'S BONES has a lot of both going for it.

I enjoyed Dr. Brockton's first-person "aw shucks" kind of down-to-earth storytelling quite a lot. I grew up in small towns where PHDs still wear cowboy books and haven't quite shaken the rural accents. I always looked up to those men and women (yes, there are women there who haven't gotten out of cowboy boots either) because they knew so much but hadn't gotten away from the lives they'd grown up in. To me, his character felt very natural and real.

However, I was constantly aware that this was a third novel in a series because I was reminded over and over again that I wasn't privy to the events in the preceding novels. To my way of thinking, there were simply too many ties to the last couple of novels to make this one easily picked up and absorbed by a new reader. I'm going to go back and read the other two books in order, because I was well entertained, but I really regretted not having read them before I read this one. So that's a caveat for new readers that might be interested in this. I think the series is well worth the investment, though.

There's also a lot going on in this novel. In the beginning, Dr. Brockton tries to help a colleague out on a murder investigation that includes burning various body parts in an automobile fire at night. Readers are treated to a lot of scientific data right off the bat, but in a way that's immediately absorbable and makes a lot of sense. I particularly enjoyed this case because it ran throughout most of the book.

A second investigation leads Dr. Brockton into the grisly discovery that a crematorium isn't doing its job. Instead, the owners have elected to simply toss the bodies into the woods. That storyline was actually taken from recent news. I remember the news articles I read on the real case and was appalled. The authors' descriptions of the horrendous circumstances of what those abandoned bodies were subjected to are graphic.

The storyline that I most regretted involved Dr. Brockton's ongoing battle with Garland Hamilton, a medical examiner who has it in for the forensic anthropologist. Over the course of the last two books, Hamilton murdered Dr. Brockton's love interest.

Occasionally the writing jarred, however. The writers are given to hyperbole from time to time, such as having Dr. Brockton "bound" into action. I haven't met anyone that's ever claimed to have "bound" into action. There are a few other instances of this kind of overstatement that reminds you you're reading a book, but thankfully they're few. Just noticeable.

I had a good time with the novel. It's fast, fun, and breezy, and has a lot of scientific facts and information about arson, burned bones, crematoriums, and other forensic details to keep my interest piqued. Not only that, but Dr. Brockton's narrative made me feel like I was again back home in those small towns where I grew up. He's an engaging character and I look forward to reading more of his investigations.

In this third Body Farm novel, Dr. Bill Brockton takes on three bone chilling cases. The first involves establishing whether a woman was burned alive or her remains were incinerated at some later time to falsify the time of death. The second to find out whether the cremains of Dr. Brockton's former defense attorney's deceased Aunt Jean really are hers. The third, to find out if Dr. Brockton's nemesis, the former Knox County, Tennessee Medical Examiner and murderer of Brockton's love interest, really incinerated himself in a cabin fire after he escaped from jail.

The plots of all three are interwoven in authentically like real crime happens. Of course, we have some old favorites returning: Art Bohannon, the wise-cracking KPD fingerprint specialist; Miranda Lovelady, the gifted and hardworking grad student; Burt DeVriess, aka "Grease", the slick defense attorney; and Jim Conner, the new Sheriff from Cooke County, Tennessee. Of course, the forensics are topnotch, the tension doesn't let up, and there's just enough good-humored wisecracking to keep reader blood pressure from skyrocketing.

Dr. Bill Bass (founder of the famed Body Farm at the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility) and Jon Jefferson are back with the third installment in their series featuring professor and forensic anthropologist extraordinaire, Dr. Bill Brockton. Brockton has endured one tragedy after another; his wife, Karen, died of cancer, and medical examiner Dr. Jess Carter, with whom he had a close personal relationship, was the victim of a psychopathic killer who had a vendetta against Brockton. Although he has an attentive son, a kind daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren, Bill is often lonely and his work provides the welcome distraction that he needs.

With the capable assistance of his devoted research assistant, Miranda Lovelady (I am not making this name up), Bill investigates the suspicious death of forty-seven year old Mary Louise Latham, who apparently perished after smoking in a car and setting the surrounding grass on fire. Although Mary's husband, Stuart was in Las Vegas when his wife died, he had a plenty of motive for eliminating her. To get a better idea of the circumstances surrounding the possible crime, Bill and Miranda set fire to two sets of bones sitting in two wrecked cars and subsequently examine the remains. Observing the scene is Art Bohanan, the Knoxville Police Department's senior criminalist and Bill's good buddy. Later, when Bill takes a look at Mary's skeleton as well as the farm where she lived, he makes several significant discoveries that shed light on what may have happened.

Other matters that preoccupy Bill are a case involving the Trinity Crematorium (whose owner, Delbert Littlejohn, may be perpetuating a cruel fraud on his clueless clients) and his forthcoming testimony in the trial of Jess's alleged murderer. Trepidation turns to terror when Bill's archenemy escapes from jail. Will this maniac come after Brockton in an effort to permanently silence him? Do dead bodies decay in hot weather?

"The Devil's Bones' is fatally marred by too much cutesy dialogue ("a little less conversation, a little more incineration," "It's not the heat, it's the stupidity," "even a blind squirrel finds some nuts"), minimally fleshed-out characters (no pun intended), and an underdeveloped and predictable plot. "The Devil's Bones" has two saving graces: the authors' rich use of local color and the wealth of information provided on cremation and forensics. Such details make books of this type perennially popular in our criminology-obsessed culture. Unfortunately, this novel is CSI-lite; it will appeal mainly to undemanding readers who enjoy unchallenging and escapist fiction.

I like the home town, down South flavor of this book. If you like forensics, the author has drawn on the real life case of the crematory in Georgia that did not actually cremate dozens of bodies. I believe the characters could have been developed a little more thoroughly, but I believe the CSI type information and realism makes up for it. It is obvious that the author knows what he is talking about. An enjoyable read, but it won't keep you on the edge of your seat.

I had heard "good stuff" about this book and needing to find new author(s) I bought it with trepidation. I've been burned a few times (no pun intended). This book was excellent for me because it did two things-kept moving and not fixating on just one plot-it had three going moving the book along without taking away from the main character, Dr. Brockton. The only reason not given a 5 starred review, for some reason the authors seem to want Dr. Brockton to have a female in his life, but it really doesn't need to get involved in a side issue.

Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Blass have created one great series, where UT's The Body Farm is a major factor of the books.
The usual suspects, great characters from previous books, Dr. Bill Brockton, forensic anthropologist and creator of The Body Farm, his grad student/right hand/dear friend, Miranda Lovelady, Art Bohanan, Brockton's best friend, a cop who works undercover catching online predators, Burt DeVriess, nicknamed Grease, a criminal defense attorney who helped Dr. Bill in last outing - and the evil Garland Hamilton, a former ME who was disgraced when Dr. Bill called him on a botched autopsy -
Hamilton was in jail and escapes - and is after Dr. Bill!
But - Burt DeVriess has a serious query to ask Dr. Bill - his dear aunt was cremated, but they received cremains he doesn't think look right - and asks Bill to look at it - That opens up a horrid can of worms (pardon the expression) - about a crematorium that has not been cremating bodies, but dumping them, and sending pebbles, and other things as the loved one's cremains...May think this situation too much of a stretch, but we in Georgia know it was a frightful reality - there was a crematorium that did just that, and the results were a situation not even Stephen King could think up.
Between the investigation of the crematorium, trying to find Hamilton before he tries to kill Dr. Bill, and dealing with his research and feeling for Miranda, Jefferson Bass has written another fantastic book.
This is the kind of book Patricia Cornwell used to write - taut, riveting and page turning - Jefferson Bass has taken up that banner and 'he/they' are running with it -
Never fails to entertain, educate and scare/thrill. A thriller reader's dream read.

Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton is trying to figure out who murdered Mary Latham and how her car caught fire and burned so extensively when his criminal defense attorney gives him what are claimed to be the cremains (cremated remains) of his aunt, which look more like concrete mix than bone ash. With the help of forensic scientist Art Bohanan, Brockton investigates the crematorium in Georgia that was responsible for the cremation but keeps butting up against stone walls. Eventually, he discovers a horror the likes of which he has never seen before. Meanwhile, he learns that his nemesis, former medical examiner Garland Hamilton, has escaped from prison and is on the prowl. Knowing he's in Hamilton's sites, Brockton is relieved to learn Hamilton's charred body is discovered at a fire scene in Cooke County. However, as Brockton soon finds out, things are not always as they seem.

This third installment in the Body Farm series is, as usual, chock full of interesting forensics information relayed through Brockton and his assistant, Miranda. Readers may find the book distracting as it seems to meander along from one investigation to the other, then dashes off to the conflict between Brockton and Hamilton. Although the three mysteries within the plot are good ones, perhaps focusing on one or two would provide a stronger read. The forensics investigations help buffer the distraction and will keep the reader invested throughout the book.

This is our first Jefferson Bass (Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson) and it was a fun read. We attended a workshop with Dr. Bass as the keynote speaker who is a charming storyteller.
Dr. Brockton and his friends are in the thick of the infamous GA cremation scandal searching for the remains of a beloved aunt. Two other puzzles are solved by the evidence left in the bones, but the final one almost costs the good Dr. and his assistant Miranda their lives.
We could have done without the repetitive detailed descriptions of the streets of Knoxville having driven a few when lost to find Butterfly Gap. The dialogue is snappy and pulls the story out of the mundane.
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Excellent read on forensic and criminal studies by true life forensic experts, taking place in Tennessee areas. The subject, "Jefferson Bass" is very knowlegable and at times humorous. Enjoyed this book very much.

You can't read a Jefferson Bass mystery without learning something interesting. While the mysteries themselves are just a bit better than average, the information they impart is always a winner. Any fans of "CSI" or "Bones" will enjoy these books and this one is no exception.