So I finally finished book No. 1 for 2014, Cut to the Bone by Jefferson Bass. Cut to the Bone is the 5th book in Body Farm series, which features the exploits  of forensic anthropologist Bill Btrockton. The character of Bill Brockton is based upon the life of the real life director of the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Bill Bass. Bill Bass is half of the writing team that creates these great novels. The other half of the writing duo is journalist, writer and documentary film maker Jon Jefferson.

While this is the 5th book in the series, it is actually a prequel to all the books. The story is set in 1992, when Bill Brockton, head of the Anthropology Department at Tennessee, was in the early stages of setting up the Body Farm at UT. In the story, Brockton and his assistant Tyler Wainwright, are called in to help police in determining, who the bones found at an old mining site belong to. Brockton and Tyler quickly decide that the bones belong to a young girl, who appears to have had a hard life. But when the police ask how long her body has been there, Brockton doesn’t have an answer for them. In fact the last time he work with this police department he only missed the age of the bones by a hundred years!! So Brockton decides that Tyler’s dissertation should revolve around using the life cycle of blowflies to determine the rate of decomposition of  the human body. Now while all this is happening in and around Knoxville. Bill is also called to help in the brutal murder of a prostitute. But when the method of cutting up the body matched a case that Brockton worked on a few years earlier and then more bodies start piling up that also match Brockton’s cases, it seems that Brockton and company are on the trail of a serial killer who may have his sights set on Brockton and his family!!

Like all the past novels, Cut to the Bone is a fast paced you don’t want to put it down read! The nice part of the book is that the reader are introduced to characters like Brockton’s wife Kathleen, his graduate assistant Tyler, and of course the infancy of the Body Farm! This novel really didn’t have as much of the forensic science in the story, as the other books in the series.  But the development of the character of the serial killer, Satterfield  was good and the tension built up over the last pages was another plus for the book. So all in all Cut to the Bone is a fine addition to the series, now I think I would still start with Carved in Bone, just to get to know Bill Brockton,  first  he’s a great character both in fiction and in reality!!

Ok so now I just went to the Jefferson Bass website and I see there is another prequel Jordan’s Stormy Banks a novella! I guess I have to go pick that up at Amazon…..it’s only 99 cents!! sounds good to me!!

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Book No. 4 of 2013 is the latest Body Farm Novel from Jefferson Bass (aka Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass) The Inquisitor’s Key. This book is number seven in this fine series and it’s a little different from its predecessors. While the main storyline does involve bones, specifically, whether or not the bones that Bill Brockton’s assistant Miranda and her former archeology professor Stefan Beauvoir have found under the Palace of the Popes in Avignon France are the bones of Jesus of Nazareth, the setting is not the typical range of Bill and Miranda. Avignon France is a long way from the Body Farm in Knoxville and their offices beneath Neilan Stadium on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Finally, there’s a lot more history included in this novel, as the story twists and turns involves The Pope and the Palace of Popes in Avignon, and The Shroud of Turin.

Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge

Alongside of the present day action in Avignon, Jefferson Bass weaves a story of Avignon in the 14th century (the time period when the Shroud has been dated to be from) that includes: Pope John XXII, the White Cardinal and Inquisitor Jacques Fournier, Johannes Eckhart – a prominent theologian and mystic charged with heresy, painter Simone Martini and the object of the poet Petrarch’s sonnets Laura de Noves!

Bill and Miranda link the bones to the image on Shroud of Turin but when the bones turn out to be 2,000 years old all heck breaks out and soon Bill and Miranda are in a fight for their lives!

As always the characters Bill, Miranda and everyone else are well-developed and Bill and Miranda’s relationship is a strong part of the story. But this book with the addition of its historical aspects takes the series to a new level. I love books that teach me something about history and this one certainly did! Even though this is the seventh book in the series and there are references to what has happened in the past I don’t think it’s necessary to have read the other books to enjoy this book. So good find it and enjoy!!

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According to the latest scientific research, you can control the aging process, simply by paying attention to one thing: your immune system…. Dr. Liponis also offers an innovative and practical seven-step program that not only gives you guidelines for a healthier life; it reveals some startling facts about aging…..

I found the book very informative and am going to go back through it again and try to implement as many of the aspects of the plan as I can!! You can pick up the paperback at Amazon for $4.46. The links on the sidebar! The second book I finished was Jefferson Bass’ sixth Body Farm novel The Bone Yard . Once again the writing team of Bill Bass, the director of The Body Farm at the University of Tennessee and Jon Jefferson have written a great book! In this installment Bill Brockton is called by a forensic analyist with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Officer Angie St. Claire to help her investigate her sister’s suicide and to determine if she was actually murdered by her husband! While he’s in Florida he’s asked to take a look at a skull of a murdered young child… this leads Bill into the world of the North Florida Boys Reformatory and The Bone Yard! This is a fast paced book that I couldn’t put down! I always enjoy Bill Brockton character and this book is no exception, however, this book is disturbing for it’s portrayal of the grim world of the Reformatory!  So if you like Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell but haven’t read Jefferson Bass do yourself a favor and pick up one of their books! You won’t be disappointed! 

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So today was not a big music day more a sports day. Go Roy Halladay and Flyers. But I did finish book no. 19 for 2010 The Bone Thief by Jefferson Bass. The Bone Thief is the fifth book in the Body Farm series by the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass founder of the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee and Jon Jefferson. The series  follows the activities of Dr. Bill Brockton and his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady and others in exploits surrounding the Body Farm.

This book opens with the exhumation of a body involved in a paternity suit. The request for exhumation was made by attorney Burton “Grease” DeVriess who has been on the bad and good side of Bill Brockton in other books! Anyway when the body is exhumed both arms have been surgically removed!  Soon Bill is thrust into the world of black marketing of body parts. The FBI soon asks Bill to help in an undercover sting operation to bring down the dealers!

The plot of the novel also includes a storylines from the last novel Bones of Betrayal as Dr. Brockton deals with repercussions from his relationship with Isabella the librarian! Eddie Garcia the medical examiner who lost his hands after handling radioactive material in the last book is also dealing with that  terrible l tragedy and researching ways to get hands back either through total hand transplants or mechanical hands!

I don’t know if I liked the overall plot in this book as much as the others but still the characters of Bill Brockton and Miranda as well as all the others more than make up for it and while the book did not deal as much with the forensic details from the Body Farm the information presented about the black market for body parts and the development of artificial bones was interesting. Overall it was a very satisfying read and I look forward to the next Body Farm adventure!

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