Carved in Bone: A Body Farm Novel (Body Farm Novels)

From Publishers Weekly The pseudonymous Bass makes a successful first foray into fiction. The author is actually the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass, the forensic anthropologist who founded the legendary Body Farm (Tennessee's experimental laboratory devoted to the study of the way human corpses decompose), and Jon Jefferson, a journalist and filmmaker. Their new sleuth, Dr. Bill Brockton, is obviously based on Dr. Bass, sharing his first name, initials and his status as founder of the Body Farm. (The two coauthored Death's Acre , a nonfiction account of that macabre if scientifically valuable facility.) Still recovering from the emotional devastation of his wife's death, Dr. Brockton stumbles across a mummified female body, and his passion for the truth enmeshes him in a probe that verifies rumors of local corruption. His particular skills are vital to identifying the corpse as well as those who might have been motivated to kill the victim decades earlier. The pacing and action bode well for this crime series, though mystery fans who enjoy whodunits might hope that subsequent books pose more of a puzzle. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review Percolates with wit, gentility, and scientific savoir-faire ... alive with verve and charm...engrossingly entertaining. (James Starrs, Attorney and Author, A VOICE FOR THE DEAD ) Move over, Kathy Reichs. The Sherlock Holmes for bones has arrived. (Katherine Ramsland, Author of The Forensic Science of C.S.I. ) CARVED IN BONE introduces a captivating protagonist and is full of obscure, fascinating forensics. [A] fine new talent. (Stephen White, New York Times bestselling author of MISSING PERSONS ) A superb mysterywell-plotted, filled with memorable characters, based on accurate forensic science. (Houston Chronicle ) A gripping murder mystery. (Emily A. Craig, Ph.D., Kentucky State Forensic Anthropologist and author of TEASING SECRETS FROM THE DEAD ) Offers terrific forensic details and the science of solving cold cases. It is electrifying, provocative and full of surprises. (Dr. Henry Lee, forensic criminologist and author of CRACKING CASES and HENRY LEE'S CRIME SCENE HANDBOOK ) CARVED IN BONE brims with terrific forensic detail...the real deal. (Kathy Reichs, New York Times bestselling author ) [A] unique corpse, solid science, quirky humor and a lovable protagonist. (USA Today ) [F]ascinating...a delightful course in how to examine a skeleton, and the intrigues of the Tennessee moonshine backwoods! (Michael M. Baden, M.D., author of Remains Silent and former Chief Medical Examiner, New York City ) Southern-fried forensics. Nothing too fancy, but it does taste good going down. (Kirkus Reviews ) [A] knockout...full of rich and sometimes stomach-turning forensic detail. (Lansing State Journal ) Fantastic forensic detail and an engaging hero an authoritative, compelling new voice to the forensic mystery. (Jeff Abbott, USA Today bestselling author of PANIC ) In this latest thriller from New York Times bestselling author Jefferson Bass, Dr. Bill Brockton discovers the dark side of the Sunshine state when he's called in to investigate human remains found on the grounds of a boys' reform school in Florida The Bone Yard The onset of summer brings predictably steamy weather to the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Brockton's human-decomposition research facility at the University of Tennessee. But Brockton's about to get more heat than he's bargained for when Angie St. Claire, a forensic analyst with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, asks him to help prove that her sister's death was not suicide, but murder. Brockton's quick consulting trip takes a long, harrowing detour when bones begin turning up amid the pines and live oaks of the Florida panhandle. Two adolescent skulls ravaged by time and animals, but bearing the telltale signs of lethal fractures send Brockton, Angie, and Special Agent Stu Vickery on a search for the long-lost victims. The quest leads them to the ruins of the North Florida Boys' Reformatory, a notorious juvenile detention facility that met a fiery end more than forty years ago. Guided by the discovery of a diary kept by one of the school's young "students," Brockton's team finds a cluster of shallow graves, all of them containing the bones of boys who suffered violent deaths. The graves confirm one of the diary's grim claims: that one wrong move could land a boy in the Bone Yard. But as the investigation expands, it encounters opposition from the local sheriff, who's less than delighted to find forensic experts from the state capital and the Body Farm digging up dirt in his county. As Brockton and his team close in on the truth, they find skeletons in some surprisingly prominent closets ... and they learn that the ghosts of the past pose perilous consequences in the present On the campus of the University of Tennessee lies a patch of ground unlike any in the world. The "Body Farm" is a place where human corpses are left to the elements, and every manner of decay is fully explored -- for the sake of science and the cause of justice. The scientist who created the Body Farm has broken cold cases and revolutionized forensics, and now, in this heart-stopping novel, he spins an astonishing tale inspired by his own experiences.A woman's corpse lies hidden in a cave in the mountains of East Tennessee. Undiscovered for thirty years, her body has been transformed by the cave's chemistry into a near-perfect mummy -- one that discloses an explosive secret to renowned anthropologist Bill Brockton. Dr. Brockton has spent his career surrounded by death and decay at the Body Farm, but even he is baffled by this case unfolding in a unique environment where nothing is quite what it seems.The surreal setting is Cooke County, a remote mountain community that's clannish, insular, and distrustful of outsiders. The heartbreaking discovery of the young woman's corpse reopens old wounds and rekindles feuds dating back decades. The county's powerful and uncooperative sheriff and his inept deputy threaten to derail Brockton's investigation altogether. So do Brockton's other nemeses: his lingering guilt over the death of his wife, and the fury of a medical examiner whom Brockton dares to oppose in court.Carved in Bone is a richly atmospheric, superbly suspenseful, and magnificently rendered trip into the world of forensic science, the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, and the dark passageways of the human psyche. Full of vivid characters and startling twists and turns, this thrilling novel heralds the debut of a major new voice in crime fiction -- and an unforgettable work from the hand of a scientific legend. When human remains are discovered at a Florida reform school, Dr. Bill Brockton leaves his laboratory to investigate a murder case. An electrifying New York Times bestseller with over 1,000 five-star ratings on Goodreads! Publisher Description The sixth electrifying forensic mystery by author Jefferson Bass (“a fresh voice in the crime novel arena” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer), The Bone Yard is the most gripping installment yet in the New York Times bestselling Body Farm series. Called away from Tennessee’s renowned Body Farm (the real life human decomposition laboratory around which these remarkable thrillers are based), Dr. Bill Brockton discovers the dark side of the Sunshine state when he’s called in to investigate human remains found on the grounds of a Florida boys’ reform school. Rich in authentic forensic detail and featuring a protagonist as involving as crime fiction’s most popular medical examiners—including Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta, Karin Slaughter’s Sara Linton, and Kathy Reichs’s star forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan—The Bone Yard is unassailable evidence that this series “just keeps getting better” Overview: There is a patch of ground in Tennessee dedicated to the science of death, where human remains lie exposed to be studied for their secrets. The real-life scientist who founded the "Body Farm" has broken cold cases and revolutionized forensics- and now he spins an astonishing tale inspired by his own experiences. Renowned anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton has spent his career surrounded by death at the Body Farm. Now he's being called upon to help solve a baffling puzzle in a remote mountain community. The mummified corpse of a young woman dead for thirty years has been discovered in a cave, the body bizarrely preserved and transformed by the environment's unique chemistry. But Brockton's investigation is threatening to open old wounds among an insular people who won't forget or forgive. And a long-buried secret prematurely exposed could inflame Brockton's own guilt-and the dangerous hostility of bitter enemies determined to see him fail by any means necessary. With Fascinating Insider Information on the Body Farm! At a friend's request, Dr. Bill Brockton is called away from the Body Farmhis human-decomposition research facility at the University of Tennesseeto help prove that a woman's suicide was, in fact, murder. But Brockton's quick consulting trip takes a harrowing detour through the Florida Panhandle when two adolescent skulls are discovered near the ruins of a once-notorious juvenile detention facility, destroyed by fire more than four decades ago. Local stories about the North Florida Boys' Reformatory are chilling: nightmarish tales of savage beatings, torture, and worse. Guided by the diary of a former "student," Brockton's team soon makes a grisly discovery: a cluster of shallow graves containing the bones of teenage boys, all of whom suffered violent deaths. But the search for answers becomes more perilous the closer Brockton comes to the truthbecause unexpected skeletons reside in some surprisingly prominent closets . . . and summoning ghosts from the pastcan have devastating consequences in the present. Investigation Of The Discovery Of A Woman's Body, Mummified After 30 Years In A Tennessee Cave, Brings Forensic Anthropologist Bill Brockton Of The Body Farm Into Conflict With Inhabitants Of A Remote Mountain Community. The County's Uncooperative Sheriff And Incompetent Deputy Threaten To Derail The Investigation, As Do Brockton's Personal Demons-- Lingering Guilt Over The Death Of His Wife And The Fury Of A Medical Examiner Whom Brockton Opposes In Court. Jefferson Bass. An investigation of the discovery of a woman's body, mummified after 30 years in a Tennessee cave, brings forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton of the Body Farm into conflict with inhabitants of a remote mountain community. The county's uncooperative sheriff and incompetent deputy threaten to derail the investigation, as do Brockton's personal demons-- lingering guilt over the death of his wife and the fury of a medical examiner whom Brockton opposes in court The founder of the Body Farm, the only laboratory devoted to the study of human decomposition, Dr. Bill Brockton discovers an unusual corpse--an almost perfectly preserved mummy found in East Tennessee's mountainous Cooke County I PICKED UP THE hunting knife with my left hand and tested its heft, then shifted it to my right hand to compare.