Skip to main content

"Carved in Bone" by Jefferson Bass

      This one isn't new. In fact, next year it will be ten years old. However, it is new to me. One of my favourite types of mystery/thriller books to read is forensic medical thrillers penned by people who have previous or current careers in the field about which they base their books. Kathy Reichs Bones series and Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles series (both of which now have successful television series based upon them) are in this sub-genre of books. Another series in this sub-genre that I have recently discovered is the Body Farm series.
      Dr. William M. Bass is the forensic anthropologist who founded the now well known "Body Farm" aka the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, part of the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Founded in 1981, the facility is a place for the study of decomposition of human remains. Cadavers donated to the research facility are placed in different settings throughout the 2.5-acre wooded plot in order to study they effect of decomposition under various conditions. Until the early 2000s, Tennessee was home to the only "Body Farm" in the country. Now there are five such research facilities in the United States, and other countries are beginning to take steps to open similar sites in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
      The University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility first gained notice in popular culture with Patricia Cornwell's 1994 novel The Body Farm which had a central protagonist based upon Dr. William M. Bass. In 2006, Dr. Bass collaborated with author Jon Jefferson to begin publishing a series of murder mystery novels influenced by real cases studied at the facility in Tennessee. The books are published under the pseudonym Jefferson Bass, an amalgamation of both authors' names.
      The "Body Farm" as it is colloquially know, is a subject that has always been of great interest to me, and I'm not quite sure how I've gone nearly 10 years not knowing that its founder has a mystery/thriller series spanning nine books regarding goings-on at said facility. I have a lot of catching up to do.
      Carved in Bone, the first novel in the Body Farm series is available at the Ocean City Free Public Library.

Comments

Blogger said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Popular posts from this blog

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

For some reason, I felt like it took me forever to finish this one, which is strange because it was a rather cute little story. Truly is a heroine of enormous proportions - she was born big (which ultimately kills her mother and turns her father into an alcoholic) and continues to just grow and grow throughout her life in upstate New York. All of this is compounded by the fact that her older sister, Serena Jane, is beloved by the rest of the town for being little, dainty, beautiful and perfect. Despite all of these hardships, Truly remains a kind figure, if something of an outcast. However, after her sister's untimely demise, Truly must move in to take care of Serena's nefarious husband and child. And this is where things start to get a little...crazy. There's lots more to this story than I'm describing - betrayal, murder, mysticism and true love. The pacing is quick and Baker does a nice job of characterization. Overall, a good read.

OCFPL Book Club - January

 Welcome to the 2023 OCFPL Book Club season. We chose quite the range of books this year. We hope you can join us in our monthly virtual discussions as we set off on this year's reading adventure.  This month we discussed The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. Overall many members of our book club enjoyed this book. They loved how the stories of the various characters intertwined with each other. Bridging the past to the present. Going back and forth with these stories at first does not make sense until the end, when the final puzzle piece is placed do you see the whole picture and it is quite delightful to see all that unfold.  One of the elements of this book is the story of how random things that are found have stories to them. A lost puzzle piece found on the road or a random hair bobble found on the ground in the park may mean nothing to a simple person who may walk right past it. Yet  for Anthony, our keeper of lost things, revered these items. Carefully recorded where and

OCFPL Book Club - February

  This month we discussed  Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Most of our discussion group enjoyed this book. They loved how the story started with two sisters and how the lineage grew with each of them but at the end, those who were once separated have found their way back to each other. Also, seeing the impact and development of history throughout the generations in this story. While the book only touched the beginnings of the history of Ghana, we discussed how through this book we learned more about slave history that what we knew before. It was eye opening and though provoking. The element of trauma that can cause a generational fear in the family was interesting to see unfold through the story. How the fear of water was caused by a drowning from the past and the fear of fire was caused from a massive fire from another past trauma through in the family. It may seem insignificant but it led to the discussion of how we reflect on our own fears and the fears off our parents or family members