Helpful Score: 3
Solid forensic science novel..., May 26, 2010
This review is from: The Bone Thief: A Body Farm Novel (Hardcover)
This fifth book in the Body Farm series was fairly interesting and moved quickly though a long drawn out scene at the end of the book seemed unnecessary and pointless. Suffice to say that before starting this one, you should have read the other 4 previous novels in the series in order to completely understand the characters and the plot.
In this work of fiction based loosely on the real life of the author, Bill Brockton -- somewhat the stereotypical "goody two shoes" -- is drawn into an investigation of body part snatching, tissue and organ donation scams, and transplant issues. He's recruited by the FBI to set up a sting operation and stumbles along helping to set up the unscrupulous and expose the nefarious deeds committed in the name of scientific advancement. His "Body Farm", though mentioned at the start, doesn't really figure much into the story line of this particular book in the series.
Dr. Brockton eventually outs the bad guys -- all too obviously portrayed from their introduction -- and this particular work ends on a positive note.
This isn't the best thriller series on the market, but it does provide a lot of forensic and anthropological science detail that I find interesting. The medical facts should prove scintillating to most fans and does provide that glimpse into the nature and process of decomposition and the study of the dead that many find fascinating.
Recommended for fans of the series.
This review is from: The Bone Thief: A Body Farm Novel (Hardcover)
This fifth book in the Body Farm series was fairly interesting and moved quickly though a long drawn out scene at the end of the book seemed unnecessary and pointless. Suffice to say that before starting this one, you should have read the other 4 previous novels in the series in order to completely understand the characters and the plot.
In this work of fiction based loosely on the real life of the author, Bill Brockton -- somewhat the stereotypical "goody two shoes" -- is drawn into an investigation of body part snatching, tissue and organ donation scams, and transplant issues. He's recruited by the FBI to set up a sting operation and stumbles along helping to set up the unscrupulous and expose the nefarious deeds committed in the name of scientific advancement. His "Body Farm", though mentioned at the start, doesn't really figure much into the story line of this particular book in the series.
Dr. Brockton eventually outs the bad guys -- all too obviously portrayed from their introduction -- and this particular work ends on a positive note.
This isn't the best thriller series on the market, but it does provide a lot of forensic and anthropological science detail that I find interesting. The medical facts should prove scintillating to most fans and does provide that glimpse into the nature and process of decomposition and the study of the dead that many find fascinating.
Recommended for fans of the series.
I love all of the Jefferson Bass books. This one is right from the headlines - body parts stolen for profit.
PLEASE NOTE: The Body Farm Series (see below) should be read in order.
This will be my last Jefferson Bass book, I believe. Cadavers I have no problem with, but a medical examiner losing his hands to radiation poisoning is too much. Actually, this plot thread occurred in an earlier story. That wasn't gruesome enough, so now he's back in this story, trying to get artificial hands. I've had enough.
Like I said in an earlier review, why can't Dr. Brockton just handle bodies at the Body Farm? I have not seen the purpose of the girlfriends the good doctor has been romancing. Now it turns out that the doctor's latest paramour is pregnant. One of the things I do not like about this series is that, once a character becomes part of the story, they never seem to leave. Dr. Jess Carter, the deceased love-interest from the first book, is still mentioned repeatedly. I could understand the grieving for his wife of 30+ years, but Brockton and Carter were close for a short time.
This story centers on the FBI enticing Brockton and his Body Farm to try to bring down a postmortem body parts chop shop. If this weren't enough, there's a grave robber afoot. This book has an embarrassment of riches in the plot department. It doesn't seem to be using anthropology to solve crimes, but to have a 21st-century sleuth chasing after the bad guys. As the plot got more and more bizarre; I finally skip-read the last 60 pages. I think I will concentrate on the nonfiction side of the Jefferson Bass team.
Body Farm Series
1) Carved in Bone (2006)
2. Flesh and Bone (2007)
3. The Devil's Bones (2008)
4. Bones of Betrayal (2009)
** 5. The Bone Thief (2010)
This will be my last Jefferson Bass book, I believe. Cadavers I have no problem with, but a medical examiner losing his hands to radiation poisoning is too much. Actually, this plot thread occurred in an earlier story. That wasn't gruesome enough, so now he's back in this story, trying to get artificial hands. I've had enough.
Like I said in an earlier review, why can't Dr. Brockton just handle bodies at the Body Farm? I have not seen the purpose of the girlfriends the good doctor has been romancing. Now it turns out that the doctor's latest paramour is pregnant. One of the things I do not like about this series is that, once a character becomes part of the story, they never seem to leave. Dr. Jess Carter, the deceased love-interest from the first book, is still mentioned repeatedly. I could understand the grieving for his wife of 30+ years, but Brockton and Carter were close for a short time.
This story centers on the FBI enticing Brockton and his Body Farm to try to bring down a postmortem body parts chop shop. If this weren't enough, there's a grave robber afoot. This book has an embarrassment of riches in the plot department. It doesn't seem to be using anthropology to solve crimes, but to have a 21st-century sleuth chasing after the bad guys. As the plot got more and more bizarre; I finally skip-read the last 60 pages. I think I will concentrate on the nonfiction side of the Jefferson Bass team.
Body Farm Series
1) Carved in Bone (2006)
2. Flesh and Bone (2007)
3. The Devil's Bones (2008)
4. Bones of Betrayal (2009)
** 5. The Bone Thief (2010)
Another great "Body Farm" book!
