Grieving the death of his beloved wife, and partly (but illogically) blaming himself for her death, Tennessee Anthropologist Bill Brockton’s life has consisted of little else but teaching, testifying as an expert witness, and his work on the forensic investigation site he created - The Anthropology Research Center. Or, as it’s been better known since Patricia Cornwell wrote about it, the Body Farm.
When the sheriff of nearby Cooke County approaches Brockton, he is ill prepared for the discovery of an exquisitely preserved adipocere body, concealed in a cave deep in the woods. With the assistance of his attractive young denier Miranda, Brockton makes a startling discovery about the body – a discovery that throws him deeper into the investigation that usual and acquaints him intimately with Cooke County, an inbred backwoods community where events from the far past continue to influence behaviour today.
The secondary plot, about an incompetent pathologist and the hearing to free a man wrongly charged with another murder, allowed other aspects of Brockton’s character to emerge, was well integrated and leaves enough loose ends to be part of the next in the series without feeling contrived and not so significant that the ending felt aborted.
This first partnering of forensic anthropologist (and real-life founder of the Body Farm), Bill Bass with journalist Jon Jefferson has created a great first novel that delivers something new in a genre that is well trodden and close to saturated. Brockton is a great protagonist – far from perfect, somewhat hapless, engaging and intelligent, the authors have imbued him with a singular voice. The writing is lyric and literary, balanced by a strong and twisting plot that, while convoluted, is penetrable. Though I guessed both the answer to one of the central key questions and the murderer well before they were explicated in the text, I was enjoying the ride so much it didn’t matter. Watch out for a review of the sequel, which is already sitting by my bed. - Alex
The Bill Brockton series:
Carved in Bone
Flesh and Bone
The Devil’s Bones
Bones of Betrayal
The Bone Yard
The Bone Thief
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