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Searching... Salem Main Library | LP MYSTERY Bass, J. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton has spent twenty-five years solving brutal murders--but none so bizarre and merciless as his latest case: A ravaged set of skeletal remains is found chained to a tree on a remote mountainside. As Brockton and his assistant Miranda dig deeper, they uncover warning signs of a deadly eruption of hatred and violence.
But the shocking case is only the beginning of Brockton's trials. Mid-case, the unthinkable happens: The deadliest criminal Brockton has ever foiled--the sadistic serial killer Nick Satterfield--escapes from prison, bent on vengeance.
But simply killing Brockton isn't enough. Satterfield wants to make him suffer first, by destroying everything he holds dear: Brockton's son, daughter-in-law, grandsons; even Miranda, his longtime graduate assistant, now on the verge of completing her Ph.D. and launching a forensic career of her own.
The dangers from all directions force Brockton to question two things on which he's based his entire career--the justice system, and the quality of mercy--and to wonder: can the two co-exist
If not, which will Brockton choose in his ultimate moment of truth
Author Notes
Jefferson Bass is the pseudenym of the writing team of Jon Jefferson and William Bass.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In bestseller Bass's subpar 10th Body Farm novel (after 2015's The Breaking Point), forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton, founder of the Body Farm for postmortem research, investigates some skeletal remains found in the woods in Tennessee's Cooke County. The absence of a skull makes identification especially difficult, and evidence that the bones belong to a murder victim who was deliberately made into bear bait makes the need to identify the corpse urgent. Meanwhile, Brockton's bête noire, serial killer Nick Satterfield, who almost took the lives of the scientist and his family decades earlier, escapes from prison in a way that Thomas Harris fans will find familiar. Satterfield's appearance shifts the book's emphasis from interesting scientific detective work to a paint-by-the-numbers cat and mouse game with a sadistic madman. The action builds to a denouement that's predictably implausible. Bass is the pseudonym for the writing team of Bill Bass, founder of the real-life Body Farm, and Jon Jefferson. Agent: Giles Anderson, Anderson Literary Agency. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A scientist whos more savvy about human remains than human relationships finds his own distinguished person threatened. Buried under the grandstands of the University of Tennessees stadium, the Osteology Lab is the domain of Dr. Bill Brockton [11/47]. Like all absent-minded professors, hes dependent on his brilliant and beautiful assistant, Miranda Lovelady [332], and his capable secretary, Peggy Wilhoit [11]. Still mourning the death of his wife and oblivious to romantic possibilities right under his nose, hes glum because the entrancing Miranda will probably leave once shes finished her doctorate. A pile of human bones minus a skull discovered in a remote county helps lead his mind back to his work. As a forensic anthropologist, hes helped solve many a case, but this one is particularly poignant. The victim, chained to a tree, wore a path around it desperately pacing during weeks of captivity. Brockton and Miranda take the bones back to the Body Farm [49], a combination morgue, lab, and classroom facility [50], and, with the help of other specialists, determine that the victim was male, under 25, and of Middle Eastern ancestry. Once theyve tracked down his identity, they have increasing reason to think this was a hate crime: the young man was Muslim, forced to eat canned pork products, and smeared with bacon to lure the bear that killed him. Brockton is horrified to learn that a ruthless killer hed helped convict, Nick Satterfield [176], recently escaped from prison and marked Brockton himself as bear bait. Knowing all too well that Satterfield is capable of further atrocity, Brockton agrees to makes himself a deliberate targetand, as neither he nor the protective forces he works with anticipate, many others as well. Despite a contrived denouement and some saggy, draggy passages, Bass (Cut to the Bone, 2013, etc.) balances anthropological instruction with a twisty tale of suspense in the tenth Body Farm case. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In this tenth entry in the popular Body Farm series, forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton has a new case. Bones were found in a field near a tree with a chain attached to it. It isn't a complete skeleton, and identification is not going to be easy, but with forensics and some good detective work, Brockton soon realizes that a young man met a gruesome death that was probably a hate crime. But things get worse before they get better when a serial killer Brockton helped put away escapes from prison, motivated by revenge. On a lighter note, Brockton's beloved assistant has finally completed her dissertation and is looking for a new job, leaving him bereft. This is a dark, suspenseful story with enough forensics to please any fan of the genre. The science is fascinating and never slows the story, due to the skill of the forensic-anthropologist/journalist partnership known as Jefferson Bass. Fans of Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell should enjoy Without Mercy, as well as the rest of the Body Farm series.--Alesi, Stacy Copyright 2016 Booklist