{Book Review}
Carved in Bone
By Jefferson Bass
Dr. Bill Brockton runs the Body Farm, a nickname for the Anthropology Research Facility, a “postmortem-decay research lab” at the University of Tennessee. Brockton is a forensic anthropologist who studies rates of decomposition and effects of nature, among other things, upon victim’s bodies at the Body Farm. He regularly assists local law enforcement on cases and testifies in court.
In Carved in Bone, Dr. Brockton is asked to assist in a case in Cooke County, Tennessee. The body of a young woman is discovered, oddly well preserved, deep in a cave. But the case is more than what Dr. Brockton bargained for. Before he knows it, he’s knee-deep in Cook Country’s illicit activities, surrounded by people he doesn’t trust, and a target for who knows who.
Review/Recommendation: The first book in the Body Farm Series, published in 2006, Carved in Bone starts off pretty slow. I felt like I was reading an episode of FOX’s Bones, but much slower-paced and without the wit and fun banter of the tv show’s characters. The story starts to pick up about a third of the way through the book, when the characters are all introduced, although there are still parts that seemed to drag a little bit.
That being said, I did like the story, once it got going. Actually, the story line was the best part, for me. I read a lot of mystery and suspense novels, and I definitely didn’t feel like this was a story that I had already read elsewhere.
However, I do feel there was significant room for improvement. I could have used a bit more wit and humor in the dialog. In addition, the investment in the characters was also lacking. There was a good mix of characters – some more likable than others and a few that evoked feelings of pity – but I didn’t have strong (positive or negative) feelings towards any of them.
I am not sold on whether or not I’ll be hooked on the series like I am books by some of my favorite mystery authors, but I thought the book was entertaining enough to reserve the second book in the series from the library. I’m hoping that the slow start and lack of attachment to the characters was due to setting the scene for the series and won’t be repeated with each book.
Grade: C+/B-