Roadside Crosses by Jeffrey Deaver

I haven’t had time to read a Jeffrey Deaver book in a while, so when I packed to head to Nags Head for a few days at Thanksgiving – I had to toss one of his latest books in the bag

I really like Kathryn Dance – a new character for Deaver. She is a kinesics expert – that means that she studies body language and I’ve really enjoyed learning more about her art in the books about her. The last one was The Sleeping Doll, which was very good. I was pleased to see this story picks up right after the end of the last book. They had just solved a big case, one of the officer’s died and things in Kathryn’s personal life are very much the same. The death of the fellow officer is a big part of this story and Kathryn’s parents – particularly her mother – are a big part of this story.

Kathryn is very good at what she does – but she is very human. She worries that she’s misreading the signs, she worries about her kids and her parents, she misses her husband and so much more. I just really like her

In this book – Kathryn’s mother is arrested for a mercy killing, a high school student is thought to be killing people who posted comments about him on a blog and there are some unusual things happpening with the people Kathryn works with. I like all the underlying stories that Jeffrey Deaver always includes in his books. Many layers and many unexpected turns in all his stories.

I was determined to finish reading this last night and with about 100 pages left – someone was arrested. That had me wondering – that left about 25% of the book for those unexpected twists and turns that I love so much — and he did not disappoint me I lost track of the surprises that were included after that first arrest – but they all made sense and just added to the story.

A bit more background about the story – people start discovering “road side crosses” along the highway and they have that day’s date on them. Later that day, someone is found hurt and possibly dying. These attempted murders seem to all be related to a blog post about a car accident. A short time before the book starts, a couple of high school girls were killed in a car wreck and many people post comments about the person who it was reported, was driving the car when the girls died. He is an outcast – with no real friends, a rough family life, and a rich online fantasy life – but is he a murderer? When the FBI and Dance’s team start to close in on him, he disappears and more people who posted comments about him are hurt. The more Dance works on the case, the more she begins to doubt if he is guilty, but all the evidence points to him.

In addition, Kathryn’s mother is facing a trial for the mercy killing of the young officer who was hurt at the end of the last book. One of Kathryn’s superiors is causing her all kinds of problems and what about the geeky, but attractive professor who is helping them with their computer research? Many layers, many twists and a book that I think all Deaver fans will enjoy. My schedule made it hard to find time to finish this one, but it was worth the wait. High recommended.

The Devil’s Bones by Jefferson Bass

This is the third book in the Body Farm Mysteries by Jefferson Bass. Jefferson Bass is the writing team of Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson – and what a team they are.

I loved the first book, liked the second but was a little disappointed, but the third is back on target. Its funny I feel that way because The Devil’s Bones picks up where Flesh and Bone left off. Dr Bill Brock was just cleared of murder charges, the real murderer was behind bars and Dr Bill is back to work. Sounds peaceful, doesn’t it? Don’t blink, you might miss what’s about to happen.

A woman died in a car that burned – but is her death an accident? Of course not.

Dr Brock is waiting for the trial of the man who killed the woman Dr Bill was falling in love with – but that wait won’t be smooth either.

So many possibilities and interesting forensic details that only Dr Bill and Jon can bring to you like this. I highly recommend this book and am waiting to get my hands on the next book in the series. But I will mention there is plenty of detail and if you don’t want detailed and at times graphic descriptions, you may want to preced with caution. You won’t usually read about blood and guts, but there is plenty of description and authenticity in the pages of these books.

Flesh and Bone by Jefferson Bass

This is the second novel in the Body Farm series. I really like this series – I will tell you this isn’t my favorite book in the series – but it leads into the 3rd which is very good.

Dr Bill Brockton (based on Dr Bill Bass) is back and facing an interesting combination of situations, people and mysteries. We meet a very attractive medical examiner who is also attracted to Dr Brockton and Dr Bill unearths some rotten apples within his acquaintances. He takes the high road and must point out the error and that sets a gruesome and danger set of events in motion.

I won’t give you the details — wouldn’t want to ruin the book for you – but there is plenty of action and Dr Bill is even arrested for the murder…. of his lady love. I recommend this book because you should keep up with the series – and even less than stellar from this team is good. There is great forensic detail and plenty of intrigue to keep you wondering what will happen next….

Beyond the Body Farm by Dr Bill Bass & Jon Jefferso

I have to read everything that this fantastic duo turn out. I was intrigued with Dr Bass and his work – but meeting Dr Bass and Jon Jefferson in person sealed the deal for me. Anything they write – I will have to read The full title of this book is Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries and the Revolution in Forensic Science. That is a mouthful – but it does say it all.

This is the 2nd non fiction collaboration for Dr Bass and Jon – the first was Death’s Acre (read my review here – http://nikkisreviews.blogspot.com/2008/02/deaths-acre.html).

Both of these books are about Dr Bass’ experiences as a bone detective. For people who aren’t familiar with Dr Bass – years ago he started The Body Farm (made popular by a Patricia Cornwell novel). The Body Farm is a research facility at the University of Tennessee where Dr Bass worked for years. In his work he discovered that people could determine the time of death with more accuracy by studying the decomposition of the body – so he started a facility where they would study – body decomposition.

This may not sound glamorous – and its not. However through the pages of Death’s Acre and Beyond the Body Farm – you will learn why this is important information and how it can help law enforcement, the legal community and the family of the victims and people who are falsely accused of crimes.

Learn about plane crashes into rivers, an ancient mystery,the smallest clues in the bones, bite marks, the importance of bugs, the long term search to identify a skeleton and much more including exhuming the body of The Big Bopper. Its all here and if you are interested in forensics and forensic anthropology or a good mystery – this book is for you. Take a walk through the interesting career of this knowledgable and charismatic professional. If you have the chance to meet Dr Bass and/or Jon Jefferson – I highly recommend that you do it.

I’ve also reviewed several of their novels which include forensic information Dr Bass gleaned through the years – they are very good

http://nikkisreviews.blogspot.com/2008/01/carved-in-bone-by-jefferson-bass.html

Death’s Acre

Death’s Acre
Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson

I am fascinated by forensics and the details that can be discovered through forensic work. So, when I got a chance to interview Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson on a book panel, I was thrilled. I have to admit that neither of the men were what I expected, but that’s all right. But, I was very impressed with both of them and I’ve enjoyed the books they have written together.

For people who aren’t familiar with Dr Bill Bass, he is a world renowned forensic anthropologist and he has worked on a huge number of cases. At one point in those cases, he realized that it would be beneficial if there was a scientific way to determine how long a body had been dead. This would make it much easier for police, attorneys etc to make a case against a suspect. If the time of death is narrowed down to several days – it can be hard to debate an alibi, but if the time of death can be narrowed down to a more limited time frame, that makes an alibi more necessary and more useful.

This is one of the things that prompted the development of the “Body Farm” at the University of Tennessee. The Body Farm was started by Dr Bass and it was originally an acre – therefore “Death’s Acre”. Dr Bass and the UT students study the various stages of death and decomposition in a wide variety of conditions. It is fantastic research which is very helpful in crime solving.

I could rattle off all kinds of great stories and examples that were in the book, but that would take the fun out of it for you. I will tell you that there is death, gore and sorted details. It could be more gory, but there is plenty of detail. I think it was handled very well and should appeal to many people who are interested in forensics and forensic anthropology. I highly recommend the book and it gives you an interesting overview of many aspects for Dr Bass’ life.

I admit that I had a tough time getting into the beginning, but give it a chance. The case studies are great. When I talked with Dr Bass, he looked at my copy of the book and noticed all the paper clips on the pages (there are a lot). He asked me what they meant. When I told him those were all the examples that I want to include in my future mysteries. He gave me a huge smile and said he was very glad he could get me thinking. Its a fantastic resource for mystery writers and entertaining for people who are interested in forensics.

Nikki Leigh