{Edelweiss Review} Cut to the Bone: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass

ASIN #: B00BATNLJC

File Size: 676 KB

Page Count: 373

Copyright: September 24, 2013

Publisher: William Morrow

Sold By: HarperCollins Publishers

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

In the summer of 1992, Arkansas governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee senator Al Gore begin their long-shot campaign to win the White House. On a sweltering hillside in Knoxville, Dr. Bill Brockton, the bright, ambitious young head of the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Department, launches an unusual - some would call it macabre - research facility, unlike any other in existence. Brockton is determined to revolutionize the study of forensics to help law enforcement solve homicides. But his plans are derailed by a chilling murder that leaves the scientist reeling from a sense of deja vu. Followed by another. And then another: bodies that bear eerie resemblances to cases from Brockton's past.

The police chalk up the first corpse to coincidence. But as the body count rises, the victims' fatal injuries grow more and more distinctive - a spiral of death that holds dark implications for Brockton himself. If the killer isn't found quickly, the death toll could be staggering. And the list of victims could include Brockton ... and everyone he holds dear.

Mandy's Review:

This is another instance where I decided to give an unheard-of author (by me) a chance. After reading this novel I found out that this is part of a series. There are at least nine other Body Farm novels out there. I don't usually like reading a book that's in the middle (or end) of a series without reading the others first, but this was a rare instance of where this book takes the readers back in time to where it all began. Thank goodness! Now, if I choose to read the rest of the novels, I know the beginning.

From the summary above you know who Bill Brockton is and what he does. What you don't know is that the identity of the killer is known by the reader as soon as he's introduced into the novel. That takes away some of the suspense that I love, but the writing is still engaging and kept my interest. Throughout the entire cat-and-mouse plot, I wondered how much further and how much more gruesome the killings would go. I did find it interesting how anthropologists deduce facts about a homicide. The smallest, minute details that would go unnoticed by a medical examiner can be found by an anthropologist. Fascinating!

There was one point towards the end of the novel where I missed an important clue. It was one of those niggling facts that stay at the peripheral of your thoughts just waiting to spring out into the open with arms stretched saying, "Tada!!!" A few pages before the detectives figured it out I stopped reading and literally said, "Oh my God! I can't believe I overlooked that!" That, in itself, redeemed the story of having some of the suspense missing.

I'd be interested to read at least one more Body Farm novel to see how the series progress. This isn't one of my most favorite books ever, but perhaps reading more into the series will allow this to become one of my more favorited series. If you enjoy a good cat-and-mouse written plot, I'd recommend you giving this a try.


*An ecopy of this novel was downloaded via Edelweiss/Above the Treeline per the publisher's permission in exchange for an honest review.