The Bone Thief A Body Farm Novel

✍ Scribed by Bass, Jefferson

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Series: Body Farm 5
• Category: Fiction

✦ Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Jefferson Bass delivers an authentic and knuckle-biting thriller in which forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton must confront a crime of unimaginable proportions on his own doorstep. Find out why Booklist says, "Fans of forensic fiction will want to add this author to their list of favorites."

The Bone Thief

Dr. Bill Brockton has been called in on a seemingly routine case, to exhume a body and obtain a bone sample for a DNA paternity test. But when the coffin is opened, Brockton and his colleagues, including his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady, are stunned to see that the corpse has been horribly violated.

Brocktons initial shock gives way to astonishment as he uncovers a flourishing and lucrative black market in body parts. At the center of this ghoulish empire is a daring and prosperous grave robber. Soon Brockton finds himself drawn into the dangerous enterprise when the FBI recruits him to bring down the postmortem chop shopusing corpses from the Body Farm as bait in an undercover sting operation.

As Brockton struggles to play the unscrupulous role the FBI asks of him, his friend and colleague medical examiner Eddie Garcia faces a devastating injury that could end his career. Exposed to a near-lethal dose of radioactivity, Dr. Garcia has lost most of his right hand and his entire left hand. Out of options, he embarks on a desperate quest: both of his ravaged hands will be severed at the wrist and replaced with those from a cadaver. But unless suitable ones are found soon, the opportunity will be lost.

As Brockton delves deep into the clandestine trade, he is faced with an agonizing choice: Is he willing to risk an FBI investigationand his own principlesto help his friend? Will he be able to live with himself if he crosses that line? Will he be able to live with himself if he doesnt? And as the criminal case and the medical crisis converge, a pair of simpler questions arise: Will Dr. Garcia surviveand will Brockton?

From Booklist

The latest Body Farm novel picks up not too long after the previous one, Bones of Betrayal (2009), ended. Isabella, the murderous seductress, still haunts Dr. Bill Brockton, forensic anthropologist and founder of Tennessees unique research facility known as the Body Farm (hes loosely based on Dr. Bill Bass, the Body Farms real founder and one-half of the novels writing team). Isabella disappeared at the end of the previous novel, and Brockton is concerned she might not have gone too far. Current events, however, including a couple of cases of corpse-dismemberment, are helping him keep his mind off heruntil he makes a shocking discovery that could turn his life upside down. The Body Farm novels get better with each new book; not only are they more compellingly plotted and more tightly written but Brockton also has become a more fully realized character, not merely a stand-in for his creator. A very good mystery, suitable not just for fans of the Brockton novels but also for readers who enjoy forensic thrillers by Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell. --David Pitt

About the Author

Jefferson Bass is the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Dr. Bass, a world-renowned forensic anthropologist, founded the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facilitythe Body Farma quarter century ago. He is the author or coauthor of more than two hundred scientific publications, as well as a critically acclaimed memoir about his career at the Body Farm, Death's Acre. Dr. Bass is also a dedicated teacher, honored as National Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Jon Jefferson is a veteran journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. His writings have been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, and Popular Science, and broadcast on National Public Radio. The coauthor of Death's Acre, he is also the writer and producer of two highly rated National Geographic documentaries about the Body Farm.