Bones of Betrayal

Bones of Betrayal has one of the more interesting premises I've read - it's a forensic mystery based on a radioactive puzzle. I've not read a book with that as the focus. This proves to be an interesting twist on an age-old classic suspense. While it has a few cliches, it doesn't suffer from them - and with a (slightly less-so) typical forensic adventure that's interesting on its own, they wind up enhancing the story. The running joke about the chainsaw, (sorry, but you have to read it for that one!), was really funny. Oak Ridge is one of the country's greatest "forgotten" nuggets of history. Most people have no idea that this is where the foundation for our war won by the atom was laid. This made the backdrop interesting. The writing is fun and engaging. I found myself wanting to turn ahead to find out more about a dire circumstance befalling one character. The personalities of his cast are complex while still falling back on that formerly-mentioned clicheness. The persona of Beatrice in particular filled me with horror and sadness in parts, amusement, pain and anger in others. Like most good books, it ultimately shines because it's not made wonderful by the plot, but by the characters. No, it's not the next literary novel of the century, but it's a great forensic story with an amusing cast. Since I didn't read the earlier books, though, there was some context I was missing, which was my one major dislike. Overall, a good book. An original twist on an unoriginal formula, it was unexpectedly enjoyable.

This is a story which takes place in the present as well as in the past, which flows easily and reads well. You really want to find out what happened at Oak Ridge when they were producing plutonium to be used in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WW2, and what impacts that had on the concurrent intriguing tale of murder and radiation poisoning in the present day. Throw in a few well known famous names from the Manhattan Project (real people)and the result is compulsively readable. I like the historical aspects of this book, and, while it is a novel, the data rings true. The authors are eminently capable of writing a book of this type, which would be a daunting task for most writers. One of the authors, Dr. Bill Bass, is the founder of the Body Farm in Tennessee, and the co-author, Jon Jefferson, is a journalist and science writer. Their expertise shows. My only beef with the book is that I find the ending leaves a lot of open questions, and I assume that there will be a sequel, which I can't wait to read. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the war, in nuclear bombs, in life in the 40s, and in forensics. The book does not expand on the chemistry or physics of nuclear bomb development, and does not, in any way, read like a textbook. Highly recommended.

Well, I LOVE Jefferson Bass's Body Farm Novels.. and this one does not disappoint! Plus, there is the added bonus of the appeal of a historical novel, all wrapped into one very enjoyable read. I have read about the Manhattan Project before, but never absorbed as much interesting information, as I did from reading this book. Mr Bass spiked the story with fascinating background bits and pieces, and tied it all to a fictional crime, weaving the story back to front, using forensic clues to clinch the plot. I like it! Looking forward to more Body Farm books.

I am a huge fan of the television series "Bones," and when I saw Kathy Reichs' (author of the Temperance Brennan novels) endorsement of BONES OF BETRAYAL, I knew I had to read this book. BONES OF BETRAYAL is the fourth installment in the Body Farm series by Jefferson Bass. I have not previously read the other three books in this series and had some concern about starting at book four. However, this book stands on its own very well, with only mild, well explained references to previous stories. With a story based in forensic anthropology, the birth of atomic science, and a mysterious murder, BONES OF BETRAYAL is a clear winner. Let me say up front that I am a geek. I have a Master's Degree in Physics with a minor in Mathematics, and love novels that are based in hard science. BONES OF BETRAYAL hits the jackpot for me, mixing two scientific fields quite well: atomic physics and forensic anthropology, as well as the history of the atomic bomb and WWII. All three play important roles in solving the murder case, all three are well and appropriately explained for the lay reader, and all three combine quite seamlessly. The details of each are just right: not too dumbed down and not too sophisticated. In BONES OF BETRAYAL, a frozen corpse found in a swimming pool near the Oak Ridge nuclear research facility, where the atomic bomb was developed. Dr. Bill Brockton, founder of the Body Farm and a leading authority in forensic science, is called in to investigate. The body turns out to be that of Dr. Leonard Novak, one of the key scientists on the Manhattan Project, the code name for the WWII project that perfected the bomb. When Dr. Brockton discovers that the cause of death was not drowning, but rather radiation poisoning, he wonders if Novak's murder is related to events long past. Dr. Brockton meets Novak's bright and colorful ex-wife, Beatrice, at his funeral, and he begins his investigation of those long ago events with her. Beatrice weaves a number of captivating tales, but are any of them true? Can Dr. Brockton unravel the mysteries of history and navigate unsuspected twists and turns in order to solve a murder in the present? I had great fun with BONES OF BETRAYAL and zipped right through it. The plot and pacing both worked well, with the science, action, and history all blending perfectly. Each fed the other beautifully. The characters were likeable and well developed, and I felt that I had a good rapport with them, even the ones introduced in earlier books. All in all, BONES OF BETRAYAL is an excellent read, and I will definitely be reading the other books in this series.

If you are a fan of Kathy Reichs or Patricia Cornwell, you will want to read the forensic mystery novels of Jefferson Bass. The protagonist of these novels, Dr. Bill Brockton is professionally similar to Temperance Brennan of the Kathy Reichs books: he is a forensic anthropologist, teaches college, and solves crimes using his training. He is also the fictional founder (like his real life counterpart, Dr. Bill Bass, half of the writing team known as Jefferson Bass) of the University of Tennessee's Body Farm featured in one of Patricia Cornwell's novels. The novel opens in the Body Farm during a training drill for dealing with acts of nuclear terrorism. That training drill becomes all too real when Dr. Brockton and his graduate assistant get involved with the death of a WWII-era nuclear scientist and, along with the medical examiner, become exposed to the deadly radiation that killed him. During the investigation they find evidence of a murder that took place more than 60 years ago. As part of the investigation into both deaths, Dr. Brockton researches the history of the Manhattan Project in the area and meets Isabella, a librarian who reminds him of his lost love and Beatrice Novak, the elderly ex-wife of the scientist. The book has a lot of information about the scientists and work that resulted in the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in WWII, along with the ethical dilemmas faced by those working on the project. I found this part of the book really fascinating. I had not read the first three books in the series and did not feel that was a liability in terms of enjoying this book. But I will definitely go back and read them as I enjoyed this book very much.