Body Farm

There is a patch of ground in Tennessee dedicated to the science of death, where human remains lie exposed to be studied for their secrets. The real-life scientist who founded the "Body Farm" has broken cold cases and revolutionized forensics . . . and now he spins an astonishing tale inspired by his own experiences. Renowned anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton has spent his career surrounded by death at the Body Farm. Now he's being called upon to help solve a baffling puzzle in a remote mountain community. The mummified corpse of a young woman dead for thirty years has been discovered in a cave, the body bizarrely preserved and transformed by the environment's unique chemistry. But Brockton's investigation is threatening to open old wounds among an insular people who won't forget or forgive. And a long-buried secret prematurely exposed could inflame Brockton's own guilt-and the dangerous hostility of bitter enemies determined to see him fail . . . by any means necessary. With Fascinating Insider Information on the Body Farm!

Anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton founded Tennessee's world-famous Body Farm-a small piece of land where corpses are left to decay in order to gain important forensic information. Now, in the wake of a shocking crime in nearby Chattanooga, he's called upon by Jess Carter-the rising star of the state's medical examiners-to help her unravel a murderous puzzle. But after re-creating the death scene at the Body Farm, Brockton discovers his career, reputation, and life are in dire jeopardy when a second, unexplained corpse appears in the grisly setting. Accused of a horrific crime-transformed overnight from a respected professor to a hated and feared pariah-Bill Brockton will need every ounce of his formidable forensic skills to escape the ingeniously woven net that's tightening around him . . . and to prove the seemingly impossible: his own innocence.

A burned car sits on a Tennessee hilltop, a woman's lifeless, charred body seated inside. Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton's job is to discover the truth hidden in the fire-desecrated corpse. Was the woman's death accidental . . . or was she incinerated to cover up her murder? But his research into the effect of flame on flesh and bone is about to collide with reality like a lit match meeting spilled gasoline. The arrival of a mysterious package-a set of suspiciously unnatural cremated remains-is pulling Brockton toward a nightmare too inhuman to imagine. And an old nemesis is waiting in the shadows to put him to the ultimate test, one that could reduce Brockton's life to smoldering ruins.

"The forensic thriller meets a formidable slice of history….A riveting mystery with an intricately emotional conclusion." -Washington Post Bones of Betrayal is the fourth heart-racing "Body Farm" thriller from the world's top forensic anthropologist. Kathy Reichs calls author Jefferson Bass, "the real deal," and his hero Bill Brockton has already taken his rightful place alongside Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta and the investigators on TV's "C.S.I." In Bones of Betrayal, a hideous murder has links that connect it to World War Two's Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic bomb-adding a fascinating historical element that enriches an already superior crime series.

"The Body Farm novels have become bestsellers because of their attention to the fine details of forensics combined with great plot lines."-Deseret News (Salt Lake City) The latest Body Farm novel from New York Times bestseller Jefferson Bass, The Bone Thief is a must for fans of Patricia Cornwell and TV's C.S.I. The hero of four previous thrillers-Carved in Bone, The Devil's Bones, Flesh and Bone, and Bones of Betrayal-Dr. Bill Brockton must stop a grisly black market dealing in body parts and cadavers in this white-knuckle adventure written by the man widely considered to be the world's foremost expert in forensic anthropology. Read The Bone Thief and discover why Kathy Reichs calls Bass, "The real deal."

"[Bass is] the real deal." -Kathy Reichs The sixth electrifying forensic mystery by author Jefferson Bass ("a fresh voice in the crime novel arena" -Seattle Post-Intelligencer), The Bone Yard is the most gripping installment yet in the New York Times bestselling Body Farm series. Called away from Tennessee's renowned Body Farm (the real life human decomposition laboratory around which these remarkable thrillers are based), Dr. Bill Brockton discovers the dark side of the Sunshine state when he's called in to investigate human remains found on the grounds of a Florida boys' reform school. Rich in authentic forensic detail and featuring a protagonist as involving as crime fiction's most popular medical examiners-including Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta, Karin Slaughter's Sara Linton, and Kathy Reichs's star forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan-The Bone Yard is unassailable evidence that this series "just keeps getting better" (Booklist).

Renowned bone detective Bill Brockton and his intrepid assistant, Miranda, are about to get immersed in murder and intrigue in Avignon, France, home of the popes for most of the fourteenth century. But first, in this artful prequel to The Inquisitor's Key, other mischief is afoot in the ancient walled city. Inspector René Descartes of the French National Police is roused from a deep sleep to investigate a break-in at the Petit Palais, Avignon's museum of medieval masterpieces. Descartes's discovery plunges him into an elaborate, art-lined labyrinth: a labyrinth that leads him to a master forger's studio . . . and to a charred corpse. Just as he's finally closing the case, Descartes gets called to an even more bizarre death scene, where his path-and his fate-will collide with those of Brockton and Miranda.

The most riveting and ambitious novel to date in Jefferson Bass' New York Times bestselling Body Farm mystery series, The Inquisitor's Key takes forensic investigator Dr. Bill Brockton to Avignon, France, and embroils him in a deadly religious mystery that could shake the Vatican itself to its very foundations. Another sterling crime novel in the vein of Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, and Karin Slaughter, as well as TV's C.S.I., The Inquisitor's Key adds a touch of James Rollins and The Da Vinci Code to the typically acclaimed Jefferson Bass mix of suspense, surprise, and finely detailed forensic investigation.

Jefferson Bass's Cut to the Bone, the long-awaited prequel to his New York Times bestselling mystery series, turns the clock back to reveal the Body Farm's creation-and Dr. Bill Brockton's deadly duel with a serial killer. In the summer of 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee Senator Albert Gore begin their long-shot campaign to win the White House. In the sweltering hills of Knoxville at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Bill Brockton, the bright, ambitious young head of the 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 better solve crime. But his plans are derailed by a chilling murder that leaves the scientist reeling from a sense of déjà vu. Followed by another. And then another: bodies that bear eerie resemblances to cases from Brockton's past. 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...and everyone he holds dear.

Past, present, and future collide to throw respected forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton's successful, secure life into devastating turmoil in this poignant novel in the New York Times bestselling Body Farm mystery series. It's been ten years since Dr. Bill Brockton created the Body Farm-the world's first postmortem research facility dedicated to advancing the frontiers of forensic science-and the researcher is at the pinnacle of his career. Under his leadership, the University of Tennessee's forensic anthropology program has become the most prominent in the world, and Brockton's skills and knowledge are in high demand among top law enforcement. Calling him in for a number of high profile cases, the FBI now wants him to identify the charred remains of a maverick millionaire, killed in a fiery plane crash. But a storm is about to hit Brockton with cataclysmic force. First, his identification of the crash victim is called into question. Then he receives a threatening message from the serial killer who attempted to murder the scientist and his family a decade ago. And from Brockton's beloved wife Kathleen-his lodestone and his source of security-he gets the most shocking news of all. Will Brockton be able to weather this deluge . . . or has he finally reached the breaking point?

In the most suspenseful installment of the New York Times nestselling Body Farm series to date, forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton investigates a bizarre murder-and confronts a deadly enemy he thought he'd put behind bars for good. Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton has spent twenty-five years solving brutal murders-but none so bizarre and merciless as his latest case: A ravaged set of skeletal remains is found chained to a tree on a remote mountainside. As Brockton and his assistant Miranda dig deeper, they uncover warning signs of a deadly eruption of hatred and violence. But the shocking case is only the beginning of Brockton's trials. Mid-case, the unthinkable happens: The deadliest criminal Brockton has ever foiled-the sadistic serial killer Nick Satterfield-escapes from prison, bent on vengeance. But simply killing Brockton isn't enough. Satterfield wants to make him suffer first, by destroying everything he holds dear: Brockton's son, daughter-in-law, grandsons; even Miranda, his longtime graduate assistant, now on the verge of completing her Ph.D. and launching a forensic career of her own. The dangers from all directions force Brockton to question two things on which he's based his entire career-the justice system, and the quality of mercy-and to wonder: can the two co-exist? If not, which will Brockton choose in his ultimate moment of truth?

In the summer of 1990, Dr. Bill Brockton-a bright, ambitious young forensic scientist-is hired by the University of Tennessee to head, and to raise the profile of, the school's small Anthropology Department. Six months later, the ink on his contract barely dry, Brockton is called to a gruesome crime scene in a rural area to identify a corpse and determine how the woman died. But the case-one of Brockton's first murder investigations in Tennessee-could also prove to be his last when he runs afoul of both the county sheriff and an angry mob intent on administering their own swift, rough brand of "justice." With his back to the wall, Brockton is forced to think fast, talk faster, and hope for a miracle.