Review: Carved In Bone ( Body Farm Book 1) by Jefferson Bass

Review: Carved In Bone ( Body Farm Book 1) by Jefferson Bass

 

Title: Carved In Bone
Author: Jefferson Bass
Series: Body Farm Book 1
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Suspense
Publisher: William Morrow
No. Of. Pages: 352 Pages
Release Date: 24 January 2006
My Review: 5 Stars

 I own a copy of this book. 

SYNOPSIS: 

On the campus of the University of Tennessee lies a patch of ground unlike any in the world. The "Body Farm" is a place where human corpses are left to the elements, and every manner of decay is fully explored -- for the sake of science and the cause of justice. The scientist who created the Body Farm has broken cold cases and revolutionized forensics, and now, in this heart-stopping novel, he spins an astonishing tale inspired by his own experiences.

A woman's corpse lies hidden in a cave in the mountains of East Tennessee. Undiscovered for thirty years, her body has been transformed by the cave's chemistry into a near-perfect mummy -- one that discloses an explosive secret to renowned anthropologist Bill Brockton. Dr. Brockton has spent his career surrounded by death and decay at the Body Farm, but even he is baffled by this case unfolding in a unique environment where nothing is quite what it seems.

The surreal setting is Cooke County, a remote mountain community that's clannish, insular, and distrustful of outsiders. The heartbreaking discovery of the young woman's corpse reopens old wounds and rekindles feuds dating back decades. The county's powerful and uncooperative sheriff and his inept deputy threaten to derail Brockton's investigation altogether. So do Brockton's other nemeses: his lingering guilt over the death of his wife, and the fury of a medical examiner whom Brockton dares to oppose in court.

Carved in Bone is a richly atmospheric, superbly suspenseful, and magnificently rendered trip into the world of forensic science, the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, and the dark passageways of the human psyche. Full of vivid characters and startling twists and turns, this thrilling novel heralds the debut of a major new voice in crime fiction -- and an unforgettable work from the hand of a scientific legend. 

My first Jefferson Bass Book and Read.

It was descriptive and enlightening. It was technical and a welcome Mystery for me. There were multiple plots. It never was boring or too much. Kept me coming back again and again. I do not read a lot of books with a male being the main POV.

I won't say much regarding the what happened in the book. But it was a wonderful mixture of forensic science and suspense mystery as well as crime. Dr. Bill Brockton is a widower and the peek into his life and work was engrossing. Him trying to cope with his wife's death after years was heartbreaking. His passion to find the truth was and is something that kept him getting into some pickle.

I recommend the book only to readers of Mystery who love the technical aspects of books like these since it can or may tend to be too much for some of the readers.

Review: Subhuman by Michael McBride (Unit 51 Book 1)

Review: Subhuman by Michael McBride (Unit 51 Book 1)

Title: Subhuman

Author: Michael McBride

Series: Unit 51 Book 1

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Horror

Publisher: Pinnacle Books

No. of Pages: 424 Pages 

Release Date: October 31st, 2017

My Review: 4 Stars

Synopsis: THEY ARE NOT HUMAN.
At a research station in Antarctica, five of the world's top scientists have been brought together to solve one of the greatest mysteries in human history. Their subject, however, is anything but human . . .
THEY ARE NOT NATURAL.
Deep beneath the ice, the submerged ruins of a lost civilization hold the key to the strange mutations that each scientist has encountered across the globe: A misshapen skull in Russia. The grotesque carvings of a lost race in Peru. The mummified remains of a humanoid monstrosity in Egypt . . .
THEY ARE NOT FRIENDLY.
When a series of sound waves trigger the ancient organisms, a new kind of evolution begins. Latching onto a human host--crossbreeding with human DNA--a long-extinct life form is reborn. Its kind has not walked the earth for thousands of years. Its instincts are fiercer, more savage, than any predator alive. And its prey are the scientists who unleashed it, the humans who spawned it, and the tender living flesh on which it feeds . . .

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An Intense Thriller with a mystery dating back thousands of years. 

Five of the world's top scientists are brought together for reveal the mystery of the bones with the misshapen and deformed skulls found all over.

The mystery of the deformed skulls was caught my eye from the start and what put me through until the end. And it was very much satisfying in a way. Definitely worth reading if you are into Indiana Jones/Monsters/Aliens, blood and gore and death. 

The book is Sci-Fi/Thriller turned horror. The first half of the book, In my opinion, is more thriller while the second half was more horror. It was a good balance of the Horror and Sci-Fi for me. 

Though the Science-Fiction was difficult to understand, I understood the gist of it which propelled me to move forward. Even with the big Science explanations that went over my head, the horror for me more than made up for everything. 

Subhuman has a multi-pov that I usually try to avoid. In this case, The beginning of the book became confusing at first however, Mr. McBride did a wonderful representation of all of the characters as later on it became a lot more easier to read for me. 

I glided through the rest of the book. 

Since this is a series, it very much looks like it needs to be read in order from the start. Which can be great thing if you are not just looking for a One Stop Horror. The series for me is something to keep in my lists of Horror novel series to track and read.

 

Review: The Doll House By Phoebe Morgan

Review: The Doll House By Phoebe Morgan

Title: The Doll House
Author: Phoebe Morgan

Series: ---------
Genre: Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense.
Publisher: HQ Digital
No. of Pages: 355 Pages
My Review: 4 Stars



My Review: 

Received through Netgalley,  Thank you so much to the Publishers for the read.

The first thing I got to mention is; this is Pheobe Morgan's Debut Novel. And I loved it. That is saying something considering that I am not a Suspense fan.

Pheobe is a great writer, I tell you this because I went through all of the same emotions that Corrine and Ashley did. The dread of something is wrong gripped from the get go and never let me go until the end. 

The reason I say that this is a Suspense is that bits and pieces of the past was gradually revealed. The answers of questions like Who was doing it was answered. At the same time more questions came out like...Why do it? or even What is the end result that they want. Do the people who are doing it is doing it to just make the family suffer or is there a more sinister plot that was not revealed. 

The Doll House has Multiple POV's. With the story starting with one of the POV's past. And slowly bringing it all together. It was a bit of disorienting reading so many Point of Views but the with the climax, came the understanding of why it was needed. 

I loved the Cover, absolutely Loved it! It is eye catching. Made me read the blurb and eventually the whole book. 

The climax was Intense, very much so. But the ending felt like a bit of a cliff hanger to me. Made me ask myself If there would be series of this Novel? 

The Doll House is a Psychological Thriller that will grip with it's talons until the very end.