As the third book from Jefferson Bass – aka Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson – THE DEVIL’S BONES continues the story of forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton, founder of the University of Tennessee “body farm,” where human remains are studied for research into their death. Namely, this research helps out with determining the times of expiration and various conditions.
BONES deals with three situations that our good doctor has to deal with. First is that of a woman found burnt up in a car. The problem is that she was long dead before the vehicle was set ablaze, with no clues that suggest a bomb or an improvised explosive device, and the husband having an airtight alibi, proving he could not have been involved.
The second deals with a lawyer pal who believes the ashes of his cremated aunt are not the real thing. If this sounds a bit familiar, it should, since it seems they took this plot right out of the newspapers. It’s very obvious when reading it exactly what the outcome will be.
Then, finally, the third plot – and a huge spoiler for any new reader – involves a killer who escaped prison: a former forensic scientist who has it out for Brockton. Again, it’s this type of writing that will ruin previous installments in the series for those just jumping aboard, since besides giving away a killer to an earlier novel, Bass constantly goes into great detail to regurgitate the facts of those cases.
Add to the fact that the folks in the story come off very stilted and not fully realized, but more like caricatures that take away from the book itself, and the reader is left feeling rather blasé. After the first two plots are tied up, you still have the third plot driving the final quarter of BONES, and this is where it drags.
Throughout, we are exposed to a dry sense of humor with how out of touch Brockton is with such things as MySpace, YouTube and speed dating. This becomes tiresome after a while – I get it: The man is not up on current trends! Others may be bored by too-technical talk and reminiscing of previous cases, but there are plenty of CSI fans out there who will love it for the same, so long as they don’t expect great character depth or that skilled of a mystery. –Bruce Grossman
