Author: ekkarn

Favorite Series – The Body Farm Books

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So I am currently reading The Bone Thief by Jefferson Bass. This is the fifth book in The Body Farm series and I have enjoyed everyone of them. Let’s play the if then game. If you like Kathy Reich’s books and the TV show Bones, then you will like the Body Farm Books. The Body Farm is the Forensics Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee where they study decomposition of the human body. The Body Farm was founded in 1970  by one-half of the writing team Jefferson Bass, Dr. Bill Bass. What others say about the Body Farm and the novels:

“Nearly everything known about the science of human decomposition comes from one place—forensic anthropologist William Bass’ Body Farm.”
— CNN.com

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.

In the Body Farm books the fictional Bill Bass – Bill Brockton and his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady have been faced with a variety of cases to solve two of which involved women that Brockton had relationships with! With a great cast of characters which include Brockton and Miranda along with defense attorney Burton  “Grease” DeVreiss, Medical Examiner Eddie Garcia, fingerprint guru Art Bohanan and other’s  coupled with unmatched forensic detail (who knows more about the body farm’s work than the founder!) this series has become a real favorite of mine!

I just started The Bone Thief and the story opens when Brockton and Miranda are called to exhume a body to get DNA for a paternity test. When they open the coffin they find that both of the arms have been surgically removed and the story sets off from there!!

This is a series that in my opinion should be read from the beginning because each case has added to the development of Dr. Bill Brockton’s character and well they’re just all good reads!! So check them out!

1. Carved in Bone

2. Flesh and Bone

3. The Devil’s Bones

4. Bones of Betrayal

Revisiting a Favorite Series – The Body Farm Books

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So I am currently reading The Bone Thief by Jefferson Bass. This is the fifth book in The Body Farm series and I have enjoyed everyone of them.

Let’s play the if then game. If you like Kathy Reich’s books and the TV show Bones, then you will like the Body Farm Books. The Body Farm is the Forensics Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee where they study decomposition of the human body. The Body Farm was founded in 1970  by one-half of the writing team Jefferson Bass, Dr. Bill Bass. What others say about the Body Farm and the novels:

“Nearly everything known about the science of human decomposition comes from one place—forensic anthropologist William Bass’ Body Farm.”
— CNN.com

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.

In the Body Farm books the fictional Bill Bass – Bill Brockton and his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady have been faced with a variety of cases to solve two of which involved women that Brockton had relationships with! With a great cast of characters which include Brockton and Miranda along with defense attorney Burton  “Grease” DeVreiss, Medical Examiner Eddie Garcia, fingerprint guru Art Bohanan and other’s  coupled with unmatched forensic detail (who knows more about the body farm’s work than the founder!) this series has become a real favorite of mine!

I just started The Bone Thief and the story opens when Brockton and Miranda are called to exhume a body to get DNA for a paternity test. When they open the coffin they find that both of the arms have been surgically removed and the story sets off from there!!

This is a series that in my opinion should be read from the beginning because each case has added to the development of Dr. Bill Brockton’s character and well they’re just all good reads!! So check them out!

Post Update: Here is the Complete Body Farm Series

1. Carved in Bone

2. Flesh and Bone

3. The Devil’s Bones

4. Bones of Betrayal

The

Book 17 – The Narrows – Michael Connelly

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Ok so the last book I read Nowhere to Run by C.J.Box was the 10th book in the Joe Pickett series and now book number 17 The Narrows by Michael Connelly also the 10th book in the series featuring  Harry Bosch only difference is that I have read all the books in the Pickett series and this is my first Harry Bosch book! I had started The Concrete Blonde book # 3 years ago and for one reason or another couldn’t get into it so I never tried to read another Connelly book (the series is now up to 14). What was I thinking! I enjoyed this book, liked both the writing style and Bosch’s character and will certainly read more, having picked up several last week at the library book sale.

The book starts with Harry Bosch, asked by the widow of his former friend Terry McCaleb to investigate what she feels is the murder of her husband. McCaleb’s heart medicine (he had had a heart transplant -the storyline of the book and movie Blood Work)  had been switch with shark cartilage pills leading to a heart attack.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Rachael Walling receives a call that she has dreaded for eight years! Eight years earlier she had been involved in the chase to track done a serial killer known as The Poet, who turned out to be her former mentor at the FBI Robert Backus. The Poet is back and operating in the Las Vegas area. Harry’s investigation into McCaleb’s death quickly puts him on to the trail of The Poet and soon Bosch and Walling must join forces to catch Backus!

Like I said I enjoyed this book and the final pages flew by and I am certainly going to read more Bosch novels. I have a lot of catching up to do!!

My bookshelf at Goodreads.com now holds 796 books – 4 more to 800!! Next up the new Body Farm book by Jefferson Bass The Bone Thief another favorite series featuring Bill Brockton and the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee and while I root for Bill Brockton, this Florida Gator can’t root for the Volunteers!

The Narrows – Michael Connelly

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Ok so the last book I read Nowhere to Run by C.J.Box was the 10th book in the Joe Pickett series and now book number 17 The Narrows by Michael Connelly also the 10th book in the series featuring  Harry Bosch only difference is that I have read all the books in the Pickett series and this is my first Harry Bosch book! I had started The Concrete Blonde book # 3 years ago and for one reason or another couldn’t get into it so I never tried to read another Connelly book (the series is now up to 14). What was I thinking! I enjoyed this book, liked both the writing style and Bosch’s character and will certainly read more, having picked up several last week at the library book sale.

The book starts with Harry Bosch, asked by the widow of his former friend Terry McCaleb to investigate what she feels is the murder of her husband. McCaleb’s heart medicine (he had had a heart transplant -the storyline of the book and movie Blood Work)  had been switch with shark cartilage pills leading to a heart attack.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Rachael Walling receives a call that she has dreaded for eight years! Eight years earlier she had been involved in the chase to track done a serial killer known as The Poet, who turned out to be her former mentor at the FBI Robert Backus. The Poet is back and operating in the Las Vegas area. Harry’s investigation into McCaleb’s death quickly puts him on to the trail of The Poet and soon Bosch and Walling must join forces to catch Backus!

Like I said I enjoyed this book and the final pages flew by and I am certainly going to read more Bosch novels. I have a lot of catching up to do!!

My bookshelf at Goodreads.com now holds 796 books – 4 more to 800!! Next up the new Body Farm book by Jefferson Bass The Bone Thief another favorite series featuring Bill Brockton and the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee and while I root for Bill Brockton, this Florida Gator can’t root for the Volunteers!

Library Book Sale Treasures!

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Well my Mount To Be Read pile just grew this morning! On my way home from seeing my mother at the home, I was going to drop off some library books. I was surprised to see that the Used Book Sale that I thought was a few weeks away was actually today! So here’s what my ten bucks got me (actually $9.50 but I told them to keep the change! Big of me huh!)

Paperbacks

Storm Front – Jim Butcher – The first book in the Dresden File series. I’ve started this book several times only to find something else to read and then having to take the book back to the library unread!

The Traveler – John Twelve Hawks – I looked at this book a while ago at Borders when I was looking for Sci-fi books to read it looked interesting but I bought something else! (Old Man’s War I think which was very good!)

The Coil – Gayler Lynds – one of those authors whose name I always see and just haven’t read yet!

Blood Work – Michael Connelly – Since I’m currently reading The Narrows and enjoying it. I thought it would be good to read about some events that happened in this book that are referenced in The Narrows

The Codex – Douglas Preston – I’ve read a few of the books Preston has writen with Lincoln Child and enjoyed them and this one looks good!

Hardbacks

Don’t Look Twice – Andrew Gross – I read and enjoyed his book The Blue Zone so I am looking forward to this one!

Winter House – Carol O’Connell – a Mallory novel which is a favorite series, and the next book after Dead Famous which is already on my Mount to Be Read. Maybe knowing I have this book will motivate me to read Dead Famous!

Hell’s Bay – James W. Hall – A Thorn novel having read Red Sky at Night . I look forward to another visit to Thorn’s South Florida world!

DVD

A.M. & P.M. Yoga conditioning for weight loss – Giam – always looking for yoga videos to add new routines !

All in All a great visit to the Book Sale. Tomorrow is a half price sale so I may go back and see if a couple books that I was looking at but didn’t pick up are still there!!

Book 16 – Nowhere to Run – C.J. Box

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Nowhere to Run is my 16th read of the year and the 10th book in Box’s Joe Pickett series, which keeps getting better and better. This books opens with Joe in his last week of temporary assignment in Baggs Wyoming. The assignment has lasted a year and Joe will be returning to his wife and family soon. But Joe goes into the mountains to investigate some strange happenings, which include camp lootings, tents being slashed, and an elk butchered before the shooters can even collect it! There was also the case of a female Olympic class runner going for a run into the woods and never coming back! On the hunt Joe runs into two twin brothers Caleb and Canish Grimm, who appear to be the men who butchered the Elk! When Joe asks for their fishing license and gives them a citation for hunting without a license their wrath is taken out on himand he barely escapes the mountain alive, but not before he potentially sees the Olympic runner……and the rest of the book revolves around finding out who the Grim Brothers are and was that really the lost runner!

Like all Box’s books the characters are great from Joe to his wife Marybeth, Marybeth’s golddigging mother Missy. the kids Sheridan, Lucy and April to Nate Romanowski and the Brothers Grim! Coupled with the characters is Box’s great descriptive writing about the beauty of the mountains that form the setting of the story!

The pages in this book flew by and overall it was a very enjoyable read! The series can probably be read out of order because the story stands on its’ own but to get the full effect you need to know Joe and his past! So get busy because you have nine books to go to catch up but it will be worth the trip!

Mary Youngblood – Beneath the Raven Moon

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Mary Youngblood – Native American Flute – Beneath the Raven Moon

 

So one of the other types of music that I listen to at work when background music without lyrics is needed or at times of stress is American Native Flute. My favorite artist is R. Carlos Nakai. I also listen to Robert Tree Cody and Douglas Spotted Eagle. One artist who I have listened to a little is Mary Youngblood , but the other day I downloaded onto the mp3 player her 2002 release Beneath the Raven Moon and I have a new Native American flutist to listen to! Here’s what her website says about the album which one a Grammy in 2003

Beneath the Raven Moon ~ is poetry of the heart flowing forth from the Native American flute as only Mary Youngblood can play it. This superb collection of songs showcases her award winning talents in adventurous new settings from blues to classical, all the while treating us to the beautiful heartfelt melodies for which she is known and loved. Additionally, this album showcases Youngblood’s strong voice harmonizing along with her many flutes. The title of each track on the CD is a line from a poem written by Youngblood giving this album a poetic concept album.
(Grammy Award Winner)

About Mary Youngblood

 

I will have to go back and look at the track titles to read the poem! Mary is a two time Grammy and Emmy Award winner and is the FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN to have received a Grammy Award for “Best Native American Music Album”. Additionally, she is the first Native American PERSON to have won two Grammy’s which makes  her an extra special American Musician!

I only had a chance to list to the first several tracks this morning but what I heard was great. I’ll probably listen to the rest later today. I know over the next several months I will become more familiar with her other albums. Her discography includes:

Sacred Place 2008

Dance With The Wind 2006 – Grammy Winner 2007

Feed of Fire 2004- Grammy Nominee

Heart of the Wind 1999

The Offering 1998 Flutist of the Year

You can read about the above albums here. So if you’ve never listened to Native American Flute check out Mary’s work. In addition check out  any of the  other albums I’ve mentioned. It is great music!

Fear the Worst – Linwood Barclay

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Fear the Worst - Linwood Barclay

 

So there was no time to start another book during the time I was reading Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay. Simply because I couldn’t put this book down!

I guess I’ll forgive Mr Barclay for not writing any more Zack Walker books if he keeps writing books as good as this one.

The Story – Fear The Worst

The story starts one day when a divorced father Tim Blake questions his daughter, who is staying with him for the summer  about some Versace sunglasses that she has. He questions her because he fears she may have stolen them.

The result of his questioning  is that she storms out of the house leaving the receipt on the kitchen table. Well, that night his daughter doesn’t come home and after receiving no phone calls or informationas to where she is! Tim sets out to find her and starts at her job a  motel in town.

When he asks about his daughter he is told that his daughter has never worked there!  Soon the police locate her car abandoned in a mall parking lot in a neighboring town!  The rest of the book revolves around Tim and his ex-wife’s frantic search to find their daughter!

My Thoughts

As usual I love all of the characters in the book. But I particularly Tim, who as a desperate father fighting to find his daughter faces a Herculean task! As I said the book moves along quickly as the tension builds and I was up past my normal bedtime to finish the book!!

Definitely a 4.5 to 5 out of 5 stars and I can’t wait to read his current  book Never Look Away

So if you’ve never read a Linwood Barclay book, check him out! As for me I’m number 12 in the que at the library to get the book , so I’m off to Wyoming and the new C.J. Box book Nowhere to Run!

iWebsite
Orion Books
Amazon
Wikipdianks

Linwood Barclay

About Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay continues to be a prolific author, releasing new, critically acclaimed thrillers annually. Known for his high-octane plots and relatable characters, his recent work has solidified his status as a master of contemporary suspense.

Update: There is now a sequel to this book – Linwood Barclay’s No Safe House – new problems for Terry and Cynthia Archer when their daughter becomes involved in a possible murder.Check out my review here

Visit the Linwood Barclay Page

If you like standalone Mystery/Thrillers…….

Here are three Authors whose books might enjoy:

Charlie Donlea
Charlie Donlea
Michael Koryta/Scott Carson
Riley Sager
Riley Sager
  • Charlie Donlea — tightly plotted thrillers often built around cold cases, missing persons, and strong female leads, with twists that keep coming
  • Michael Koryta / Scott Carson — blends crime, suspense, and sometimes the supernatural, with a darker tone and strong atmosphere
  • Riley Sager — modern psychological thrillers with big twists, often centered on isolated settings and unreliable pasts

New Books!

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So I took back books to the library that were overdue, some that I had finished and should have been back  on time and some that I didn’t read but should have! Anyway I picked up two new ones that I am excited about reading.  The first is the new C.J.Box Joe Pickett book Nowhere to Run and the other is the latest Lincoln Perry book by Michael Koryta The Silent Hour can’t wait to start them both! The Pickett book has to go first because it’s only a two week loan! Oh, by the way I’m only 51 pages away from the end of Dead Man’s Share and the book is a lot better over the second half!  I’m also a third of the way through Linwood Barclay”s Fear the Worst, which is very good and I probably should finish before I start the Box book but I will probably read them together until I get to the point where I just have to finish one of them! Too many books, too little time!

Roger Smith – Mixed Blood

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Mixed Blood is set in South Africa. This makes its setting the fourth country visited in my quest to read twelve books sent in different countries. So far I have read books set in Canada, Russia, and Australia and now Mixed Blood by Roger Smith set in South Africa. South Africa is by far my least favorite place to visit of the four!  Mixed Blood (book 13 of the year) is a gritty book filled with murder, drugs, crooked cops, poverty and despair! The story opens with Jack Burn his wife Susan and son Matt on the run in South Africa after Jack becomes involved in a bank robbery which goes bad leaving a policeman dead. One night two black gangstas climb into their rented home.  To save his family, Jack kills the two men and his life goes downhill from there.

The book is a real page turner The characters include: Benny Mongrel a harden each con working as a watchman in a neighboring house under construction witnesses the thieves going into the Burn house. Rudi “Gatsby” Barnard the crooked cop who rules by killing and Disaster, Rondi, the good cop. Each of the characters is well developed.. As I wrote earlier the book is gritty and not for the faint of heart. There are references t o drugs, abuse and prostitution. As a result I found that there weren’t a lot of good guys in the book to cheer for.  However, that did little to detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.

Overall, I liked the book  four stars out of five and will look for more by the author.  But I will stay away from South Africa at least the Cape Flats!