appalonia's review
3.0
I enjoyed this prequel to the Body Farm series, and experiencing Dr. Brockton as a younger man. The main problem for me with this book was the bad guy. The story cut to him frequently in horribly gruesome passages. And unfortunately the character himself was not interesting enough to warrant the attention. Otherwise the story was good and I hope in future stories we find out what became of some of the secondary characters in this book.
12140holmes's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book, as I have all the other books by these authors. Interesting tech stuff without being too 'techy' for normal readers. After reading this book I look forward to more!
elvenavari's review against another edition
5.0
A terrific book to end my challenge of 100 books in a year with. I am already attached to the characters from previous books but I loved seeing their beginnings in this one. I look forward to the next Bone book!
amarj33t_5ingh's review against another edition
5.0
You rarely stumble across a novel as magnetic as 'Cut To The Bone.' And if my words seem like the cliche on the blurb of each and every damn serial killer novel then trust-you-me, I swear that this novel is not your conventional serial murder story.
The protagonist is Dr. Bill Brockton, a renowned pathologist whose career is blackmarked by one mistake of epic proportions which has academia literally trying to suffocate his credentials. Nonetheless, Bill and a dedicated student initiate enough funding to open their very own Body Farm-a farm where human and animal cadavers are routinely studied to understand the fascinating but fetid world of corpse decay.
And it is while doing this that Brockton is finally approached by the police. The skeletal remains of a young girl have been located in the proximity of a mine and the police want to decode who she is from her remains. All fine and well until Brockton unearths a chilling pattern over similar other cases leading to the conclusion that a very meticulous and organized killer is still operating under the law's nose. But what Brockton doesn't realize is that the killer is aware of him. More incredibly, the killer is ex-military and on the hunt to silence any meddlers who might out him.
Only when you read this novel will you realize why it's a cut above from other similar novels and a credit to its genre.
The protagonist is Dr. Bill Brockton, a renowned pathologist whose career is blackmarked by one mistake of epic proportions which has academia literally trying to suffocate his credentials. Nonetheless, Bill and a dedicated student initiate enough funding to open their very own Body Farm-a farm where human and animal cadavers are routinely studied to understand the fascinating but fetid world of corpse decay.
And it is while doing this that Brockton is finally approached by the police. The skeletal remains of a young girl have been located in the proximity of a mine and the police want to decode who she is from her remains. All fine and well until Brockton unearths a chilling pattern over similar other cases leading to the conclusion that a very meticulous and organized killer is still operating under the law's nose. But what Brockton doesn't realize is that the killer is aware of him. More incredibly, the killer is ex-military and on the hunt to silence any meddlers who might out him.
Only when you read this novel will you realize why it's a cut above from other similar novels and a credit to its genre.
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
2.0
Cut to the Bone is the latest in the Jefferson Bass Body Farm series. I was attracted to this series initially because one half of the writing team is Bill Bass, the legendary founder of The Body Farm at the University of Tennessee. I've kept reading them because they're fun and interesting, full of forensic science and strong characters.
Cut to the Bone is number seven in the series and for me, it isn't the best outing. This is a prequel to the other books and examines the events leading to the establishment of the fictional Body Farm. It's the early nineties and our hero, Dr. Brockton, is training his graduate student and trying to figure out how to better determine time of death. He's been bitten once or twice with a misidentification and a new corpse provides him with the impetus to push further for research into the problem. In the meantime, more bodies turn up and it becomes obvious that the killer is targeting Dr. Brockton, putting everyone around him in mortal danger.
I found this book a little disappointing after the last two in the series that I read - The Bone Yard and The Inquisitor's Key. The Bone Yard, in particular, is a story that has stuck with me as it tells the tale of the discovery of dozens of bodies at the site of a now-closed state-run school for boys in Florida. This book dovetails with an ongoing investigation and set of gruesome discoveries, the most recent the bones of a young man who appears to have died in 1911. Visit The Official White House Boys' website for more on the real life underpinnings of this great book.
Cut to the Bone is a decent thriller, but there's nothing about it that's very special - a quality I have come to expect from this writing team. Since even a decent Body Farm novel is better than a lot of other novels in the genre, I recommend it, but if I were you I would read The Bone Yard - it'll haunt you forever.
Cut to the Bone is number seven in the series and for me, it isn't the best outing. This is a prequel to the other books and examines the events leading to the establishment of the fictional Body Farm. It's the early nineties and our hero, Dr. Brockton, is training his graduate student and trying to figure out how to better determine time of death. He's been bitten once or twice with a misidentification and a new corpse provides him with the impetus to push further for research into the problem. In the meantime, more bodies turn up and it becomes obvious that the killer is targeting Dr. Brockton, putting everyone around him in mortal danger.
I found this book a little disappointing after the last two in the series that I read - The Bone Yard and The Inquisitor's Key. The Bone Yard, in particular, is a story that has stuck with me as it tells the tale of the discovery of dozens of bodies at the site of a now-closed state-run school for boys in Florida. This book dovetails with an ongoing investigation and set of gruesome discoveries, the most recent the bones of a young man who appears to have died in 1911. Visit The Official White House Boys' website for more on the real life underpinnings of this great book.
Cut to the Bone is a decent thriller, but there's nothing about it that's very special - a quality I have come to expect from this writing team. Since even a decent Body Farm novel is better than a lot of other novels in the genre, I recommend it, but if I were you I would read The Bone Yard - it'll haunt you forever.
alhaider's review against another edition
3.0
I thought I was really going to like this book. As a huge fan of crime dramas on TV, I thought this book would be perfect for me.
Although, I did enjoy the book it was fairly hard for me to read since it seemed disjointed in parts and the story line was very predictable. I also was hoping it would go deeper into the science of solving the crime.
Maybe my expectations for this book were too high, but I would have liked the book so much more if it included the things above.
I would try some of the other books in the series to see if the character development builds and the science is more pronounced.
I received this book as part of the First Reads program.
Although, I did enjoy the book it was fairly hard for me to read since it seemed disjointed in parts and the story line was very predictable. I also was hoping it would go deeper into the science of solving the crime.
Maybe my expectations for this book were too high, but I would have liked the book so much more if it included the things above.
I would try some of the other books in the series to see if the character development builds and the science is more pronounced.
I received this book as part of the First Reads program.
tarheel99's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this one, good suspense, and things were back to normal with Dr Brockton studying bones to help solve crimes.
omnibozo22's review against another edition
5.0
Another fun episode in the Body Farm series.
For unclear reasons, the writing team putzed with the timeline of the protagonist's life. I haven't figured it out. Never mind, this episode adds more twists that usual, including several call backs to earlier books.
There's always plenty of real world forensic anthropology to lean in these fictionalized novels... realistically presented, in contrast to the silly sensationalist tv shows.
For unclear reasons, the writing team putzed with the timeline of the protagonist's life. I haven't figured it out. Never mind, this episode adds more twists that usual, including several call backs to earlier books.
There's always plenty of real world forensic anthropology to lean in these fictionalized novels... realistically presented, in contrast to the silly sensationalist tv shows.
belovedsnail's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
ker95's review against another edition
4.0
Although published well into the series, this is actually set as a prequel to the Body Farm series, in 1992.
Dr. Bill Brockton, head of the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Department, is being called to help with time and cause of death in a series of seemingly unrelated murders, which then seem to be tied together.
Definitely a page-turner, and tempts me into re-reading the whole dang series again...
Next in the series is Carved in Bone.
Dr. Bill Brockton, head of the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Department, is being called to help with time and cause of death in a series of seemingly unrelated murders, which then seem to be tied together.
Definitely a page-turner, and tempts me into re-reading the whole dang series again...
Next in the series is Carved in Bone.