Review of Death's Acre and The Devil's Bones

A few weeks ago I heard legendary forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass and his writing partner, Jon Jefferson, give a talk about their latest novel, "The Devil's Bones," which as the title suggests, is about death, bones and fire.

As far as subject matter goes, a book couldn't be more authentic, since Dr. Bass founded of the University of Tennessee's Body Farm. It's a place where the decomposition of human bodies is studied. In old Cadillacs. Submerged in water. Locked in trunks. While not an attraction for the average Knoxville tourist, the Body Farm draws law enforcement personnel and medical examiners from around the country.

After the talk, I rushed to buy the book, written under the pen name Jefferson Bass. Unfortunately, all the copies at the Friends of Literacy's fund-raiser had already sold out. So the next day I went to my favorite bookstore and bought the novel, along with Bass's memoir, "Death's Acres" (also written with Jefferson).

Once again I was beaten to the punch. My wife picked up the memoir and didn't put it down. This worried me, considering she had nightmares as a child from watching "The Wizard of Oz."

No problem.

"The book was gruesome, yet fascinating," Beth told me. "Of course, I only read during the daytime."

 "Death's Acre" tells the history of forensic science through Dr. Bass's career. And what a career it's been. This is a man who could tell that the victims of a serial killer once had good dental hygiene, but had fallen on hard times before they were murdered. He also explained how he once misjudged a victim's time of death by 113 years.

Bass's voice is so fun and entertaining you almost forget you're learning things. And he doesn't take himself to seriously. For example: "There's a long tradition in the Bass family of a trait we like to call determination," he writes. "I'm told other people often refer to us as mule-headed."

This was like sitting in class with a beloved professor. In fact, a friend of mine took Dr. Bass's entry-level anthropology course as a UT junior.

"If I'd have taken it earlier," she said, "I would have been an anthropology major."

As much as we both loved "Death's Acre," I was lukewarm about "The Devil's Bones." (Beth didn't read it since she mostly sticks to non-fiction.)

On the plus side, the novel had fascinating scientific tidbits. For example, did you know the bodies of the grossly overweight burn intensely when cremated? That's because their fat melts and causes a grease fire.

Also, forensic scientists can tell whether a burned body was recently deceased or a skeleton because fire gives fresh bones spiral fractures. Much like green wood, the moist bones don't burn as well as dry bones.

For many readers, this will be more than enough to carry the book. Personally, I was a little disappointed. Despite the theme of death by fire, the book lacked a burning plot. Instead, it presented three lukewarm ones:

•  Bass's fictional alter-ego, Dr. Bill Brockton, tries to figure out if a wealthy women burn to death in a car fire or was murdered beforehand.

•  He wants to know whether the cremains (cremated remains) of his lawyer's aunt are real or fake, which leads to a gruesome discovery in north Georgia.

•  He's also worried about the escape from jail of a former Knox County medical examiner who killed Brockton's lover and tried to set the professor up for the murder.

To me, none of the three storylines was strong enough and I had to push myself to finish. But I must admit, I've told the grease fire story to at least twenty people and haven't eaten a donut in three weeks.

That said, I guarantee you'll find "Death's Acre" a fascinating read. If not, have someone check for a pulse, because that may be a sign you're ready for the Body Farm.

Terry Shaw is the author of "The Way Life Should Be," winner of Gather's original First Chapter's Contest. It was published in September by Touchstone/Simon & Schuster. He's at work on his second novel.