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Without Mercy by Jefferson Bass
The Body Farm series Book #10
4★’s
From The Book:
Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton has spent twenty-five years solving brutal murders—but none so bizarre and merciless as his latest case: A ravaged set of skeletal remains is found chained to a tree on a remote mountainside. As Brockton and his assistant Miranda dig deeper, they uncover warning signs of a deadly eruption of hatred and violence.
But the shocking case is only the beginning of Brockton’s trials. Mid-case, the unthinkable happens: The deadliest criminal Brockton has ever foiled—the sadistic serial killer Nick Satterfield—escapes from prison, bent on vengeance.
But simply killing Brockton isn’t enough. Satterfield wants to make him suffer first, by destroying everything he holds dear: Brockton’s son, daughter-in-law, grandsons; even Miranda, his longtime graduate assistant, now on the verge of completing her Ph.D. and launching a forensic career of her own.
The dangers from all directions force Brockton to question two things on which he’s based his entire career—the justice system, and the quality of mercy—and to wonder: can the two co-exist?
If not, which will Brockton choose in his ultimate moment of truth?
My Thoughts;
Anything that deals with forensic science or anthropology interests me. That is one big reason why I have always been fond of The Body Farm series. Following Dr. Bill Brockton through the times of his life since he established the research facility known as The Body Farm’ located just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee at the University, has been an adventure in itself. Yes…the facility does indeed exist but Dr. Brockton is fictitious.
I have enjoyed the previous 9 novels and #10 was no exception. However I found myself struggling with it. The story was interesting enough…a man chained to a tree…perhaps for weeks…perhaps even months…. and kept alive by his captor as bait not only for the bear that killed him, but as bait for Dr, Bill Brockton. Somehow the story felt climatic. I just had the feeling that something dramatic was going to happen that would change the course of the entire series. Miranda was graduating…The sheriff’ officers from Cook County that had been such a big part of the stories previously, just didn’t come across as their usual selves…and Bill Brockton was visiting the past more and more often in his thoughts. Those particular feelings played out for me throughout what was actually a very good plot but I just could shake it. I won’t go into the ending as it would really be a spoiler. You just have to wonder if this is the end of the series. I hope not.
