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challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good holiday read but it followed the over used crime thriller pattern. It was interesting to see the blending of Koff's real life experience with forensic anthropology (see [b:The Bone Woman: A Forensic Anthropologist's Search for Truth in the Mass Graves of Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo|141456|The Bone Woman A Forensic Anthropologist's Search for Truth in the Mass Graves of Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo|Clea Koff|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320503922s/141456.jpg|136426]) with a crime thriller but everything else was the same old serial killer story.
I completely enjoyed this book. Two of the primary characters are people dealing with the post traumatic stress of things they whitnessed on UN missions, but their stresses were well handled, woven into the story, and made them richer characaters rather than just damadged people. Jayne isn't so crippled by her PTSD that we wonder why she's the main character, and she doesn't find a miracle cure for her trauma, she just lives with it, and does what she has to do. I found this refreshing in its realism. The story itself was detailed and very good. I was thrown for a loop along with the characters when the potential identity of the killer is discovered. I suspected him of being a creep, but that was all (I hope this statement does not constitute too much of a spoiler, since I'm intentionally not naming names). I've recently read reviews of other forensics books proclaiming the lab time and details get in the way of the story, that is not the case here. There was a good balance between important forensic details, police leg work, and thrilling chase. I can't wait for the next one.
This author was compared to Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell so I thought I would give it a chance. Whoever made the comparison wasn't even close. I didn't even bother finishing the book.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While I was reading Koff's debut mystery I watched a crime show on television. The difference between this well-researched forensic mystery and the shoddy science on the show was monumental. So much so that I ranted about it elsewhere. That said, FREEZING is a great start to what I hope will be a long-running series.
Jayne Hall and Steelie Lander run the 32/1 agency, a nonprofit organization that does forensic profiles of missing persons and tries to connect them with the many Jane and John Does who've been left in coroner's offices around the country. They're forensic anthropology expertise is requested by a friend at the FBI when a traffic accident on an LA freeway leads to the discovery of the remnants of a body. Remnants that are actually pieces, two arms and part of a leg to be exact. The agents are convinced that these body parts are connected to a possible serial killer who'd been operating in Georgia and they want Jayne and Steelie to help them prove the connection.
Clea Koff is a herself a forensic anthropologist who runs an agency much like the fictional one she has created for her protagonists. Her expertise is a great asset to the book. Every now and then she does do a little bit of info-dumping, but mostly she lets her characters tell the story. The mystery is one that builds slowly as Jayne and Steelie and their FBI counterparts put the pieces together (ackk, bad pun there). This was definitely a palate cleanser after I got done with the bad tv science.
This review was posted at MADreads:
http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/madreads/forensic-science-done-right
Jayne Hall and Steelie Lander run the 32/1 agency, a nonprofit organization that does forensic profiles of missing persons and tries to connect them with the many Jane and John Does who've been left in coroner's offices around the country. They're forensic anthropology expertise is requested by a friend at the FBI when a traffic accident on an LA freeway leads to the discovery of the remnants of a body. Remnants that are actually pieces, two arms and part of a leg to be exact. The agents are convinced that these body parts are connected to a possible serial killer who'd been operating in Georgia and they want Jayne and Steelie to help them prove the connection.
Clea Koff is a herself a forensic anthropologist who runs an agency much like the fictional one she has created for her protagonists. Her expertise is a great asset to the book. Every now and then she does do a little bit of info-dumping, but mostly she lets her characters tell the story. The mystery is one that builds slowly as Jayne and Steelie and their FBI counterparts put the pieces together (ackk, bad pun there). This was definitely a palate cleanser after I got done with the bad tv science.
This review was posted at MADreads:
http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/madreads/forensic-science-done-right