Deep down in the hole

Author : Jefferson Bass
Title : The Bone Thief
Published : 25/11/2010
Pages : 384
Genre : Crime Thriller
Publisher : Quercus

     Bill Brockton is exhuming a body to obtain a bone sample for a paternity test. A simple enough job until he discovers that the body's limbs have all been removed. Digging deeper, he soon finds himself embroiled in the massive and very illegal market for human body parts. He becomes drawn into the enterprise, selling donated corpses to the postmortem chop shop - in league with the FBI, hoping to bring the organization down

     So once again I've delved in the world of Dr Bill Brockton. Its a series of book that i'm always happy to pick up. This time we find our hero mixed up in the world of organ transplantation. A subject I hold dear as i'm signed up as an organ donor myself. Going into this book I was already a wear of the dark side of this medical practise. People have been known to sell organs the world over and everyone has heard the story of people waking up in baths of ice or though I feel this maybe more fiction than reality. So how would our hero deal tackle the subject.

     As for Brokton its business as usual trying to keep the body farm afloat and deal with a second life helping out crime agencies. For me he resembles the farther figure of crime fiction. He is always looking out for those around him ether giving sage advice or trying to help people out of a bind. This time he has voluntarily dumped him self in harms way. Going undercover for the F.B.I sounds like a great idea until the harsh reality of what he is doing come crashing down around him. This is a man who is more accustomed to dealing with the after effects or a crime than being at its for front. He deals with this in a slightly bumbling way as you could imagine. And while I was never truly worried he would make it out alive there are some time I would if the wouldn't be a few scars by the end. Also for the first time he has to deal with weather or not he can break his principles to come out on top. It was interesting to see someone fighting with there own moral code. Have far would I go to see justice served. To be honest i'm not sure and I like how this is reflected in our hero. His struggle seemed to show a genuine conflict within the charter.  Some characters make a return visit from previous books to aid our doctor on his way. And for those new to the series it wouldn't take long to pickup there connections to our good doctor.  Foremost is his good friend medical examiner Eddie Garcia Dealing with devastating wounds him suffered in the previous book. It works as an interesting cases study on how people come to terms with being left disabled and how there world view can be changed.

     Once again this is a book that comes from a very real world problem. The black market for body parts is a thriving international business. There simple are not enough parts to go around and people will pay big money to get what they want. I like the fact that for the most part these books are very grounded in the real world. The story the author chose to tell never seem that far fetched. And are told in a style that is easy to get on with. The dodgy world we are introduced to is one of people out for money. While they may try and shine you off with there altruism for these people its all about the bottom line. This is a world of sharks and our Dr is most defiantly there prey. At the heart of this thriller is a cat and mouse game although in this case its more of a cat dog mouse game. Between the criminals the F.B.I and the doctor. While some of the medical terms are unknown to me a quick Google search is always at hand to fill in any blankets. And at no point did I feel this detracted from my enjoyment of the book. For me this is a point that raises them up. The story is full of intrigue and suspense. Bass does this in a slower way than some other authors but I still found my self trying to fit the pieces together at the same pace. The other elements that always come though in these books is that of family but not necessarily in the traditional sense It more the friends an colleges that make up this small band. They all care about each other even if at times they may not show it. Much like in real life this can lead to conflict between them. Non more so than when Brokton has to keep secrets from those he cares about. Leading to some interesting results.

     As with the last book I was able to spend a happy evening with another one of the books in this series. There is just as much for new comers as those who have been with it since the beginning. As you would expect the story comes with its share of twist and turns. I hold these books up there with my favourite's and will be happy to jump into the next one when the time come around.