while the premise of this book was interesting, i found the plot to be a little all over the place, and the writing to be a touch melodramatic at times. there were points where i felt the book was nothing more than a way to promote the body farm and UT.

i probably would have given this book a solid three stars had it not been for the "romantic" subplot. i was annoyed that the protagonist, a tenured middle-aged professor (so obviously modelled after one of the co-authors in many respects), not only inappropriately commented on their female graduate assistant's curves in scrubs, but then proceeded to make out with a keen undergraduate taking their first year anthropology course. i'm sure the authors thought these incidents would be "edgy" and add some "spice", but they just amounted to gross abuses of power that felt slimy and a little too close to home given the profession of one of the co-authors. while the protagonist worried about the repercussions of their actions, they never really faced any.

in general, i think i'd rather stick to kathy reichs for my forensic anthropology fill.