Goodreads Overview:
The Body Farm - a research institute that tests the decomposition of corpses. Black Mountain, North Carolina: a sleepy little town where the local police deal with one homicide a year, if they're unlucky, and where people are still getting used to the idea of locking their doors at night. But violent death is no respecter of venue, and the discovery of the corpse of an 11-year-old girl sends shock waves through the community. Dr Kay Scarpetta, Chief medical Examiner on a similar case in Virginia, is called in to apply her forensic skills to this latest atrocity, but the apparent simplicity of the case proves something of a poisoned chalice - until Scarpetta finds enlightenment through the curious pathologists' playground known as the Body Farm.
Review:
The Body Farm is the fifth book in the Kay Scarpetta murder mystery series. The murder has a striking resemblance to a case solved in one of the prior books, so Kay and her colleagues from the FBI are called in to investigate. When an additional body is found in a rather peculiar situation, they aren't so sure their original assumptions are correct. The more evidence that turns up the more confusing the case becomes.
In addition, Kay's niece, Lucy, is caught up in an FBI investigation that could ruin her chances of joining the FBI full time upon graduation. She is exceptionally gifted with computers and is working on a top secret software that could greatly improve information sharing among law enforcement around the world, but someone else must want access to the information for sinister reasons.
This is an older series that I started reading at least 20 years ago. I would definitely recommend reading the books in order since the personal relationships between the characters develop throughout the series and some of the knowledge gained from the cases are referenced in later books. There are currently 25 books in the series, but you do not need to read all of them back to back in order to remember what is going on. I read one every now and then when I am looking for a good mystery and haven't had any trouble remembering the basics needed to fully appreciate each story. Each case is independent, so the majority of the information acts as a stand alone novel.
I thought I had this mystery all figured out about 75% of the way through, but as always there was a twist I didn't see coming until closer to 85 %. By that point, I had it figured out and just needed to see how all of the loose ends would get tied up.
The series is a bit graphic, so it isn't for everyone. I am definitely enjoying it and look forward to seeing what is in story for Kay, Lucy, and the rest of the team in the next installment.
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