92) Brain Trust by Christopher Golden

The Blurb :

Spring break is prime time for R&R, fun in the sun, and all things low-key. So when Jenna Blake goes to Florida with her roommate, Yoshiko, the last thing she's expecting to find is another mystery. Well, you can take the girl out of the ME's office, but...

A series of seemingly natural deaths turn out to be suspicious when each of the bodies proves to have mysterious growths of some kind. Needless to say, despite Yoshiko's concerns that her roommate is missing the point of a vacation, Jenna can't stay away from this case.

After autopsies, another common denominator among the victims presents itself. And when further research reveals similar deaths in other states, Jenna starts to wonder if the deaths were indeed natural. As the body count climbs, Jenna's break gives way to a dangerous chase. With Slick and Danny back in Massachusetts, Jenna has only herself to rely on...for survival.

My Thoughts :

I began reading this series a long time ago and even though the series is old and over I can't help myself from continuing.  The books are easy reads and are well written but the way Jenna Blake keeps getting into trouble and not really getting upset about the amount of bodies that are piling up because of the investigations she gets involved in is becoming a little weird.

However I am still enjoying the medical investigations and the strange plots that the author is thinking up.  The fact that Jenna must be as hard as nails and without emotion is just a small problem in this nice series that revolves around a girl working part time at the ME's office.

The story takes us to Florida this time around and it isn't just a break for Jenna and her friend but also for the reader.  A different location makes a nice change and offers a lot of logistical problems that the author manages to handle quite well.  After all this is the eighth book in the series and it needed something a little different and sending Jenna off with her friend for a week was a good call.

With only a couple more books left in the series I will at some point end up reading them so I  say goodbye to this series.  If this story had been earlier on in the series I may have given up on The Body of Evidence thrillers because the main character seems to be way too detached from the crazy and weird circumstances that surround the events in this plot.  I am not saying that she shows absolutely no emotions but they are so quick and are mentioned more in passing that you can tell that this series is being written by a guy who has no idea how a young woman would deal with the stuff this one is going through.

Well worth checking out if you like ME thrillers and also if you like a good mystery.  The characters are well developed and if you can see beyond the fast and furious writing and lack of emotional depth then you will be happy with what this series has on offer.

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40) Burning Bones by Christopher Golden

The Blurb :

"It's quite a mystery, isn't it? I mean, how do you burn someone to death in public, and not have anyone notice?" Two people burst into flame, burned alive in front of plenty of eyewitnesses with no obvious cause. Spontaneous human combustion is a bizarre phenomenon, but according to published accounts, it happens. Could that be what occurred here? Or is it murder?

As Jenna Blake turns nineteen, she is getting over a recent breakup and is rekindling an old flame. Between her personal life and college, she has enough on her hands. The last thing she nees is another nasty little puzzle.

But the burn victims' clothes weren't flammable, the crime scenes reveal no evidence of arson, and nome of the various witnesses can provide anything resembling a clue. In fact, she and Slick are just beginning to re-evaluate their faith in rational, scientific explanation when the fire claims another victim, and an incredible explanation presents itself. Even as they struggle with their discovery, the danger hits far too close to home...

My Thoughts :

This series has been sitting on my bookshelf for years and every now and again I manage to pull myself away from the Kindle and pick up a paperback and this is one series I always try and grab.  This is actually the last paperback in the series I have and is the seventh installment.  Young Adult and more forensic than mystery, this is a set of books that have been around for a long time and are quite out-dated (they still watch videos...) but they are still nice quick and interesting reads.

In this installment Jenna is getting over her break-up and trying to keep busy.  Of course she gets involved in a case but the amount of time she really spends on it is minimal compared to the two detectives who also feature strongly and tell their side of the story.  While I like the concept and characters this episode was a little bleh for my liking and the ending was too quick and easy.  There was a certain something missing from this installment but it may have something to do with the author sharing the writing with another writer.  Who knows how much he really put into the book.

With only three more books to go in the series I will be making sure I get copies of the other books.  I have come this far and I want to finish what I have started.  It will be interesting to see what trouble Jenna can still get herself into, how the detective gets on and of course how things end.  Well worth reading if you like forensic mysteries and a nice gift for any younger readers who like this genre.  At least they will see that not having a mobile phone wasn't that bad! ;) For anyone who is interested :The series is actually available on Kindle and the books aren't that expensive!

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144) Skin Deep by Christopher Golden

The Blurb :

"A girl is dead, and one of your best friends got his head cracked with a shovel, because some white guy didn't want to see them kiss."" When Jenna and Damon first began dating, neither worried too much about the other's skin color. After all, Somerset is a pretty liberal college environment. But when a black couple is attacked by a white man on campus, race relations become cause for frenzied peace rallies, protests, and debate for the entire student body. Suddenly Jenna has her hands full investigating the attack -- and defending her interracial romance....

Then a white student turns up dead at the hands of a black assailant.

As racial tension reaches a fever pitch on campus, the crimes continue, growing increasingly brutal. Strangely, in each case no two witnesses can form the same description of the perpetrator.

The police are looking for two young men. Until one assailant, pronounced dead at the crime scene, disappears....

My Thoughts :

I read Head Games, the fifth book in this series, for a Read-a-thon on the weekend and then I picked up this one, the sixth part, straight after.  I found the books covered in dust on my bookshelf and they have been there a long time.  I can't even remember when I read the first four books in the series but I know I really enjoyed them and Head Games reminded me how much.

While I enjoy Jenna's way of thinking and the crimes/mysteries she gets involved with, I have to say I didn't like this one very much.  I am not sure if it was the underlying theme, the very weird solution for the murders or the fact that it was so violent that bothered me but I didn't enjoy the story as much as the previous ones.  What I do know is that this one was pulling further away from the forensic aspect of Jenna's life and just had her being involved for no real reason.

Definitely not the best of the bunch so far but it hasn't put me off.  I want to see where the author takes Jenna's character next.  After her neurosis about all these bad things happening to her I really do hope that the next case is a lot less closer to home.  For a young girl to have so much happen to her in such a short amount of time...well it starts to be a bit unrealistic and silly.

I have the next book on my shelf and I will be reading it soon.  The I will decide if I want to hunt down more in the series.  I think there are ten books so it would be a shame not to finish the series.

 

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143) Head Games by Christopher Golden

The Blurb :

""They were my friends. I've known them almost my entire life. Maybe they both just lost it. But I think something's going on here, and I have to take a closer look."" Home from college on break, Jenna Blake is horrified to discover that a childhood friend has murdered his entire famly -- and he's not the only one. During the next two days, several other area teens experience homicidal rages, but are later unable to explain or even recall their actions.

The police are leaning toward the popular explanation: brutality influenced by violence in movies and video games. But when Jenna investigates further, she begins to believe that someone is playing sinister head games with her former classmates...and with her, as well.

What Jenna needs is someone to take her seriously, but Slick is preoccupied with a mystery of his own, her father has taken off for France, and her college friends have all gone away for the holidays.

Jenna's on her own this time.

My Thoughts :

This is a blast from the past for me.  While taking part in Read-a-thon this weekend I decided it was time to read some real physical books from my shelves.  This fifth book in the Body of Evidence series made me sigh.  I remember having them, reading the first four books but why I hadn't picked up the rest was beyond me.  I had forgotten all about them.  So I decided they needed to be read.

It didn't take me long to get back into the series.  It is pretty hard to forget this unique and original story.  Jenna Blake is just a girl but one that has a gift where forensics are concerned and she has already had quite a bit of experience solving crimes.  This time she is home for Christmas and it is something really weird and horrific that happens in her home town to her friends that gets Jenna involved in another case.

A great story, with a super plot, I remember why I loved this series.  Not too young adult but more grown up and independent this is something that any lover of CSI or Bones will enjoy.  It maybe just a little old and dated in some respect (it was published in 2000) but it is a very interesting and thrilling read.

So now I fear I need to move on to book number six.  Usually I wouldn't just pick up the next in a series straight away but seeing as these have been on my shelf for a long time, I feel I need to get them read and let them move on.

Oh and you may recognise the author Christopher Golden.  He has quite a lot of books to his name including some in the Buffy series and co-writing with Charlaine Harris.

 

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