DVD Talk Forum - forensic anthropology fiction

.... just a well-baited fishing rod:<ul><li><A HREF="http://www.forensic-entomology.com/Books/forens_anthro.htm" target="_blank">Non fiction</a><li><A HREF="http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&threadm=Pine.SUN.3.93.970506003619.12504A-100000%40eve.speakeasy.org&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fselm%3DPine.SUN.3.93.970506003619.12504A-100000%2540eve.speakeasy.org" target="_blank">DejaGoogle</a><li><A HREF="http://www.mostlyfiction.com/sleuths/reichs.htm" target="_blank">Kathy Reichs</a> (not the same book you cited)<li><A HREF="http://www.crimelibrary.com/forensics/anthropology/author.htm" target="_blank">Katherine Ramsland</a><li><A HREF="http://www.tamu.edu/anthropology/fiction.html" target="_blank">Archaeology-oriented fiction list</a><li><A HREF="http://www.co.wake.nc.us/library%5Cwebsite.nsf/SubMenuEntriesYahoo/821C39DE36E2744885256A7600630823!OpenDocument" target="_blank">If You Like Patricia Cornwell....</a> <A HREF="http://www.twbooks.co.uk/authors/pcornwell.html" target="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.twbooks.co.uk/images/flash.gif" border=0 ALT="Or click for a CORNWELL listing"><li><A HREF="http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=hays.46-180596082624%40ts26-7.homenet.ohio-state.edu" target="_blank">DejaGoogle-archived list including some fiction</a>*</li></ul><blockquote>(* the fiction from that DejaGoogle list)
Make No Bones (1991) by Aaron J. Elkins
The Windsor Knot (1990) by Sharyn McCrumb
Missing Susan (1991) by Sharyn McCrumb
MacPherson's Lament (1992) by Sharyn McCrumb
If I'd killed Him When I Met Him (1995) by Sharyn McCrumb</blockquote>It strikes me that it might be worthwhile firing up your newsreader and subscribing to the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.mystery (You may have to <A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?postid=1059101#post1059101" target="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/images/top_search.gif" border=0 ALT="Click"></a> for a Usenet primer or read through <A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?postid=853292#post853292" style=text-decoration:none target="_blank">Startide</a> 's informative articles on the subject).

After lurking for a few days you'd get the idea of the posting "rules" and could post your own query stating what books you've enjoyed and asking for recommendations based on those.

Below are a couple of reviews from a <A HREF="http://harrietklausner.wwwi.com/" target="_blank">Harriet Klausner</a> of that newsgroup by way of illustration of the kind of thing you might see:

Quote:

STRANGE BREW
Kathy Hogan Trochek
Harper, Oct 1997, $23.00, 288 pp.
ISBN: 0-06-017542-7

Ex police officer turned private investigator and owner of a cleaning service, Callahan Garrity, is watching her Atlanta neighborhood dramatically change. Historically, Candler Park has been a working class neighborhood, but recently Yuppies have discovered it, driving prices up and ousting long term residents.

One individual feeling the change is local toy store owner Wuvvy, whose shop is being closed to make room for a Yuppie establishment. Wuvvy feels betrayed by a relative. So when that individual is found dead, Wuvvy becomes the prime suspect.

Wuvvy asks Callahan to help prove her innocence. However, before the private investigator can begin, Wuvvy's past is announced on the news.

She once served ten years for murdering her wealthy spouse. Not long after that, Wuvvy's body is found, an apparent suicide victim. Callahan thinks otherwise and decides to vindicate her client, posthumously even at the cost of her own life.

This sixth installment in the Callahan Garrity series is Kathy Hogan Trochek's best work to date because the novel transcends genre stereotyping with its literary appeal, reminiscent of the early works of Sharyn McCrumb.

The gentrification of a working class neighborhood and the impact on its long time residents is carefully examined as an overlooked social problem. This adds to the charm of the book. There are no simple solutions in STRANGE BREW. Instead it is a thought provoking piece of entertainment.

Quote:

QUESTIONABLE REMAINS
Beverly Connor
Cumberland, Sep 1997, $20.95, 288 pp.
ISBN: 1-888952-53-9

Dr. Lindsay Chamberlain is a renowned expert on forensic anthropology, a subject that she teaches at a Georgia university. Because of her connections and well deserved fame, Sheriff Dean Howard from nearby Cordwain asks Lindsay to look at a skeleton recently uncovered on the Miles and Grace Lambert farm. Lindsay arrives and quickly concludes that the bones are not of this century, but mysterious anyway.

She stays overnight at the farm. Grace asks her to look into the two year old death of her brother, Ken, who she believes was murdered by his spouse for insurance money. Ken and two other men died in a cave-in that sealed them inside the cave. Lindsay reluctantly agrees to investigate.

She quickly realizes that the official inquiry was either poorly handled or was a cover-up. However, someone wants the case to remain closed even if it means killing Lindsay and anyone else assisting her on the investigation.

The second Dr. Chamberlain investigates novel is a very appealing story due to the clever application of anthropology to move the story forward, and Lindsay, who is one of the most fascinating characters to appear in a who-done-it in several years. The absorbing story line also brilliantly includes a sixteenth century sub-plot that adds much of the anthropological elements.

Though the secondary characters are a bit weak, QUESTIONABLE REMAINS remains unquestionably a superb reading experience.

Oh.... you're welcome.