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The Inquisitor's Key: A Body Farm Novel    by Jefferson Bass Amazon.com order for
Inquisitor's Key
by Jefferson Bass
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William Morrow, 2012 (2012)
Hardcover, CD, e-Book

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* * *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

This latest Body Farm escapade is set in present day Avignon, France, and also in 1314 in the Palace of the Popes. It stars forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton, and his assistant, Miranda Lovelady.

An ongoing excavation calls Miranda and Bill to the site beneath the Palace of the Popes in Avignon. Stefan, another anthropologist, has requested their presence because he feels he has found the bones of Jesus Christ with tell-tale signs of the body having been crucified.

What an historical find that would be. And the making of Stefan's career. But his zeal proves to be his undoing. The Shroud of Turin also takes front and center. We learn that two monks of some repute were burned to death at the stake back in the 1300s. Could these be the bones of one of them?

The Inquisitor's Key by Jefferson Bass has a plot that twists and turns as it rushes through the present day and the 1300s. By no means, however, is it hard to follow.

Jefferson Bass is the writing team of Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass. Dr. Bass is the founder of The University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility – The Body Farm – and brings authenticity to the novel. Jefferson has earned his credits as journalist, documentary filmmaker and writer. They now have seven novels under their belts.

I have been to Avignon but didn't see one eighth of the sites mentioned. I must add this destination to my bucket list. I would love to have seen Avignon back in the 1300s but wouldn't care to have to live under the conditions of that time. The Inquisitor's Key is another superb read.

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