John's Death's Acre/Body Farm Essay

This summer, I read Death’s Acre by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson and The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell. Both books are similar, because they both deal with a forensic research facility known as the Body Farm, based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Both books do with the subject of crime scene investigation, which is the study of dead bodies – how it happened, who did it, etc.

Death’s Acre focused more on Dr. Bass and Jefferson and what they did as a team. They set out on adventures all around America and studied dead bodies and the subject of time since death, which is the time that has passed since someone actually died. The way that works is kind of hard to explain, but I found it very interesting. That’s one of the many reasons why I enjoyed this book.

The Body Farm is part of Patricia Cornwell’s best-selling Dr. Scarpetta series of books. After reading the book, I considered reading more of the Dr. Scarpetta series. I haven’t gotten around to it, but I will soon. The Body Farm is about Dr. Scarpetta and her crew – consisting of Special Agent Benton Wesley, Captain Peter Marino, and many others – solving a particular amount of cases, the Emily Steiner case being the most popular. Dr. Scarpetta and company interviewed Emily’s parents, and some of that information helped them solve the case.

I really enjoyed both of these books, because when I first decided to take Forensics, I wasn’t into the subject of crime scene investigation, but after reading both books, I now enjoy the subject, and I am looking forward to learning more about it in Forensics this year.