I'm about two-thirds of the way through this Jefferson Bass novel. I'm really enjoying the Oak Ridge setting and the accuracy of the forensics. AND the story is pretty good, too. Maybe building a little too much of the story on long-shot coincidences, but isn't that what most novelists do?
Lots of references to places like Big Ed's, the Soup Kitchen, Ed Westcott photography, and Katie's Kitchen, among other things. I've only found one factual error - and maybe it's not an error. Is Blankenship Field also named Wildcat Stadium? I've never heard it called that but Bass refers to it that way.
Anyway, it's a good and fun read.
I don't honestly know, Beaver. He may have changed it to Wildcat Stadium to be more readily recognized as a high school football venue, because only people from this area would know what Blankenship Field is.
Like you, I was really impressed with the little details of that novel, and subsequently enjoyed reading the rest of the Jefferson Bass works. The stories do build one upon another, but even reading them out of order doesn't take away from a good story. The whole series would make for a nice bag of summer reading.
Dr. Bass is this year's graduation speaker -- I'm looking forward to it!
A friend pointed out another possible error. Dr. Brockton leaves Big Ed's with leftover pizza in a take-home box. My friend says Big Ed does not use boxes for take home. Every time I've ever been to Big Ed's there has been no leftover pizza so I can't comment on this one either.
It's Jack Armstrong Stadium, named after Coach Jack Armstrong, not Wildcat Stadium.
Your friend is correct, Beaver. Take-out from Big Ed's is the pizza on a cardboard circle, enclosed in a paper bag and stapled shut. I've never taken home leftovers myself, but I have a daughter who works there, who occasionally brings home pizza to trade for something I've made for her.
I've attended at least 2 of Dr. Bass's lectures and he is quite entertaining and informative. However, I tried reading the first Jefferson Bass book and just could not get into it. The writing style left me cold and I got bored quickly. But I would attribute that to the actual writer, not Dr. Bass.
To be honest, I had the same reaction to the writing itself in this novel. If it had not included so much "Oak Ridge-info" I would not have liked it nearly as much.