Less than Dead

Quick! Pop quiz! Ready? Define “forensic entomology” and write a short paragraph discussing its possible use in contemporary fiction. Go!

Stumped? Yeah, me too, until I picked up Tim Downs’ bug man novels featuring, you guessed it, a forensic entomologist, Nick Polchak. Unsure what forensic entomology entails? It’s the study of insects and their, um, interaction with dead bodies. Yeah, really. As a premise for a novel it’s unusual to be sure but in the case of the Bug Man books it’s not only unusual, it’s both interesting and entertaining.

In Less than Dead, Nick travels to Virginia to uncover the secrets behind some strange remains found on the property of a wealthy U.S. senator making a bid for the White House. From the publisher’s description:

Dogs have long been man’s best friend, but the Bug Man’s friend is a rare breed . . . the cadaver dog.

All roads lead to the White House for John Henry Braden, the charismatic senator from Virginia aristocracy whose beautiful wife Victoria is the talk of Washington and the crown jewel of Endor, her backwoods Virginia hometown.

But when bodies turn up on Braden’s property–the site of a multimillion dollar construction project he’s spearheading–the senator’s spin doctors, led by his future first lady, must act quickly to quell a conspiracy before it blemishes their presidential campaign.

Enter entomologist Nick Polchak, the quirky bug expert enlisted to determine if the senator’s bone yard is a forgotten cemetery or a crime scene.

To help with the investigation, Polchak follows local legend to Alena Savard, a mysterious woman known for her ability to turn mongrels into the best search dogs around. They soon find themselves on the trail of a desperate individual bent on protecting a terrible secret.

Less than Deadis an unforgettable tale of crime and concealment in the corridors of high-stakes politics–as well as in the deepest contours of the human heart.

Less than Dead represents one of my favorite kind of reads: an edge of your seat, can’t put down thriller that is equally as smart and witty as it is intense and mysterious. In fact, some of the dialogue is so sharp and dry that I laughed out loud.

I picked up both Less than Dead and its predecessor First the Dead (which incidentally takes place in the bayous of Louisiana in the wake of Katrina’s destruction) at the same time. I enjoyed both very much but though First the Dead received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, I think Less than Dead is the more enjoyable of the two. Both are highly recommended!

Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes….