Truth is not only stranger than fiction, it’s much easier to write, I now realize. Thanks to the many people who have helped me navigate the new territory of fiction. Arthur Bohanan—the real-life Art—gave us gracious and goodhumored permission to borrow his name, his reputation, and a few of his accomplishments, in return for nothing more than a promise to call attention to the urgent need for more research on finding ways to detect children’s fingerprints. Thanks, Art—that’s a promise we’re privileged to keep. Dr. Jim Corbin, of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture—a pioneering scientist in the fight against ginseng poaching—answered numerous questions about
’sang; lest his reputation suffer, I’ll hasten to absolve him of all blame for the fictional liberties I’ve taken on the subject of cultivation. For helicopter and air ambulance research—on the ground and in the air—I’m indebted to the flight crews of Smoky Mountain Helicopters and the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s LifeStar air ambulance program. Thanks also to Dr. Sandra Elkins of the Regional Forensic Center; to Dr. Ed Uthman, via his website and emails; and to Lynn Faust, John, and Rick.
Many members of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies were kind enough to answer myriad questions. Among them: KPD firearms examiner Patty Resig; sheriff’s deputy (and K9 trainer extraordinaire) Art Wolff; District Attorney General Al Schmutzer; Assistant District Attorney Marsha Mitchell; Assistant U.S. Attorney Guy Blackwell; DEA agent Tim Wilson; TBI agent Greg Monroe; and half a dozen members of the FBI’s Knoxville district office—Special Agent in Charge Joe Clark, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Cox, Special Agents Gary Kidder, Beth O’Brien, and Robert Gibson III, and Chief District Counsel James Van Pelt.
Thanks also to my stepsons (and firearms consultants), Adam and Lee Robinson; to our energetic and capable literary agent, Giles Anderson; and to our intrepid editor at William Morrow, Sarah Durand.
As ever, working with Dr. Bill Bass remains a great pleasure, an amazing education, and a high honor.
—JWJ
About the Author
JEFFERSON BASS is the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Dr. Bass, a world-renowned forensic anthropologist, founded the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility—the Body Farm—a quartercentury ago. He is the author or coauthor of more than two hundred scientific publications, as well as a critically acclaimed memoir about his career, Death’s Acre. Dr. Bass is also a dedicated teacher, honored as National Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Jefferson is a veteran journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. His writings have been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, and Popular Science and broadcast on National Public Radio. The coauthor of Death’s Acre, he is also the writer and producer of two highly rated National Geographic documentaries about the Body Farm.
www.jeffersonbass.com