One Drop of Blood

Kel McKelvey #1

by Thomas Holland

Robert Dean "Kel" McKelvey, burned out after 15 years, has bones of Jimmie Carl Trimble, Vietnam War hero -- or does he? A rare DNA sequence, at both Army and FBI labs, links to 40-year-old unsolved racial Arkansas double killing. Kel's partner is volatile FBI agent Michael Levine. Can they unravel web of silence, stolen identity, betrayal, patriotism, collusion, and lies?

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

333 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Thomas Holland was raised in Arkansas and yet lived to tell about it. He was trained as a painter and printmaker in Salzburg, Austria, and at the University of Missouri, where he earned his BA in fine arts before taking an MA and a PhD in anthropology, also from Missouri, and later, a JD from the University of Hawaii. For almost 25 years he was the scientific director of the Department of Defense laboratory in Hawaii that searches for, and identifies, missing and unaccounted-for American military personnel. He led recovery missions in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China, Iraq, Kuwait, and the workers’ paradise of North Korea. During his tenure at the lab, the remains of over 1600 missing men were identified and returned home, including the Vietnam War Unknown Soldier. He is a licensed attorney in Arkansas and the District of Columbia, and is one of only about 100 active board-certified forensic anthropologists in the whole known universe. He is a consultant to numerous national and international groups, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and is the author of five previous novels and numerous, opaque, scientific and legal articles and book chapters. He currently is the Director of the Forensic Institute for Research and Education at Middle Tennessee State University, and his wife, Mary, split time between their home in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and a tiny apartment in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well read & the mystery dovetailed nicely with a recent nonfiction read, Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William R. Maples. Maples spent time identifying the remains of soldiers just as Kell, the main character, does. All the science was well done from what I could tell & the situation was twisty enough.

There's a very good question being asked overall, too. Is it always a good idea to open old cases & identify old remains? The gov't doesn't ask the family. As they can, old cold cases & remains are checked. In this case, 40 years have gone by before FBI Special Agent Levine & Kell start picking at the scabs.

Unfortunately, the author made sure we knew the answer to the mystery very early on, so most of the book was spent waiting for our main characters to figure it out. I would have found it far more interesting if I could have followed the trail along with Kell, especially since the author took his sweet time getting there. The detail was well done, but there was just so much of it. I was really ready for the book to wrap up. I'm not the most patient reader, though.

A pretty good mystery. I might try another sometime.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really a good book

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was absolutely outstanding. I listened to it on audiobook, read by Patrick Lawlor. He was phenomenal. I believe he is my favorite audiobook reader to date. He truly made the book come alive.

Thomas Holland's crime fiction novel involves an anthropologist from the Central Identification Labratory in Hawaii (CILHI) and a black-sheep FBI agent from New York City. The two characters find themselves in small-town east Arkansas trying to solve their respective cases.

The regional colloquialisms in this novel were hysterical. And the dynamics of all the characters were exceptionally well developed. His characters were human, and that I admire above all else in a good story. The interaction between Kel and Levine contributed to the humor of the story, but it also contributed to the realism.

The setting was so realistic, I almost found myself scratching jigger bites, too.

Holland made me laugh, he tugged at my heart strings, and he kept me guessing. I did figure a few details out early, but there were plenty of surprises awaiting me throughout the plot.

The plot was very well focused; I don't recall any elements throughout this novel that I felt could have been safely eliminated without harming the story.

I am DEFINITELY looking forward to Thomas Holland's next book.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 1 out of 5]

"All we need is a drop of blood from a relative and we can put this one to rest. If we just knew who" p 332. For those with strong stomach and curiosity. Author sounds like he knows his material. "Presently CIL scientific director", he worked in Iraq, N. Korea, Cambodia, and "manicured lawns of Arlington VA" says back flap.

"One last time ... can you call me -" p 8 are last words of Jimmy Carl Trimble in Vietnam War 1966, before buying time for rest of platoon to escape. Decomposing body misses lower part, yet age 19 on paper is younger than bone age. In present, FBI agent Levine is sent South for unsolved pair of murders from forty years ago. Robert 'Kel' McKelvey Army's CIL Central ID Lab may find a rare DNA sequence somewhere after p 64, where I quit over bloated stinking body bag contents.

On last pages, DS complains about needing title drop of blood. Meanwhile Kel's "thoughts were focused on the open FedEx box .. contents -- a tan polyester-and-cotton sheriff's uniform shirt, covered with dried blood and crusty flecks of brain matter" p 333. The sheriff in the beginning who tries to slow investigation to dead stop also gets murdered? Is he an answer to whodunit?

[Erin Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book so much more than I ultimately did. Cold cases, MIA/presumed dead soldiers, old families in the Deep South? Sounds like the recipe for a good read. However well-researched this book appears to be (right down to the Batesville caskets) the writing is cliched and stereotypical. It perpetuates the ages-old myth that all Southerners are racist, ignorant, uneducated meatheads with sweet tea in their veins and no thoughts in their skulls.

It is readily apparent that the author knows his stuff, as evidenced by the life he leads and his profession, and in this case art imitates life. This would be a good series for those who are fans of Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan series and dry, scientific mysteries.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery of this story was intriguing until I figured it out well before the characters did (at least most of it.) I liked it well enough to be willing to read the next book. My biggest problem with it was what I suspect was an "over the top" depiction of Arkansans. I told one friend that I was waiting for the General Lee and Daisy Duke to show up. They never did - and I'm grateful, but the depiction was irritating.

[Jodi Pomerleau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story...I mean what's not to love? The FBI, a Vietnam cold case, a small southern town intent on making the big city agent look foolish, and a civilian sent from the wrong department as an expert. It wasn't too hard to speculate why the sheriff was making life difficult for the visitors. I listened on audiobook, and the narrator was fantastic. I don't know if I accidentally forwarded because I totally missed what happened to Big Ray. Did he do it himself? The last act had me quite on the edge of my seat, though I thought the last chapter completely unnecessary. I look forward to more Kel McKelvey.

[Lois Baron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook.

Author does a stellar job of weaving in information about the military's medical forensics processes amid snappy turns of phrase and well-drawn characters. The answer to the identify of a skeleton seems obvious--until it doesn't. Enjoyable listen.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the plot bogged down in a few places, it was interesting. The characters may not be as well-developed as in some novels, but there's enough background so the reader knows what is motivating their words and actions.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Acknowledgments, the author indicated he could write a novel as bad as some he had purchased at the airport. He failed. The book is much better than some of those books. While finishing it, I thought the "Kel Levine and Kel team would make the basis for an interesting series.

[Cathy Ragsdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Janis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read other forensic mysteries, but I loved this one. For me, it was a page turner.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the 7 best first mysteries I read in 2006.

[Jane Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery that I couldn't get to the end of fast enough.

[John Mulholland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a difficult time getting into this book.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Though I had figured out most of it about halfway through

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in a series of two novels and it is a fantastic start to the series. The inside of the dust cover describes this as the pitch-perfect thriller. Well I tend to disagree on that. While I feel that this is a fantastic mystery I do not really see it fitting in the thriller category. The storytelling capabilities of this author are first rate and he can keep the reader going right up to the very end. Something about this really felt like an old comfortable blanket to me. Something you could wrap yourself up and get lost in. I am definitely looking forward to K.I.A., the second in the series and hope that more will follow.

[LJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

ONE DROP OF BLOOD (Lic. Invest-Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland-Cont) – DNF
Holland, Thomas – 1st book
Berkeley, 2007, US Paperback – ISBN: 9780425216934
First Sentence: He could smell them.
*** Kel McKelvey, Director of the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, has been sent to Arkansas in an attempt to unravel the mystery of a forty-year old racial killing and a soldier who was supposed to have died in Vietnam.
*** It started out well but became so overloaded with scientific details, I decided to move on to something else. Next…

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. "Kel" McKelvey of the Army's Central Identification Laboratory is assigned to help the FBI identify two suspected civil rights protesters killed in Arkansas in the '60s.


Dr. Thomas Holland is the real-life director of the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. An exciting debut novel, full of forensic details as well as Vietnam remembrances.

[Karoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, written by someone I've known for umpteen years, was fabulous - even if I am a bit biased about the writer. ;-) It weaves in the MIA accounting issue with a murder investigation in Arkansas. The two main characters are hilarious - laughing out loud isn't something one normally gets when reading a murder mystery. I highly recommend it.

[Martin Bihl · Rating 3 out of 5]

very enjoyable view into how the CIL works - against the backdrop of a colorful - if not completely baffling - murder mystery. Some of the characters are a little weakly drawn, and the ending is a bit abrupt - as if mr. holland ran out of paper - but all in all a good first shot.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some definite first-novel issues -- expository lumps, abrupt POV changes within paragraphs -- but good story line and characters, nice Southern flavor (speaking as a Southerner) and interesting plot. Look forward to the next one.

[Lacy Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second cousin wrote this one. Go Tom! Names of my family are tucked all around. I think there's even a Lacy in there, although that's more a nod to my dad and grandfather than to me.

[Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second cousin wrote this one. Go Tom! Names of my family are tucked all around. I think there's even a Lacy in there, although that's more a nod to my dad and grandfather than to me.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read - recommend it to all mystery lovers.

[Kellysutterfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a friend of ours, I really enjoyed this as a first novel.

[Melisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

There wasn't a single likable character in this book. The plot wasn't bad, but I didn't enjoy spending time with these people.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery. It gets a bit technical but if you push through, a very good story. I look forward to book #2.

[John Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the twists and turns and the era along with the main character