EVIL BONES

3.5 stars out of 5

As I write this, I’m not sure how I feel except, well, deflated. This series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan has long been one of my favorites (and for the record, I don’t think I ever missed an episode of the related “Bones” TV series). So naturally, I was delighted to see Tempe front and center in this, the 24^th installment. Also back are all the blood, gore, bones, nasty smells and even nastier villains I’ve come to know and love.

Glaringly missing for the most part is Tempe’s main squeeze, French-Canadian detective Andrew Ryan, but I can live with that (though if they ever break up, he’s welcome to come visit me). I can live with the couple of teenage brats who are staying with Tempe (her daughter is tolerable, but the other one I’d boot out my door before the sun went down). Though mostly weirdos, I enjoyed the other characters who are woven into the texture of the plot and give me plenty of whodunit possibilities to wrap my speculations around.

And it stayed all right with Tempe’s world right up to the ending. The best way I can describe that experience is this: I’m about to gleefully bite into a warm, sugared doughnut, my taste buds anticipating which of several flavors of ooey-gooey jelly will be hidden inside. I take that bite, and surprise: It’s sauerkraut. Where in blazes did that come from, and how in the world does fermented cabbage relate to a doughnut?

All that noted, though, the book as a whole is – as was expected – pretty much a treat to read. It begins as some small, horribly mutilated animals are discovered in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area where Tempe lives and works. She’s upset by what she sees, as is irascible detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, who is semi-retired but with whom she’s worked before. Together, they vow to find the culprit and bring him (or her) to justice. As the corpses pile up, though, another, more terrifying thought occurs to them both: the killer appears to be escalating. Does that mean a human could be next?

As readers will expect, the worst happens; a female body really does turn up, mutilated in much the same fashion as the animals. That’s followed by the similarly treated corpse of a male, and then another. Clues begin to pile up as to where the victims are coming from, giving Tempe and Skinny some trails to follow that lead them to a handful of prime suspects. As their investigation progresses and gets closer to a resolution, their nosing around puts the lives of a couple of notable characters in danger and me close to the edge of my seat till I ran smack-dab into that thoroughly disappointing end.

Despite that, though, I’m already up for the next installment (though hopefully with more appearances by Tempe’s hunky significant other). Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to get eyes on this one by way of a pre-release copy.

Evil Bones by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, November 2025); 288 pp.

FIRE AND BONES

4 stars out of 5

Personally, I'm happy that forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan gets coerced into giving up a romantic three-day vacation in Savannah with main squeeze Andrew Ryan to take a look at victims of an arson fire in Washington, D.C. - but mostly because it makes for an intriguing investigation. Ryan, though, is less than thrilled - pulling a disappearing act that pretty much leaves him out of the action. Yes, Tempe misses him, and truth be told, so did I - a lot.

The gutted building is located in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of D.C. - far from the "best" part of town - and it appears to have been used as an Airbnb property. Several people died in the fire, and since Tempe is experienced in examining and identifying crispy victims, her expertise is very much needed. But in addition to the bodies found in the ashes, she finds another victim - a tiny woman - almost literally wadded up in a potato sack that dates back to Prohibition. That one, needless to say, proves challenging when it comes to an ID.

Early on, Tempe faces another challenge, though; a place to stay. Apparently, all the hotels are filled, so she ends up staying where she'd rather not be - with TV news anchor Ivy Doyle, who's a friend of Tempe's daughter Katy. Some of the action, then centers on trying to not reveal enough information about the arson investigation that the story ends up on the 6 p.m. news. Then, another building in the same general area goes up in flames, adding another layer to the investigation and further delaying any rendezvous with Ryan (assuming he's still speaking to her).

Are the two fires connected? Who are the victims - and did the arsonist intend to kill them? And who is the little lady in the potato sack and who put her there? And perhaps most important of all, can the relationship between Tempe and Ryan be rekindled? All these questions, and more, are addressed as the story progresses; the details you'll need to find out by reading the book for yourself. I certainly enjoyed learning the answers, and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review this, the 23rd book in the series I've followed since the very beginning.

Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, August 2024); 288 pp.

THE BONE HACKER

4 stars out of 5

Reading the latest Temperance Brennan novel is sort of like catching up with an old friend - which, in many respects, she is; I've lost count of how many I've read over the years, but it's close to all 21 of the others (and that doesn't count watching all the "Bones" TV shows). This one, I admit, didn't grab me as much - mostly, I think, because Tempe's main squeeze, former cop Andrew Ryan, doesn't appear as often as I'd have liked.

While doing her forensic anthropologist thing on some infant bones, Tempe gets called to the islands of Turks and Caicos to bring some illumination to a dead man believed to have been struck by lightning while standing on a bridge. Tempe is eager to get back home to Ryan and her cat, but other victims keep turning up under strange circumstances - like on a high-tech boat that inexplicably lost its way - that require her particular expertise so she grudgingly hangs around.

Clues turn up, including a potential weapon that may be connected to a local Jewish community, but when disaster strikes a couple of folks with ties to law enforcement, the investigations take on a whole new dimension. All in all, it's an intriguing, though complex, plot that kept me entertained throughout. Once again, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to learn what my old friend's been up to by way of a pre-release copy. 

The Bone Hacker by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, August 2023); 336 pp.

COLD COLD BONES

4 stars out of 5

It's always a treat to learn there's a new Bones back in town - not only do I love the books (this is the 21st), but it's one of few book series that, IMHO, translated well to the small screen. I don't think I've missed a single book, and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss an episode of the TV series either, which, according to sources I checked, aired 246 episodes over 12 seasons.

Anyhow, this book brings forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan back between the pages, and she's wintering at home in North Carolina, helping her daughter Katy get settled in after a stint in the military. Suffice it to say, then, that they're both a bit unsettled when a box turns up on her porch that contains a human eyeball. Say what? Then, she gets a call from her sweetie Andrew Ryan's private eye partner, "Skinny" Slidell, and off they go to find a body that appears to be missing an eyeball - except that the remains are on the well-seasoned side while the eyeball is, well, fresh.

As still other strange things happen - like a running feud with a neighbor who's convinced Tempe is trying to scare his son to death and at least one more body - suspicions arise that what's happening now may be mirroring some of her old cases. But she can't seem to connect the dots, nor convince Skinny of that possibility. Meantime, Katy - who's having some trouble readjusting to civilian life - is struggling but doesn't want mom's help. And then she goes missing.

If I have a complaint, it's that Tempe goes off on her own a little too often despite advice from her police and P.I. friends, and she's usually too intelligent and sensible to do that (although I'll give her a bit of a pass because she's frantically trying to find her daughter). All the goings-on are unsettling, after all, but things start to come together especially well after Andrew returns from the case he's been working on and tries to help. But can they figure out what's really going on before it's too late to save Tempe? Or Katy? Well, you'll just have to read the book to find out. As for me, I'll just thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review another good one.

Cold Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, July 2022); 348 pp.

THE BONE CODE

4 stars out of 5

I've been a fan of this series it seems like forever - this is the 20th book, and I doubt I've missed more than a couple. They're always a treat to read, and this one is no exception. Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is off to meet a friend who lives on the Isle of Palms off the coast of South Carolina amid a Category 3 storm that's threatening evacuation. A call from the coroner in Charleston tells her some kind of container has washed up on the beach. It seems the container's filled with two dead bodies - wrapped up in plastic sheeting and secured with electrical wire. Uh, oh, Tempe says to herself - that's too close for comfort to a case she handled in Quebec, where she regularly serves as a consultant in Montreal.

Concerned, she snags a flight to Montreal, hoping she can convince her supervisor there to reopen that old case. But she's also eager to touch base with her love buddy, Andrew Ryan, who's retired from the police and now puts his investigative skills to work as a private eye.

Just as she's prepping to head out, though, she's visited by an elderly lady  who shows Tempe some photos and asks for help identifying a suspected ancestor. A little bit of research unearths a connection to so-called "death masks," but Tempe has little time to deal with it and hands off the task to the friend with whom she's staying on the island (there's a bit more mention of this story thread and it's kind of interesting, but it never seemed very important to the rest of the book).

As if dead bodies and a potentially deadly hurricane weren't enough, Charleston is facing terror of a different sort: not long after the threat of COVID-19 has faded, a new virus is on the horizon and spreading quickly. Tagged as "capnocytophaga," it appears to be transmitted to humans by way of dog bites. This outbreak, too, threads its way throughout the story, but the really good part lies in whether, and how, there's a connection between the four bodies found in containers 15 years apart. That investigation, with Tempe's charge aided and abetted by Andrew, gets the lion's share of pages (as it should) and puts both of their lives in danger more than once.

Throughout it all, the author's humor shines through (sometimes in the form of banter between Tempe and Andrew). And oh, did I mention how much I love Andrew? Not only is he extremely competent and oozes French charm when he wants to, this guy drinks Moosehead. That makes him un homme apres mon propre coeur (a man after my own heart, if my Googled translation is correct).

I must say, though, that while I love the medical stuff - one of the main reasons I'm attracted to this series - this one was a little too technical in spots for me to fully "get." But hear this: at no point did I want to put it down. In large part, chalk that up to the author's game of ending chapters with cliffhangers (some more precarious than others). Yeah, I tried to ignore that when dinner or bedtime came, but more often than not, she won.

All in all, excellent once again. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, July 2021); 368 pp.

SPEAKING IN BONES

4 stars out of 5

While I admit to growing a bit tired of the popular Bones

 TV show after 10 seasons, I certainly haven't given up; it's a sure bet I'll be watching the Season 11 debut on Oct. 1. For those who might not know, the show is inspired by the books by Kathy Reichs, a forensic anthropologist like her TV and book counterpart Temperance Brennan.

The books have been around even longer; this is the 18th in the series, and I've read almost all of them. Without question, I enjoy the books far more than the TV show; the primary similarity between the two is that they both center around a somewhat emotionally challenged Brennan. Other than that, the twain rarely meets.

Here, she's struggling (still) with her feelings for police detective Andrew Ryan, who has proposed marriage. Not wanting to compromise her independence and still reeling after the betrayal by her ex-husband and father of her now-grown daughter, she keeps putting off a decision, making her the perfect poster child for avoidance behavior. In the midst of the waffling, she gets a visit from a strange woman named Hazel "Lucky" Strike, an amateur Internet sleuth who tries to solve cold cases. The woman brings a frightening tape recording she believes is the voice of an 18-year-old girl who disappeared a few years earlier and whose remains are anonymously stashed in Brennan's lab. The problem? The girl's parents - members of a radical and secretive religious group that's rooted in Catholicism - insist she's not missing; rather, she just ran off with a no-good boyfriend who also can't be found.

Given the lack of hard evidence, Brennan reluctantly does some sleuthing of her own, ending in the backwoods discovery of a few bones that may belong to the missing girl. More sleuthing turns up more bones - and questions of to whom they belong. Brennan gets lots of help from a local law enforcement guy (who's also pretty good in the eye candy department) and some from her own lab colleagues. But mostly, as usual, her headstrong personality demands that she follow the evidence - even if it leads to dangerous places and people and puts her own life in jeopardy.

I enjoyed this book, and, at just 320 pages, breezed through it in no time. I like the somewhat larger role given to Brennan's mother, and as usual, Brennan's sense of humor popped out here and there. And, I definitely didn't foresee the ending. Still, the whole thing seemed a bit on the "lightweight" side, with not quite as much emphasis on the forensics that never fails to grab and hold my attention. 

Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs (Bantam, July 2015); 320 pp.

BONES NEVER LIE

5 stars out of 5

Can a TV show get in the way of a book? Sometimes - and nowhere is it more evident for me than with Kathy Reichs' series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. The books spawned the popular Fox Network show, Bones,now in its 9th season. Even though the show rather loosely mirrors the books, I've watched it faithfully from the beginning.

Until this season, that is. I was growing a bit weary of it a bit last year - the plots were getting a bit far-fetched - but (SPOILER ALERT) with this year's season-opening killing off of Dr. Lance Sweets - played by John Francis Daley - I've pretty much given up. That disappointment, coupled with a so-so 16th book by Reichs, Bones of the Lost,prompted me to be a bit hesitant to open this, the 17th Temperance Brennan novel.

I needn't have worried. The only complaint I have with this one, and it's minor, is that there's a boatload of characters and it's a bit hard to keep them straight (which no doubt is due in part to my aging brain that has turned my short-term memory to scrambled eggs). Otherwise, it appears that Reichs is back in fine form.

This one begins as Brennan is called unexpectedly to consult with the Charlotte, N.C., Cold Case Unit. As it turns out, two young girls have been murdered, and it appears that, although the locations were thousands of miles apart, the killer is the same. In fact, the likely suspect is Anique Pomerleau, who kidnapped and murdered several young girls in Canada in a similar fashion several years ago. After nearly killing Brennan, who was chasing her down back then, she escaped and hasn't been seen since.

Being called in to help not only puts Brennan back on the case, but it hooks her up once again with her former police detective partner and lover Andrew Ryan, who dropped off the face of the earth after the untimely death of his beloved daughter. Now, they're forced to partner up again and deal not only with tracking down and catching a murderer, but finding common ground on which to build a new relationship.

Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs (Bantam, September 2015); 337 pp.