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It's always a pleasure to see a new installment in the saga of Temperence Brennan, the forensic anthropologist who plies her trade in both Charlotte, North Carolina, and Montreal.
Devil Bones, set in the U S of A, opens with a grisly discovery that offers a very different take on This Old House. Tempe is pulled from staid academia to investigate the troubling and mystifying scene, which involves cauldrons, ceremonial religious artifacts and, most troubling, the severed head of a teenage girl.
Another torso is located nearby, and the story is off and running.
Tempe and Charlotte police department detective Erskine "Skinny" Slidell, follow leads that take them through the seamier and the chicer sides of North Carolina's largest city--the worlds of Santeria, voodoo, the Wiccan religion (any witches out there: I'm not lumping them together!), and male prostitution. Our heroine also locks horns with a crusading minister turned politician, and there's a reporter who manages to show up at all the wrong moments.
Reichs juggles the questions of who done it (and who's gonna get done next) until the very end with consummate skill. In series books, readers treat characters as friends and follow those storylines as ardently as the ones involving murder and mayhem. Not content to keep things simmering on low boil, Reichs dunks her protagonist into a pressure cooker, with plenty of turmoil stirred up by a former lover, a--possibly--current one and, most significantly for this reader, yet another ghost of life past, about which I'll say no more here. Trouble on campus also surfaces for Professor Brennan, with whom we experience one of the most harrowing moments in the book: a meeting of professors and department heads (university politics as weapon of mass destruction). Oh, and we can't forget some brief appearances by the ex, who is behaving just like, well, an ex.
It might have been my imagination but I believe too that I saw the bones, if you will, of a possible subplot involving Tempe's daughter, Katy, who's working in the public defender's office. I'm looking forward to seeing Reich confirm or deny this in the next installment.
In Devil Bones we get plenty of what we've come to expect in a Reichs novel: engrossing details on forensic anthropology and anatomical science. Her mastery, and love, of those subjects, which Reichs herself practices (in both Montreal and Charlotte, by the way), is evident in her writing. We're also treated to plenty of esoterica about non-mainstream religions and history (I mean, I live in North Carolina and didn't know Charlotte was named for a seventeen-year-old German duchess). The author deftly negotiates that fine line between using such information to enhance the experience of reading a novel and padding prose. She gives us what we need to know--to enrich plot, character or atmosphere--and then gets back to the story.
And speaking of which: As an author writing in the same genre, I was impressed with Reichs's ability to keep the roller coaster on track and speeding along, page after page. She's a true master of cliff hangers--a neglected skill in a field where far too many lazy authors end chapters with people leaving rooms, falling asleep or offering hand-tipping foreshadowings of what's to come. I call this the question-mark factor and when writing my thriller I actually tally up the number of scenes that end in a compelling, unresolved issue that drives the reader forward.
Reichs has question marks aplenty.
My one complaint: I read the novel in one sitting. But I'm hoping that while poor Tempe may want a break after everything that happens to her in Devil Bones, author Reichs isn't giving her any rest and is hard at work on number 12.
--Jeffery Deaver
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. The gripping Temperance Brennan novel from world-class forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, the international no. 1 bestselling crime thriller writer and the inspiration behind the hit TV series Bones.___________________________________A gripping Temperance Brennan novel from world-class forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, the international no. 1 bestselling crime thriller writer and the inspiration behind the hit TV series Bones.When Dr Temperance Brennan is accused of mishandling the autopsy of a missing heiress, a routine case swiftly turns sinister. But before Tempe can get to the one man with the information she needs, he turns up dead.In Montreal, three elderly women are found murdered, their bodies brutally discarded. Even though the clues don't add up, Tempe is certain of a link between their deaths and that of the heiress.Has Tempe made grave errors, or is she being sabotaged by an unseen enemy? What is frighteningly clear is that more than just Tempe's career is at stake. Her life is also at risk.An underground chamber is exposed in a seedy, dilapidated house. In the dark cellar, a ritualistic display is revealed- a human skull rests on a cauldron, surrounded by slain chickens and bizarre figurines.Called to the scene is forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan. She determines that the skull is that of a young, black female. But how and when did she die? Just as Tempe is closing in on answers, another body is discovered- a headless corpse carved with Satanic symbols.As local vigilantes begin a witch-hunt, Tempe struggles to contain her emotions. But the eventual truth proves more shocking than even she could have imagined.___________________________________Dr Kathy Reichs is a professional forensic anthropologist. She has worked for decades with chief medical examiners, the FBI, and even a United Nations Tribunal on Genocide.However, she is best known for her internationally bestselling Temperance Brennan novels, which draw on her remarkable experience to create the most vividly authentic, true-to-life crime thrillers on the market and which are the inspiration for the hit TV series Bones.___________________________________Many of the world's greatest thriller writers are huge fans of her work-'Kathy Reichs writes smart - no, make that brilliant - mysteries that are as realistic as nonfiction and as fast-paced as the best thrillers about Jack Reacher, or Alex Cross.' JAMES PATTERSON'One of my favourite writers.' KARIN SLAUGHTER'I love Kathy Reichs? - always scary, always suspenseful, and I always learn something.' LEE CHILD'Nobody does forensics thrillers like Kathy Reichs. She's the real deal.' DAVID BALDACCI'Each book in Kathy Reichs's fantastic Temperance Brennan series is better than the last. They're filled with riveting twists and turns - and no matter how many books she writes, I just can't get enough!' LISA SCOTTOLINE'Nobody writes a more imaginative thriller than Kathy Reichs.' CLIVE CUSSLER An underground chamber is exposed in a seedy, dilapidated house. In the dark cellar, a ritualistic display is revealed: a human skull rests on a cauldron, surrounded by slain chickens and bizarre figurines. Called to the scene is forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan. She determines that the skull is that of a young, black female. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780099492375
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. An underground chamber is exposed in a seedy, dilapidated house. In the dark cellar, a ritualistic display is revealed: a human skull rests on a cauldron, surrounded by slain chickens and bizarre figurines. Just as Tempe is closing in on answers, another body is discovered: a headless corpse carved with Satanic symbols. Seller Inventory # B9780099492375
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