206 Bones By Kathy Reichs.
"You have an enemy, Dr Brennan. It is in your interest to learn who placed that call."
A routine case turns sinister when Dr Temperance Brennan is accused of mishandling the autopsy of a missing heiress. Someone has made an incriminating accusation that she missed or concealed crucial evidence. Before Tempe can get to the one man with information, he turns up dead.
The heiress isn't the only elderly female to have appeared on Tempe's gurney recently. Back in Montreal, three more woman have died, their bodies brutally discarded. Tempe is convinced there's a link between their deaths and that of the heiress. But what - or who - connects them?
Tempe struggles with the clues, but nothing adds up. Has she made grave errors or is some unknown foe sabotaging her? It soon becomes frighteningly clear. It's not simply Tempe's career at risk. Her life is at stake too.
First Sentence: Cold.
206 BONES (the number of bones to be found in the human body) is the 12th in the series of Temperance 'Tempe' Brennan novels to be penned by Kathy Reichs - the author who inspired the hit t.v. series BONES.
Some argue that the books are formulaic and whilst I wouldn't totally disagree with this, there is just something about them that keeps me reading sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, chapter after chapter, page after page.
This book, like all the previous, is rather macabre in that it deals with crimes being, largely but not altogether, solved by the examination of the bones and teeth of the dead. Simply fascinating stuff.
The characters are extremely well written and whilst each book can be read as an individual piece, I certainly think the reader gets more out of them by reading them as a series - as in that way, amongst other things, they get to know the complete, often complex, history of Tempe and her 'partner in crime', Detective Andrew Ryan.
The only problem with this book, as with the others, being, it is all too quickly read and there seems to be quite a long period before the next in the series is issued. Oh well, I can always re-read them.
My Rating: 4 out of a possible 5.
5 comments:
I think I have read one or two of her books only. One of the reasons is that very few of her novels have been translated into Danish & thus reached the shelves of our local library. And even though I would probably pick up Reichs if I could borrow the books for free, I don´t think she is in a category that I would order from the USA (having to pay for book + shipping).
I do like forensic thrillers though, and loved the first many Scarpetta novels (until she grew too paranoid and personally involved in each and every case which is just too unrealistic for me).
I haven't read any books by this Scarpetta. Could you recommend some.
Scarpetta is the protagonist. The series is written by Patricia Cornwell, and I think the first 5-10 are rather good though sometimes a bit graphic. In the latest five or more, Scarpetta (medical examiner), her lover or her niece have been personally involved in all the cases, and they are all stalked, persecuted and nearly killed off quite regularly.
It is a bit difficult for me to recommend specific titles, though, as I have read most of them in Danish.
Thanks for that - I shall keep a look out at the library, there seems to be plenty to choose from anyway.
I, too, read many of the early Patricia Cornwell books, but lost interest in them. Seems like she had some strange personal issues going on in her life around the time the tone of her books changed. It's been years since I read one.
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