No one speaks the language of suspense more brilliantly than Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Temperance Brennan series. In Speaking in Bones, the forensic anthropologist finds herself drawn into a world of dark secrets and dangerous beliefs, where good and evil blur.
Professionally, Temperance Brennan knows exactly what to do—test, analyze, identify. Her personal life is another story. She’s at a loss, wondering how to answer police detective Andrew Ryan’s marriage proposal. But the matter of matrimony takes a backseat when murder rears its head.
Hazel “Lucky” Strike—a strident amateur detective who mines the Internet for cold cases—comes to Brennan with a tape recording of an unknown girl being held prisoner and terrorized. Strike is convinced the voice is that of eighteen-year-old Cora Teague, who went missing more than three years earlier. Strike is also certain that the teenager’s remains are gathering dust in Temperance Brennan’s lab.
Brennan has doubts about working with a self-styled websleuth. But when the evidence seems to add up, Brennan’s next stop is the treacherous backwoods where the chilling recording (and maybe Cora Teague’s bones) were discovered. Her forensic field trip only turns up more disturbing questions—along with gruesome proof of more untimely deaths.
While local legends of eerie nocturnal phenomena and sinister satanic cults abound, it’s a zealous and secretive religious sect that has Brennan spooked and struggling to separate the saints from the sinners. But there’s nothing, including fire and brimstone, that can distract her from digging up the truth and taking down a killer—even as Brennan finds herself in a place where angels fear to tread, devils demand their due, and she may be damned no matter what.
Not among her best. Every time I read a book by Kathy Reichs I change my mind about whether or not I like her work, so forgive me if I contradict anything I said in a previous review. I usually choose her books because thrillers are what make up the reading pile for my downtime, and hers are interesting and informative, having been written by a pretty brilliant forensic anthropologist.
Oh Them Bones: the Top Ten Things That Are Great Kathy Reichs’ Books Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is at it again. Kathy Reich’s latest book starts off in its usual intriguing opening – a recording of a girl imprisoned, frightened, in danger. It’s brought to her by “Lucky” Strike, a self-appointed cyber-sleuth on the trail of a girl who no one ever declared as missing. Lucky wants Tempe’s help to find the remains of young Cora Teague, daughter of religious fanatics, who has not been seen or heard from for 3-1/2 years. How can Tempe…
Surreal Bones I have read every one of the Temperance Brennan books with decreasing satisfaction but despite my vow to cut the cord, did give “Speaking in Bones a whirl. The story held plenty of twists, forensics and personal side-drama and while it was engaging enough, it is an easy to put down book. The main characters provide a predictable consistency in the midst of a murder mystery that is pushes the limits of credulity without completely going over the edge. There is a lot of what feels like…