Bones of the Lost – Kathy Reichs

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with her sixteenth riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan, whose examination of a young girl killed in a hit and run in North Carolina triggers an investigation into international human trafficking.When Charlotte police discover the body of a teenage girl along a desolate stretch of two-lane highway, Temperance Brennan fears the worst. The girl’s body shows signs of foul play. Inside her purse police find the ID card of a prominent local businessman, John-Henry Story, who died in a horrific flea market fire months earlier. Was the girl an illegal immigrant turning tricks? Was she murdered?

The medical examiner has also asked Tempe to examine a bundle of Peruvian dog mummies confiscated by U.S. Customs. A Desert Storm veteran named Dominick Rockett stands accused of smuggling the objects into the country. Could there be some connection between the trafficking of antiquitiesand the trafficking of humans?

As the case deepens, Tempe must also grapple with personal turmoil. Her daughter Katy, grieving the death of her boyfriend in Afghanistan, impulsively enlists in the Army. Meanwhile, Katy’s father Pete is frustrated by Tempe’s reluctance to finalize their divorce. As pressure mounts from all corners, Tempe soon finds herself at the center of a conspiracy that extends all the way from South America, to Afghanistan, and right to the center of Charlotte. “A genius at building suspense” (Daily News, New York), Kathy Reichs is at her brilliant best in this thrilling novel.

review:

I’ve read a fair few of the Temperence Brennan books and this latest was along the same vein. |Although the formula works for each story, after a while it can become a little stale and predictable. BUT, having said that, each and every one of these books has me gripped from the first page.

This particular story gripped me because of the prologue. For once it wasn’t Tempe, trapped in a room, waiting for the cavalry to arrive. No, in this prologue, she was KICKING ASS! I don’t want to give too much away, but I love that side of her.

As usual, Reichs weaves Brennan’s personal life into her work life seamlessly, and it never once felt overdone or cliche, particularly when she gets to have coffee with her daughter, Katy. I enjoy the way Reichs does this, and it makes me connect more with Brennan and make me want to read more about her.

I admit, I was a little sideswiped by events in the final few chapters revolving around Tempe’s private life as I’d missed a couple of the books, but I soon caught up and my mouth dropped a little at some revelations and actions of a couple of characters.

If you’ve read any of the Temperence Brennan books previously, this won’t disappoint, I just felt it was a little too samey in places.