Cold, Cold Bones: 'Kathy Reichs has written her masterpiece' (Michael Connelly)

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Unconnected until Tempe realizes what they all have in common: a resemblance to her own previous cases.

It does seem highly coincidental – bodies that are years old, uncovered now… AND Tempe being involved in the investigation in some way. A mystery within a mystery that invites you to get into the action, complete with twisting turns and heart-stopping dives into the unknown. Reichs’ devoted readers have gotten to know Tempe very well over the years, through novel after novel and through the hit TV series Bones, based on these books and produced by Reichs.Reichs supplies a great hook, a double helping of homicides past and present, and all the meticulous forensic details and throwaway cliffhanger chapter endings you’d expect from this celebrated series, though the motive behind the murders is significantly less interesting than the ghoulish crimes themselves. Were you able to put together the clues in Cold, Cold Bones to identify the killer in advance of Tempe’s figuring it out? Actually the latter isn’t true but I read a lot so am probably more cognisant (than many) of nuances of language or plot devices that leave the door open to a last minute twist. Cold, Cold Bones is the crowning achievement of a master storyteller, a feast for her many fans, and a delight for new readers. Try reading past Temperance Brennan adventures like Bones Never Lie, Break No Bones, and Bones of the Lost.

Helping Tempe discover the answers is detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit—and still displaying his gallows humor. The writing is especially sharp here; the story is intense; and Tempe is at her snarky, brook-no-idiots, don’t-mess-with-me best .

Reichs was also a producer of Fox Television’s longest running scripted drama, Bones, which was based on her work and her novels. Also pulled into the mystery: Andrew Ryan, Tempe’s Montreal-based beau, now working as a private detective. I await the next Kathy Reichs thriller with the same anticipation I have for the new Lee Child or Patricia Cornwell.

On page 217, Tempe’s investigation of the hit-and-run victim sparks a powerful emotional reaction, one that she seems to be alone in experiencing.A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

At its core, Cold, Cold Bones is a novel of revenge – one in which revisiting the past may prove the only way to unravel the present. Instead of the typical single, young character, Tempe is a divorced professional with an adult daughter. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe’s place one night for dinner, they find a box on the back porch.Her latest for example, features Tempe’s daughter Katy who’s recently left the army and I’m trying to remember if I even knew she was in the army. On page 361, Slidell is allowed to press a suspect who doesn’t have anything to do with the case to coerce a confession out of him. As always, this is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat read, one you are sure to race through as Tempe tries to get to the bottom of the copycat killings. Over the course of twenty books, Kathy Reichs and Tempe Brennan have thrilled readers with pacey, mazey tales grounded in real science, with plots springing from the author's prodigious knowledge and passion for truth and justice. At its core, Cold, Cold Bones is a novel of revenge—one in which revisiting the past may prove the only way to unravel the present.