(Published by Arrow)
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Kathy Reichs’ Dr. Tempe Brennan is, in Bare Bones, once again buried up to her neck in dead bodies and intriguing cases. The book begins with Brennan back home in Charlotte, North Carolina, investigating the charred remains of a newborn. Brennan’s nemesis, Detective Slidell, strongly suspects the teenaged mother’s involvement in this, but Tempe feels there is more to this case than meets the eye. Then Tempe’s daughter forcibly takes her to a picnic, and their hyperactive dog Boyd makes a foul discovery. This is the last thing Tempe needs as her long-awaited weekend with possible lover, the too-handsome officer from Quebec Andrew Ryan, is almost about to begin. A plane crash and two dead bodies further complicate the life of this already overworked medical examiner.
As more mysteries pop up out of the blue, Tempe’s mind reels as she sees a vague link connecting them all. The only trouble with her theory is that the missing links are all corpses — headless in some cases, bodyless in others. A persistent Tempe and other hard-working detectives pursue various leads, coming closer and closer to finding a disturbing truth. The bad people are getting antsy, and they have Tempe and her family firmly in their sights. Will personal risk make Tempe desist, as the evildoers want her to?
In typical Reichs’ style, the narrative of Bare Bones is skillfully woven with moments of tender romance as well as grisly medical details.
Kathy Reichs gets better with each book she writes. Considering the stratospheric level she started at that is quite an accomplishment. Her protagonist has made life-altering decisions and acts upon them so that the character stays fresh. Bare Bones contains just enough forensic data to make the story line understandable but not enough to overwhelm the reader. Once again Reichs has a bestseller on her hands. 
Also by Kathy Reichs
Grave Secrets
