(Published by Arrow)
 |
In Kathy Reichs’s fifth novel, the setting shifts from the familiar American and Canadian soil to a Guatemalan village, the site of a political massacre during that country’s bloody civil war that took the lives of thousands between 1962 and 1996. An international team of forensic experts that includes Dr. Temperance Brennan has now been asked to excavate a mass grave site, identify victims and determine how they died. GRAVE SECRETS echoes Dr. Reichs’s own experience in Guatemala, as her fictional counterpart learns first hand of the horrifying history behind the tragic burial site.
While doing her work, she is asked by an honest policeman to examine the body of a woman who was found in a septic tank. It seems that in the past few months, four young women have gone missing and the authorities fear they have a serial killer on their hands. While working the case, Temperance finds herself in danger from an unexpected source and only a miracle will save her life.
In regards to Tempe’s romantic life things become even more turbulent than usual as the edgy relationship she has with the attractive Sergeant-Detective Bartolomé Galiano of the Guatemalan police begins to take an interesting turn. To make things even more complicated an unexpected twist into the murder investigation sends Tempe back to Canada, thrusting the charismatic Detective Ryan squarely into her path once again. Their on-again, off-again friendship, which has helped to lighten previous novels, is now a comic triangle that sees Tempe dangling between the romantic temptations of both Galiano and Ryan.
This book has all the usual forensic detail and gripping plot twists that Reichs’ fans are used to, however it also manages to paint a deeply moving picture of the trials and tribulations Guatemala has faced so recently. This is obviously a subject close to the author’s heart, as evidenced by the touching dedication of the book to the people of Guatemala, and anyone reading this book cannot help but be moved by her depiction of life in this grief stricken country. 
Also by Kathy Reichs
Bare Bones
