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Cold Cold Bones By Kathy Reich
Any lengthy book series will experience highs and lows. I was interested to see what new criminal depravity Reich would have her legendary forensic anthropologist examine in her 21st book following Temperance Brennan’s very good 20th appearance, The Bone Code. But as it turns out, Cold Cold Bones, “what’s old is new again” is very literally the case.
But first, this book’s first paragraph has to be one of the most arresting: It all started with an eyeball. The iris was the colour of worn denim, and the pupil was as large as a Texas prairie. The yellow-white sclera was covered in crimson vessels.
Although, in classic Kathy Reichs fashion, the book synopsis already reveals a few narrative points that readers would have found startling or at least surprising if they had just read about them in the novel text.
A ‘best of Temperance Brennan’ hits list
It’s possible to glibly compare Cold Cold Bones to a mixtape of Brennan’s greatest hits, similar to the photo displays or slideshows that parents frequently present at 21st birthday parties. As well as bringing together many of Tempe’s former coworkers and friends, this 21st novel does so in a way that, in my opinion, strengthens and possibly even reinvigorates the anthropologist’s characterization.
Reich’s amuses with Brennan’s signature deadpan observations, such as this one of a suspect in a police interview room as seen via a one-way window:…, all angles and scowls, sat immobile at a grey metal table. I estimated that guy was about six feet tall. His behaviour at age two goes beyond antagonistic.
And if, like me, you have always admired Tempe for her shortcomings, you will appreciate Cold Cold Bones’s sparse forensic detail in favour of Tempe’s fiery fallibilities. Her sarcastic conversation with the obnoxious investigator Slidell, which is laced with memories, is what drives this intensely engrossing and emotionally driven hunt for the offender. And that brings me to this book’s flaw: a denouement that, compared to the adrenaline of the chase that came before it, felt a little underwhelming.
All things considered, Cold Cold Bones Book 21 is a respectable addition to and significant turning point for this venerable Temperance Brennan series. This book is for you if you stopped watching the series and want to catch up with its main character.
About The Book
In North Carolina, winter has arrived along with a decline in crime. Tempe Brennan is content to adorn her daughter Katy, who has finally returned from the army and is free from a demanding job schedule. However, a package is on the back porch when mother and daughter meet at Tempe’s apartment one evening. A relatively new human eyeball is found within.
An similarly horrific find is waiting in a Benedictine abbey, where GPS coordinates are inscribed on the eyeball. Tempe’s concern increases as she soon examines a mummified corpse in a state park.
The ensuing murders have not been connected in any manner, except that each one resembles a homicide that a younger Tempe had been asked to investigate in some way. Why is she being targeted by whom or what?
Detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, a retired detective who still volunteers with the CMPD cold case section and still uses his gallows humour, is assisting Tempe in her search for answers. Andrew Ryan, Tempe’s ex-boyfriend who is currently a private investigator and lives in Montreal, is also involved in the investigation.
Could this carefully choreographed tangle of mayhem be the setup for an even more startling turn? Tempe is unable to determine the reason for what is happening. then her daughter vanishes.
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.
The Review
Cold Cold Bones
9 Score
I am a rabid reader of Kathy Reichs books! I used to be of Patricia Cornwell until she left out all the forensic interesting bits and got into too much characterization. I then found Reich’s books and have never looked back. We have personal life in her books but it never overwhelms the forensic aspect. If I had my life to do over again, I would be in the morgue.
PROS
- Another great book!
- Tempe is Back!
- A Page Turner and All Nighter.
- surprising twist at the end.
CONS
- Big fat yawn.
- Troubling Topic.
- Boring -Same old scenario.
- Absolutely awful and so disappointing.
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