Break No Bones

Reichs does an awesome job of selling her profession as a forensics anthropologist: a mix of thrill, attention to detail and fast-paced action. This book captures the attention at many levels, but for me, it's the peek into medicine, biology and chemistry mixed in with sociology and psychology.
There was a bit too much flip flopping between suspects at the end to drag the intrigue, but in general the plot is gripping. I also enjoy reading about Dr Brennan as a character and her evolution through the series.

This book really grabbed me. I was so engrossed reading it on the bus on the way home that I was oblivious to the fact that the bus had arrived at my bus stop. Thankfully my neighbour was on the bus and tugged at my sleeve to ask me if I was going to get off.

This is another book featuring Reichs' forensic anthropologist/detective, Temperance Brennan. Dr. Brennan has taken a group of students to Charleston to investigate possible aboriginal burial grounds on a site that is about to be developed for condos. On their second to last day at the dig the students discover skeletal remains that are considerable newer than the Sewee tribe pre-Columbian remains they have found elsewhere. Temperance quickly decides to call in the County coroner, show more Emma Rousseau, an old friend. Once the body is disinterred Emma asks Temperance to stay to give the benefit of her expertise as a forensic anthropologist and Temperance agrees to do so. After all, she is staying in a wonderful house right on the beach which belongs to another friend and she doesn't have any pressing work to get home to.

In addition to suspicious circumstances with regard to the burial the body shows some unexplained fractures and bone chips but the details do not help them zero in on an identity. Tempe's personal life starts to get confused when her estranged husband, Pete, shows up in Charleston working on a case (he's a lawyer) and moves into the beach house complete with dog and cat. Tempe is romantically involved with Andrew Ryan, a Canadian cop from Montreal with whom she has worked on cases, and Ryan also decides to visit Tempe in Charleston. Then another body shows up with identical fractures to the first. This body was found hanging from a tree in a forest preserve and there is enough skin remaining to get fingerprints. The fingerprints identify the deceased as someone who is connected to Pete's case. By this time Temperance is determined to find out what is the connection and she also wants to stay because she finds out Emma has cancer that is not responding well to treatments.

The ending has a few twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. It is also not clear if Tempe is over Pete and working it out with Ryan. That will have to wait until another book.

I highly recommend this book. I have liked all of Reichs novels but this one seemed better than the last few show less

I've got my calamity.

The theme of this book is roots. The one that other people grow in you with time and connection. The ones that probably you grow in them. Or not. You'd never know. It's a difficult question to ask – is it better to let someone grow on you with all ensured shit down the line or is it better to close, mask and hide in personal castle? How much time do you need to connect with someone? How much to separate? There is no denying that time can not be reversed that easily (that's why we despair and hate to hasten the process). Even when people move on they live something behind. Probably not something that holds them back but something that are still there. We move on. But we can not outrun our past. Is it possible to show more accept it? In another person?

P.S. Although I must say that this series turns out to be too predictable for people who watch too much CSI and other shows like that. People like that will probably understand everything long before characters. show less

Kathy Reichs is very good at what she does, which is slightly formulaic forensic mysteries that tackle social issues and never quite get me turning pages impulsively. There’s a fair bit about Brennan and her personal life that annoy me too, so I’ve never quite gotten hooked on the series, and it probably doesn’t help that I’m reading them out of order. Still, they’re good fun when I want something reasonably brainless, which is why I keep reading them.

But that’s a review of the series, not this book. This book is … average, for Reichs. The mystery itself had just enough twists and turns to keep me surprised, but between the narration and the bare-bones characterization of the new characters, I, again, never got sucked in. show more The scenario of how Brennan ended up on the case felt a bit contrived, but it was novel and a different view into crime-solving than I’m used to, and the ways of and reasons for murder were also interesting. I’m still bugged by all the will-they-won’t-they of Brennan’s love life, to boot.

In the end, I neither loved it nor hated it, and I’ll read another one I’m sure—someday.

Warnings: Descriptions of dead bodies; organ harvesting; contempt for homeless people.

5/10 show less

Break No Bones is the 9th novel in the Temperance Brennan series. This series is the inspiration behind the Bones television series. Technically, the television character really only shares her name with the book Brennan. The two characters are completely different. Reichs says that Brennan is merely at a different stage in her career in the television series. TV Brennan is at the beginning stages of her career, while the book Brennan is more mature. But from my point of view, the two characters are too dis-similar to be the same person. The television Brennan is socially inept and blunt, causing her relationships with co-workers and others to be strained at times. The book Brennan is socially more normal and has good working show more relationships with those around her. They are just too different to be the same woman. I prefer to use the terms "loosely based on'' and enjoy both versions as separate entities. I enjoy both characters...and just keep them separate in my mind.

So if you are a TV watcher, don't expect the book Brennan to be like Bones. And if you are a book reader, don't turn the channel when you see how antisocial the TV Brennan can be. Both versions of the character will grow on you if you give them a chance.

In Break No Bones, Tempe is called to Charleston to teach an archaeology field course. Her students are digging in an ancient Native American burial ground. When they unearth a more modern skeleton, the local coroner asks Tempe to help with the investigation. The body count starts climbing, and Tempe realizes this isn't just about a recent burial in an ancient burial ground.

This book left me feeling a bit meh rather than excited. The plot blows up into an international crime situation that left me a bit incredulous. I'm hoping the next book has Temperance Brennan investigating a murder or two that doesn't have to be blown up to epic proportions that push my ability to suspend reality. Amid the attempt to conjure up a case that was large scale and important, the actual mystery portion of the plot was too predictable. I had significant portions figured out early in the book. I want less intrigue and overblown plot, and more investigation, I guess.

My one other problem with this book series: I find Brennan's love affair with Andrew Ryan to be annoying. Brennan is still married to her husband, but they have been separated for years. She is in a relationship with Ryan. In Break No Bones, Brennan and her husband are sharing a beach house in Charleston because both are working there at the same time. Then Ryan comes to stay at the house, too. Most of the two men's interaction within the story was immature personal comments and jealousy over Brennan. It got old really fast. Brennan and Ryan constantly fight over silly things. The outcome is usually Ryan driving off and not answering his phone for days. Really guys? How old are you? This has been dragging on for multiple books now. This isn't an edge of the seat "will they or won't they'' romantic tension sort of thing. They already do and have... But Brennan doesn't get divorced from her husband or even seem to think about it. Their daughter is grown and on her own. If they have lived apart for years, why remain married? And Ryan still runs off every time they have a spat. And it always ends with Brennan upset because Ryan won't answer his phone. The dialogue between them is ridiculous at times. The couple either needs to get it in gear......or move on. I'm tired of this plot angle.

Now that I have gotten the negatives off my chest......I want to add that I really enjoy the investigative aspects of these books. Reichs lets loose with her actual real-life expertise when it comes to explaining forensics. For me, the forensics portion of the story is what keeps me reading this series. I find it fascinating, and I enjoy the science involved in gleaning clues from skeletal remains. I roll my eyes at Brennan's private life. And the silly overblown plots at times can really get old. But the investigation and procedure involved pep the story back up and keep me coming back for the next book.

My rating: 7/10
Ages 16
Some sexual situations and violence, but not graphic show less

I kinda wish I was reading this series in order, because about a decade elapsed between the first book I read in this series and this one. But, my sister doesn't usually concern herself with reading series in order, so I get them from her in whatever random order she's read them. Still, this book was fun. There is a bit of a romantic sidestory between Brennan and her current boyfriend Ryan and estranged husband Pete, which took some getting used to, since when I left off after that last book, Brennan and Ryan barely spoke to each other still, and Pete was not in the picture. Brennan's flash mood swings are odd, and remind me a bit of why I dislike the TV character version of her, but it's not too overdone, and if she's got Asperger's/ show more high-functioning autism, which I have always assumed she has, it works. It certainly makes sense for an Aspie to be great at forensic anthropology, obsessively and painstakingly worrying obscure details from bones to construct death scenarios. show less

This is the ninth books in the Dr. Temperance Brennan series. Brennan, like Reichs, is a forensic anthropologist, which means she studies the bones of corpses to verify who they are and how they died. The popular TV series Bones is based on these books. However, Dr. Brennan in the book seems to have a very different personality from her TV counterpart, so don’t expect the books to be exactly the same as the show.
Dr. Brennan is working on an archaeological dig at a development site and finds a Sewee Native American burial ground. Then she finds a more recent burial which may just tie in to a missing persons case her estranged husband is in town working on. Enter a megachurch with dubious accounting policies, and a poorly run free show more health clinic, and you have the workings of a horrific conspiracy.
I’m not sure if it because I came in during the middle of the series rather than starting at book one, but I found parts of the books a little dull. We are not given much of a chance to get to know Detective Ryan until near the middle of the book, which made it difficult to understand his reasons and motivations. Perhaps if I already knew him from the previous books, I wouldn’t have struggled so much with that. Otherwise, it was an alright jumping in point. The story takes place in Charleston, rather than Brennan’s home base of Charlotte, so it can almost be taken as a stand-alone.
I felt the start of the book was on the slow side, but it certainly picked up around the midway point. By the end I wasn’t sure which way we were heading at all. I enjoy a good surprise ending like that. show less