Bones Are Forever

Oy. A dead kid, not the best thing to hook a read in. But, I persevered and kept reading and for the most part I wasn't sorry I did.

This Brennan series book takes place in Canada, though not just in Montreal or close to Montreal, but farther up north as well. I found that interesting, especially because as one of the characters in the story actually comments on, I've never really thought about just how much (a ton) of Canada is up there.

Brennan is at the site of the dead infant, the apartment of a young woman who had appeared at a hospital, bleeding, and then left without seeing anyway.

From there the story is off and running, taking Brennan, Detective Ryan, and a RCMP Sergeant that Brennan has a history with to Edmonton and then up show more north.

In the book there's also Caribou, Gold, Diamonds also, and for the most part the information dumps (history, current information, etc.) about those things are okay, and there were only a couple of times that the info pulled me from the narrative.

The characters were very well drawn again, and the Andrew Ryan/Tempe Brennan relationship was as twisty and turney as usual (though I'd love if once and for all they'd either be-- or not be. The back and forth is starting to drive me crazy). And Ollie, the RCMP Sergeant was definitely a-- unique-- character.

It was a slow starting story, but it ended better than it started for sure, picked up speed, and there was even some thriller to go with the mystery. A solid four stars. Not the best in the series, but not the worst either. show less

A story that takes one from the streets of Montreal to the neighbourhoods of Yellowknife. So well written that one feels they are beside Temperance Brennan as she drags out each little truth to disclose the reasons for the death of a simple young woman. Is anyone who they appear to be?

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- I much prefer Kathy Reichs books that are set in Canada to the ones where she is in the US. It seems like she alternates between Canada and the US which is natural given that she alternates between Montreal and Charlotte, SC in real life. But this one is firmly set in Canada and was very enjoyable.

Temperance Brennan has only been in Montreal for a short time when she is called in to a seedy apartment where a dead infant was found stuffed in the bathroom vanity. The mother had been in the ER with signs that she had given birth but she denied that she had been pregnant or had a child. By the time the police had been called to her apartment the mother, Amy Roberts, had disappeared. While show more Temperance was in the apartment another infant's skeleton was found in a window seat. Then when the cadaver dog was brought in it alerted at the bedroom closet. Sure enough, another mummified infant was found in the attic above the closet. Temperance and Andrew Ryan, although no longer a couple, share a disgust at these crimes and a determination to catch Amy Roberts. Their investigation takes them to Edmonton, where another infant corpse is found, and then to Yellowknife.

It seems like Reichs made good use of her trip to the Yellowknife NorthWords Literary Festival to research the setting and information about mining and prospecting in the North West Territories. I was a little distressed that Tempe seemed so clueless before her trip to Yellowknife about the geography and mining. Surely, somehow she could have picked up information about Canada's north. However, I guess it was a useful device to impart the information to the readers and probably many of them would not know about that area.

Interesting book but if you are a recent mother you may not want to read it. show less

I felt disappointed that the mystery that the story begins with, the deaths of newly born babies, gets shunted to one side as a sub-plot. Sort of bait and switch. Otherwise interesting and ranges into the NW territories and indigenous lands of Canada and questions of mineral rights vs. endangered species.

Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs is a 2012 Scribner Publication.

The Temperance Brennan series is another long running series I lost touch with over time. Thankfully, this series still has it's edge and I have already queued up more of these to read later.

This story is difficult, more so than others, due to the discovery of dead infants. The investigation will put Tempe in the awkward position of working with two men she was romantically involved with in the past, Ryan being one of them.

For those who follow this series, you know what to expect in terms of detailed forensics and that is what makes these stories so interesting. There were a few times when the author went into some details of forensic science that lasted too long and show more went a little bit over my head. But, for the most part this story is fast paced, has lots of twist and turns, double crosses, and was really sad too, of course. Greed is one powerful motivator and leads to all manner of sin and crime, and this story is a prime example.

The banter between Ollie and Ryan was so funny, as they are jealous over Tempe , but that tension between Ryan and Tempe is so thick you can cut it with a knife. I loved the ending and hope that we will see a deeper bond form with these two over time and maybe the issues that drove them apart can now be resolved.

Overall this is another solid addition to the series and I enjoyed touching base with Brennan and the gang once more. I am going to try my very best not to lose touch with them again.

4 stars show less

I enjoyed this book more than the last one, but there were still moments that felt slow moving and not altogether engaging. Kathy Reichs has gone back to the roots of the Tempe Brennan series. some things are very predictable, of course. but it wouldn't be a Tempe novel without her putting herself into risky and ridiculous situations, not without some sort of Ryan trouble and Katy mishap. There were highlights. The information on the diamond industry in Canada was eye opening and the forensics were good reads. We could have done without the over-explanation on a CAT scan though.
All in all, a comfortable read to disconnect from reality.

While seeking a woman who fled a hospital, Tempe Brennan and her once boyfriend Montreal detective Andrew Ryan find three dead babies in her apartment and a fourth in another Canadian city. Eventually, they follow her pimp to the wilds of Yellowknife (in the Northwest Territories), where a drug turf war is cloaking another nefarious scheme involving the fleeing woman. This one kept me guessing until the end.