BOOK INFO

Title: Cold, Cold Bones

Author: Kathy Reichs

Publisher: Scribner

Publish Date: July 5, 2022

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Temperance Brennan #21

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. Freed from a heavy work schedule, Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe’s place one night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball.

GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. Soon after, Tempe examines a mummified corpse in a state park, and her anxiety deepens.

There seems to be no pattern to the subsequent killings uncovered, except that each mimics in some way a homicide that a younger Tempe had been called in to analyze. Who or what is targeting her, and why?

Helping Tempe search for answers is detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit—and still displaying his gallows humor. Also pulled into the mystery: Andrew Ryan, Tempe’s Montreal-based beau, now working as a private detective.

Could this elaborately staged skein of mayhem be the prelude to a twist that is even more shocking? Tempe is at a loss to establish the motive for what is going on…and then her daughter disappears.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Cold, Cold Bones is the twenty-first book in the Temperance Brennan series. Tempe is a forensic anthropologist who consults with law enforcement on a variety of cases. In this book, someone seems to be targeting Tempe. The cases she is working on are similar to previous cases in her career.

In addition to the crime solving, Tempe’s adult daughter, Katy, has returned home. Tempe is excited to have her daughter back in town, but then Katy disappears.

Cold, Cold Bones is an enjoyable addition to the series. A compelling mystery about gruesome crimes. Recommended to fans of this series and medical thrillers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the Temperance Brennan series:

1. Déjà Dead
2. Death du Jour
3. Deadly Decisions
4. Fatal Voyage
5. Grave Secrets
6. Bare Bones
7. Monday Mourning
8. Cross Bones
9. Break No Bones
10. Bones to Ashes
11. Devil Bones
12. 206 Bones
13. Spider Bones
14. Flash and Bones
15. Bones Are Forever
16. Bones of the Lost
17. Bones Never Lie
18. Speaking in Bones
19. A Conspiracy of Bones
20. The Bone Code
21. Cold, Cold Bones

BOOK INFO

Title: The Bone Code

Author: Kathy Reichs

Publisher: Scribner

Publish Date: July 6, 2021

Genre: Police Procedural

Series: Temperance Brennan #20

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

On the way to hurricane-ravaged Isle of Palms, a barrier island off the South Carolina coast, Tempe receives a call from the Charleston coroner. The storm has tossed ashore a medical waste container. Inside are two decomposed bodies wrapped in plastic sheeting and bound with electrical wire. Tempe recognizes many of the details as identical to those of an unsolved case she handled in Quebec years earlier. With a growing sense of foreboding, she travels to Montreal to gather evidence.

Meanwhile, health authorities in South Carolina become increasingly alarmed as a human flesh-eating contagion spreads. So focused is Tempe on identifying the container victims that, initially, she doesn’t register how their murders and the pestilence may be related. But she does recognize one unsettling fact. Someone is protecting a dark secret—and willing to do anything to keep it hidden.

An absorbing look at the sinister uses to which genetics can be put, and featuring a cascade of ever-more-shocking revelations, The Bone Code is Temperance Brennan’s most astonishing case yet—one that gives new meaning to today’s headlines.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

The Bone Code is the twentieth book in the Temperance Brennan series. Temperance is a forensic anthropologist who has worked on a variety of cases. While this could be read as a standalone novel, I recommend reading some of the earlier books first.

In The Bone Code, Temperance gets involved with a case in Charleston that reminds her of a cold case she worked years earlier in Quebec. Meanwhile, a virus outbreak in Charleston is causing panic. Temperance works to connect the two cases and uncover more than just a murderer.

This is a series that I’ve enjoyed over the years. There are a few books in this series that I haven’t read, but I plan to go back and read them soon. Temperance is intelligent and driven in her work. She makes for a strong and interesting protagonist.

The Bone Code is sure to be enjoyed by fans of this series. For readers unfamiliar with Temperance, I recommend checking out this series if you like crime fiction.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the Temperance Brennan series:

1. Déjà Dead
2. Death du Jour
3. Deadly Decisions
4. Fatal Voyage
5. Grave Secrets
6. Bare Bones
7. Monday Mourning
8. Cross Bones
9. Break No Bones
10. Bones to Ashes
11. Devil Bones
12. 206 Bones
13. Spider Bones
14. Flash and Bones
15. Bones Are Forever
16. Bones of the Lost
17. Bones Never Lie
18. Speaking in Bones
19. A Conspiracy of Bones
20. The Bone Code
21. Cold, Cold Bones