Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published in 2003

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: “As I was packaging what remained of the dead baby the man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte. I didn’t know that at the time. I’d never heard the man’s name, knew nothing of the grisly game in which he was a player.” From this gripping beginning Reichs begins the sixth book in the collection involving Temperance Brennan. Temperance is supposed to start a vacation that day with Andrew Ryan and everything keeps going wrong. Dead bodies keep turning up and she has to stay and solve the case before she can move on to the beach. While working on the case her life and the lives of those she loves get threatened by some picture emails involved them in the sights of a rifle. They uncover a plane crash and two dead and burned bodies of the pilot and a passenger which they later learn were making a drug drop from the plane when the parachute the drugs were using opened in the plane and brought them down. When their main suspect, a local drug dealer and owner of several strip clubs Ricky Dorton, turns up dead at the morgue they have to go back to the drawing board to look for new angles. Meanwhile the mother of the baby in the beginning shows up and Tempe’s door seeking help and claiming the baby was dead before she put it in the wood stove that it was found and Ryan has to return to Canada to help a niece who tried to commit suicide. Tempe’s daughter Katy also goes missing around this time and Tempe suspects Katy’s new boyfriend Palmer Cousins. The suspicion gets worse when a man turns up dead after three years missing and has a note in his pocket that ends up reading, in part, cousins guilty. Tempe goes off to find some answers and ends up locked in a basement for her trouble with the man behind it all. Then the man she least expected to come to her aid rescues her just in time.

Personal Notes: A really gripping beginning. This book is full of mystery, suspense, and excitement. The best Reichs novel I’ve read to date. I loved the romantic, motherly, and crime angles. When she was in trouble my heart beat faster. Excellent writing and a great plot.

Other reviews available:

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs

Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published in 2002

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: Temperance Brennan goes to Guatemala to uncover and identify some massacre victims and ends up investigating the murder and disappearance of four teenage girls. The investigation gets hampered by some uncooperative parents, diplomatic immunity, and the locals thinking they can do it all themselves. Not all the locals are this close minded. Galiano, a local cop, is a more than enthusiastic participant in all things Tempe. Galiano is also an old friend of Andrew Ryan. Ryan comes to Guatemala to help with the case and to reconnect with his old friend and Tempe. In spite of numerous obstacles including shootings, poisoning, and bad fish, Tempe, Ryan, and, Galiano manage to catch the bad guys and save the day.

Personal Notes: A slow start but a really interesting story. The use of Spanish got to me a little bit. She always translated more or less but it was still there. I suppose it’s like the use of French in her other books but since I speak French I don’t think I noticed it as much. The setting change was interesting and there was an interesting romantic angle as well. Full of surprises and engaging to the end.

Other reviews available:

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published in 2001

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: Temperance Brennan is called in help investigate an airplane crash that left eighty-eight people dead and discovers that the crash isn’t the only fatal scene in the North Carolina mountains. On a walk to clear her head some coyotes protecting a human foot attack Tempe. With a little help from Andrew Ryan she is able to free the foot and catalog it. This marks the beginning of the major drama in the book. Apparently someone didn’t want the foot to be found because Tempe is accused of mishandling and tempering with evidence and is suspended from work and the investigation. In an effort to clear her name Tempe still tries to solve the case but it met by roadblocks and uncooperative officials on every side. The local sheriff is on her side and so is Ryan, with their help and a little encouragement from her estranged husband Pete, Tempe solves the case and uncovers a major political scandal.

Personal Notes: Gripping, heart wrenching, and entertaining at the same time. There’s a lot of mystery and suspense in this one. With Tempe off the job for a bogus claim she still wants to solve the crime and clear her name but so many things are against her. It makes it more interesting and more lifelike. It’s more complex then the common good guy bad guy struggle.

Other reviews available:

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs


Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published in 2000

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: This novel beings with Tempe working on the remains of a nine-year-old girl named Emily Anne Toussaint she was killed accidentally in a gang related shooting. We get a little bit of a flash back to see what happened and how she got there. Tempe, in an effort to avenge Emily Anne’s murder and find the killers, joins a special force dedicated to tracking and capturing members of their local Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs (OMC). She gets in over her head and takes on a lot more then she intended to trying to find the killers. Quebec is in the middle of a gang war and one death follows another and another. Kit, Tempe’s nephew, gets involved with some of the OMC members and Tempe fears for his life and tries to get him away from them but this just pushes him closer. Tempe’s new boyfriend Ryan also gets himself in a load of trouble with a drug related charge and Tempe wonders if he is really innocent and why he has cut off contact with her. In the end Kit's love for motorcycles gets him in trouble, we find out that Ryan is not who he seems to be, and Tempe’s instincts one again help solve murders in spite of uncooperative investigators.

Personal Notes: Good but disappointing compared to the other two I have read thus far. To make the characters realistic Outlaw Motorcycle Club members Reichs integrated a lot of swearing and foul imagery when they would speak and it really bothered me. I found myself wanting to skip over those parts but I didn’t want to miss any of the story. It was also fairly predictable. There were a few minor surprises but overall not that far of a deductive reach. A good book and interesting story but it could have been much more if there weren’t as many hints and clues along the way.

Other reviews available:

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published in 1999

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: The novel opens as Tempe is trying to unearth a Nun in single digit weather. The body is not where it should have been and after hours of digging everyone is getting discouraged. Sister Elisabeth Nicolet is up for sainthood and her bones are needed but cannot be found. In a lucky break from an unbelievably old nun with a steal trap memory they find the burial site and manage to break through the frozen ground. Things heat up in the next scene when Tempe is called to investigate bodies in an arson out in the country. That investigation leads Tempe and Homicide Detective Andrew Ryan to the Carolina’s where they find a strange commune full of mystery and a body. Though unclear at first a connection is discovered between the fire in Quebec and the commune and body in on the Carolina Island. However, because of the terrible ice storm in Montreal the investigation is hindered and Tempe and Ryan struggle to save more lives from a cruel death, Tempe’s sister among them. In the process Tempe and Ryan form a more personal bond.

Personal Notes: An exciting and multifaceted read. With many different cases happening at once and some interesting spice in Tempe's personal life this book ranks in as one of my favorites. This book is intelligent but not overly jargonistic. Reichs thrills and captures her reader with the thrill of the case and the adventure of a new relationship.

Other reviews available:

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Genre: Preteen Fiction

Published in 1977

Recommended Age Group: 10 and Up

Summary: This Newbery Medal book is a story about Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke and their wonderful friendship. They didn’t start out as friends and it wasn’t an immediate attraction either. Jess was about to begin his fifth grade year and had practiced the whole summer to be the fastest runner in the school. Leslie Burke and her family moved in next door. Leslie decided that they should be friends. At first Jess wasn’t interested. He became even less interested when Leslie beat him and every other boy in the school in a race. After Leslie has a particularly hard day at school Jess befriends her and they become fast friends. Together with the help of Leslie’s vivid imagination they create Terabithia a magical place in the woods where they go to play. Near the end of the book there is a tragic accident and Jess must decide what to do about his future and the future of Terabithia. He comes to grips with what happened and moves on to be a better boy and friend to those around him.

Personal Notes: A great book for boys or girls. Interesting and believable this story captures the imagination and the heart. I especially liked the part about the fort in the woods. All kids love forts and building fun places to play in and I think this element helps hold the reader’s interest. The ending although sad is also uplifting and enjoyable. This book is definitely worthy of the Newbery Medal.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Genre: Fiction

Published in 1998

Recommended Age Group: 16 and Up

Summary: This novel tells the story of a family of six and their adventures in the Belgian Congo in 1959. Nathan Price, his wife Orleanna, and their four daughters: Leah, Rachel, Adah, and Ruth May, travel to Africa there Nathan, an evangelical Baptist, becomes intent on baptizing everyone in sight. When they arrive at the airport to go to Africa they are surprised by the rule that each passenger can only have forty pounds worth of luggage. In order to take along everything they think they will need they each carry things on their bodies and wear many different layers of clothing. When they get to the Congo they soon find out that everything they think they needed is worthless in the African jungle. At first they all try and tame Africa but one by one they realize they it cannot be tamed and they let it control them, all except Nathan, who dies trying to tame this foreign land to his standard in the name of God. We read of the families eventual and complete undoing and how they each, in their own way, put their lives back together. Some stay in the Congo and other go back to Georgia but they are all changed forever.

Personal Notes: A truly amazing endeavor! This novel captured my attention from the very start with its interesting prose and story line. It is also interesting how she tells the story from five people’s point of view and how they are so widely different. Not just the opinions but the writing style. She even includes grammatical errors that she feels each person would make. I feel you get to know the characters more with this style of writing. The reader is more in their heads and the reader is better able to connect with the characters. The book started out great but got even better about a third through it. The setting is interesting and so are the characters. Overall a fabulous read and an exciting adventure.