Sunday, November 25, 2007

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

break-no-bones.jpgBreak No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published in 2006

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: Break No Bones, is the ninth installment of the Temperance Brennan novels. This one takes place in and around Charleston, SC and begins with an archaeology field school. Tempe is brought in to teach the course as a favor to the regular teacher. They are digging up remains on some land waiting to be developed when they find not only ancient bones but also those of a victim killed no more than five years before. The developer Dickey Dupree who was quite upset about the ancient remains becomes really set back by the discovery of more recent bones. Dupree tried to bribe and threaten Tempe into not saying anything about the ancient bones in her report so his project would not be stalled.
The recent bones had an odd neck injury that Tempe hadn’t seen before until she finds another body handing from and tree and yet another in a barrel. All three sets have the same scarring on the bones and they each also have odd marks on the rib cage. The clues lead them to a clinic run by a church called GMC. This happens to be the same church that Tempe’s estranged husband Pete is investigating for accounting problems.
Pete is quite the pot stirrer in more ways than one. When Ryan pops down for a surprise visit he is scared when he sees Pete comforting Tempe and assumes the worst. When Pete gets shot everyone assumes it’s because of the work he’d done at GMC. Ryan helps Tempe investigate after the shooting and after a few false leads and surprises they find the person who shot Pete, the killer, and a major crime operation.

Personal Notes: Interesting and engaging. I was quite taken with this story and the many different angles that Reichs writes in. The relationship angle had quite a bit of flare with the competition between Ryan and Pete and also the relationship with the coroner Emma who is dying. The case angle had all the right ingredients to capture the reader’s attention. Urban legends, stolen body parts, and the beach.

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

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

number-the-stars.jpgNumber the Stars by Lois Lowry

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Published in 1989

Recommended Age Group: 10 and Up

Summary: Number the Stars, a Newbery medal winner, is set in Denmark in 1943. The main character Annemarie Johansen is not a Jew but her best friend Ellen Rosen is. In the beginning of the story the Nazis had come into Denmark but they weren’t actually doing anything. As the story progresses so do the Nazis in their discrimination. People go into hiding and businesses close. Ellen’s parents have to run and leave her behind where she pretends to be Annemarie’s sister, taking the place of one who died. They are almost discovered and decide to flee to the coast where fishermen are helping Jews out of the country in secret places aboard their boats. The Nazis use dogs to help locate those secret places but the fisherman have found a secret weapon against the dogs. During the escape to the boats a man drops the secret weapon and Annemarie risks everything to run and return it before the Nazis discover those in hiding.

Personal Notes: I’ve been wanting to read this one for some time but did not own it. It was worth the wait and even though I expected it to be great it was much better than I expected. The story line was new and different from other WWII fiction I’ve read. It is set in Denmark and is from the perspective of a non-Jew. A great read, entertaining, and enlightening.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson

the-family-under-the-bridge.jpgThe Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson


Genre: Preteen Fiction


Published in 1958


Recommended Age Group: 7 and Up


Summary: The Family Under the Bridge begins with Armand a hobo making his way through Paris. He is convinced that something wonderful is going to happen and it makes him happy. He even finds a scrap of holly to adorn his coat to make him look handsome. He meets a gypsy on his walk and she tells him that he is in for adventure and to be careful or someone will see his heart and what a kind man he is and that is just what happens. Armand has a bridge that he usually sleeps under and when he arrives he finds three children have made it their new home. Their mother is out working but since their father died they don’t have enough money to rent a place. Armand cares for them during the day and helps them stay happy in spite of the sad circumstances. He takes them to see Father Christmas (the Santa Clause of France) and they ask him for a house. One day two women pass by and notice the children alone and say that they are going to get someone to help them. The children are scared because they don’t want to be taken away from their mother but Armand takes them to a gypsy camp where they are given good food and a warm place to sleep. Armand, though resistant, welcomes them into his heart and in the end gets a job, becomes part of the family, and most of all finds them a house.


Personal Notes: This Newbery Honor book was a quick and enjoyable read! It reminded me of Miracle on 34th Street but a book. It has a lot of subtle lessons about pride but the most important lesson is about kindness. A perfect book for the holiday season and interesting enough to hold anyone’s interest.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

cross-bones.jpgCross Bones by Kathy Reichs

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published in 2005

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: Cross Bones is by far the most complicated plots of the Reichs’ novels thus far. The book begins with a list of facts concerned remains discovered on and around Masada. This list was the inspiration to the latest Temperance Brennan novel. The story begins with the autopsy of an ultra-Orthodox Jew named Avram Ferris and the mystery surrounding his death. Outside the autopsy room a man who called himself Kessler approached Tempe. He handed Tempe a picture of a skeleton and told her that the skeleton was the reason for the Ferris’s death. This sends Tempe on a whirlwind adventure not only trying to solve Ferris’s death but also find out about the skeleton and who it was and why it would lead to murder. Along the way more people are killed. Ryan and Tempe fly to Israel to follow leads and deliver the skeleton, the first skeleton is lost, and another skeleton is discovered. The first bones were once believed to be those of Jesus Christ but Tempe disproves that theory because the age of the man when he died did not fit. The second skeleton was discovered in a tomb that Tempe’s friend Jake believes is the Jesus family tomb. The discovery of both sets of bones started religious and political problems and caused at least two people’s deaths. In the end the first set of bones was never recovered because they were re-buried by the thieves who refuse to disclose their new location. The second set was blown up in a car crash. Avram Ferris’s killer was brought to justice and Tempe and Ryan did a little sight seeing in Israel before returning to Canada.

Personal Notes: An interesting book. Kind of along the same lines as The Da Vinci Code but with subtle twists that make it just as good but less controversial. Reichs never claims that Jesus’ body was found. She hints around that people think it was found and that they think they found his family’s tomb as well but she sticks to the facts letting people believe what they want. The one major problem I had with the book is the incessant recapping. It seemed like every 10 to 30 pages she tells us again who all the players and bodies were and why they mattered and what they thought happened. Every time a new piece of information would come along the process would repeat. Without taking into account the endless recapping it was a great book and an interesting read. While the plot is complicated and hard to explain to someone else the book is actually really easy to follow, maybe because of the refreshing of information that is so often found within its pages.

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

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

monday-mourning.jpgMonday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Genre: Crime Fiction

Published in 2004

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: Monday Mourning begins with Tempe and Claudel in the basement of a pizza place in Montreal where Tempe is digging up three sets of remains and Claudel is shooting rats with his gun. The bones appear to be old and with no belongings present to prove otherwise Claudel decides he has more important things to investigate and basically ignores the case. Tempe is not convinced that the bones are old and sets out to prove her theory through Carbon 14 dating. While waiting for the results she investigates the history of the building and it’s former occupants. One stands out as peculiar and Tempe and Ryan investigate and find not only the killer of the basement women but another crime scene as well. However, things at this scene are not what they appear. She gets a call from a terrified girl and ever the hero Tempe goes to investigate with her friend Anne. However, by doing so she puts both their lives in danger and gets surprised by an unexpected villain who gets away while Tempe tries to save the lives of herself and two other people.

Personal Notes: Another winner from Kathy Reichs. This novel is full of suspense and it not only grabs your interest but keeps it all the way through. It is also full of interesting science tid bits without being overly complicated. I was a bit frustrated in the middle because I thought something was so obvious and why wasn’t Temperance getting it, but in the end I was wrong and it was completely different than I thought. Overall it was a great book and a fun escape from my everyday monotony.

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

Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs