Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Break 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