Review: Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs (audio/print)

Title: Bones Never Lie     

Author: Kathy Reichs   

Series: Temperance Brennan, #17    

Narrator: Katherine Borowitz  

Published: September 2014, Random House Audio / Bantam 

Length: 10 hours 48 minutes  / ARC Paperback, 331 pages 

Source: Audio via Audible / Print via publisher

In
the acclaimed author’s thrilling new novel, Brennan is at the top of her
game in a battle of wits against the most monstrous adversary she has
ever encountered.

Unexpectedly called in to the Charlotte PD’s
Cold Case Unit, Dr. Temperance Brennan wonders why she’s been asked to
meet with a homicide cop who’s a long way from his own jurisdiction. The
shocking answer: Two child murders, separated by thousands of miles,
have one thing in common—the killer. Years ago, Anique Pomerleau
kidnapped and murdered a string of girls in Canada, then narrowly eluded
capture. It was a devastating defeat for her pursuers, Brennan and
police detective Andrew Ryan. Now, as if summoned from their nightmares,
Pomerleau has resurfaced in the United States, linked to victims in
Vermont and North Carolina. When another child is snatched, the reign of
terror promises to continue—unless Brennan can rise to the challenge
and make good on her second chance to stop a psychopath.

But
Brennan will have to draw her bitter ex-partner out of exile, keep the
local police and feds from one another’s throats, and face more than
just her own demons as she stalks the deadliest of predators into the
darkest depths of madness.

In Bones Never Lie, Kathy Reichs never fails to satisfy readers looking for psychological suspense that’s more than skin-deep.

My thoughts: While I usually try not to read books out of order when it comes to series, I jumped ahead to listen to/read (did a combo on this one) because I had the pleasure of actually meeting Kathy Reichs during BEA this year. She was one of the authors that was on my must-see list and while she was just signing books, it was still great to meet her in person and say how much I enjoy reading her books.

This is the 17th book in Kathy Reich’s Temperance Brennan series and I am quite a bit behind – I’ve only read the first five books. The problem with jumping ahead in a series like this is that you miss a lot of the character development that has taken place in the previous books. On top of that, there is a killer involved in this book that was from a previous book – a book that I haven’t gotten to yet. Now, that’s not to say that I still didn’t enjoy this book – I definitely did, but I think I wouldn’t have had as many questions as I did if I had been caught up in the series.

What I did enjoy, though, was that we finally get to meet Tempe’s mom. She plays a major role in this book and if I’m not mistaken, this is her first real appearance in the series. I loved her character – she is smart and sassy. Detective Ryan is also back in the game after a brief absence, but his relationship with Tempe is a bit strained. Then there’s Tempe’s partner, Slidell, who I guess has been in the last few books. I’m not sure what to make of him – will have to reevaluate once I’m caught up!

The action takes Tempe all over in this book – from North Carolina to Costa Rica to Montreal to Vermont back to North Carolina. All this moving around keeps the pace moving, with twists and turns around each corner. While we still learn a bit about bones in this book, there were some other rather interesting tidbits that come to light as the cases are investigated – the use of lip prints, using syrup to preserve the bodies, etc. This is where Kathy Reichs’ background really shines through.

I really enjoyed this book and I think that once I finally do get caught up, I will reread it just so the character development makes sense. Plus, the case itself is interesting and I wonder if I would pick up anything along the way that I missed the first time! I’m very curious, though, to see what will happen next as the ending of this book took me by surprise – a good surprise, but a surprise none the less.

Audio Thoughts: This is the first time I’ve listened to Katherine Borowitz narrate and I really enjoyed listening to her. She was able to give the characters unique voices and I had no problem following along. My only complaint is that there always seems to be a different narrator for each book in this series. I love listening to this series but wish they had stuck to one narrator!

Books in this series: 

1. Deja Dead                                12.  206 Bones
2. Death du Jour                       13.  Spider Bones
3. Deadly Decisions                 14.  Flash & Bones
4. Fatal Voyage                         15.  Bones are Forever
5. Grave Secrets                        15.5  Bones in Her Pocket
6. Bare Bones                              16.  Bones of the Lost
7. Monday Mourning              16.5  Swamp Bones
8. Cross Bones                            17.  Bones Never Lie
9. Break No Bones
10. Bones to Ashes
11. Devil Bones