Title: Bones to Ashes
Author: Kathy Reichs
Series: Temperance Brennan, #10
Narrator: Linda Emond
Published: August 2007, Recorded Books
Length: 10 hours 30 minutes
Source: Library
Temperance Brennan, like
her creator Kathy Reichs, is a brilliant, sexy forensic anthropologist
called on to solve the toughest cases. But for Tempe, the discovery of a
young girl’s skeleton in Acadia, Canada, is more than just another
assignment. Evangeline, Tempe’s childhood best friend, was also from
Acadia. Named for the character in the Longfellow poem, Evangeline was
the most exotic person in Tempe’s eight-year-old world. When Evangeline
disappeared, Tempe was warned not to search for her, that the girl was
“dangerous.”Thirty years later, flooded with memories, Tempe cannot help
wondering if this skeleton could be the friend she lost so many years
ago. And what is the meaning of the strange skeletal lesions found on
the bones of the young girl?Meanwhile, Tempe’s beau, Ryan,
investigates a series of cold cases. Three girls dead. Four missing.
Could the New Brunswick skeleton be part of the pattern? As Tempe draws
on the latest advances in forensic anthropology to penetrate the past,
Ryan hunts down a serial predator.
***Short & Sweet Reviews
are short, quick reviews. These will mainly be used for series books
where I have already done full reviews on some of the earlier books or
for books that I feel will suffice with a quick review. These will not
be used for review requests or blog tours.
My thoughts: This was a good installment in the Temperance Brennan series. Not necessarily my favorite, but still a good story. The case is set in Quebec, so there is quite a bit of French and we do get a bit of French Canadian history thrown in.
While the case is personal to Tempe as it reminds her of a long-lost friend, what really kept my interest piqued was the fact that Harry, Tempe’s sister was back. I loved the interactions between the two sisters and the ones in this book were pretty good at times. Harry even manages to help Tempe with her case, even going so far as to go off on her own to do some investigating. Not the best move on Harry’s part, but it kept the story fresh and interesting.
What I didn’t like is the on-going Tempe/Ryan merri-go-round…it seems we’ve come to the off part of their relationship. I have a feeling that they are going to be like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli – right up to the very last book their relationship will be in question. I guess only time will tell…
To me, the personal story lines are what made this book more so than the forensic case. I guess that’s to be expected in this series and I’m ok with that. It would be bad if I didn’t like the main characters and didn’t care for their personal lives – then I would have a hard time staying with the series. I’m invested in these characters and want to know what’s going on with them, so this book actually worked for me.
Audio thoughts: This is the first time I’ve listened to Linda Emond narrate and I really enjoyed listening to her. I thought she did a great job with the voices and the accents when necessary. I’m thrilled that she will be narrating the next bunch of books coming up – as many of you know, my major complaint with this series has been the lack of consistency with the narrator.
Books in this series:
- Deja Dead 12. 206 Bones
- Death du Jour 13. Spider Bones
- Deadly Decisions 14. Flash & Bones
- Fatal Voyage 15. Bones are Forever
- Grave Secrets 15.5 Bones in Her Pocket
- Bare Bones 16. Bones of the Lost
- Monday Mourning 16.5 Swamp Bones
- Cross Bones 17. Bones Never Lie
- Break No Bones 17.5 Bones on Ice
- Bones to Ashes 18. Speaking in Bones
- Devil Bones
