Join Books.org — it's free

Mystery & Crime, Fiction Subjects
206 Bones (Temperance Brennan Series #12) by Kathy Reichs — book cover

206 Bones (Temperance Brennan Series #12)

by Kathy Reichs
Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Log in to track your reading progress.

Overview

There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. When Tempe finds herself regaining consciousness in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space—bound, hands to feet—Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...

Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy—and the case. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third. Seamlessly weaving between Tempe’s present-tense terror as she’s held captive and her memory of the cases of these murdered women, Reichs reveals the incredible devastation that would occur if a forensic colleague sabotaged work in the lab. The chemistry between Tempe and Ryan intensifies as this complex, riveting tale unfolds, proving once again, that Reichs is the dominant talent in forensic mystery writing.

Synopsis

Kathy Reichs, number one New York Times bestselling author and producer of the FOX television hit Bones, returns with a spectacular new novel featuring America's favorite forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan.

There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can read in them stories of brief or long lives, and use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end.

The twelfth Temperance Brennan novel from Kathy Reichs, 206 Bones opens with Tempe regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. Is she buried alive? In some kind of cell? Who wants Tempe dead, or at least out of the way, and why? Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...

Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy — and the case. Someone made an incriminating phone call. Within hours, the one man with information about the call was dead. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third.

Seamlessly weaving between Tempe's present-tense terror and her memory of the cases of these murdered women, Reichs conveys the incredible devastation that would occur if a forensic colleague sabotaged work in the lab. The chemistry between Tempe and Ryan intensifies as this complex, riveting tale unfolds.

With a popular series on FOX — now in its fifth season and in full syndication — Kathy Reichs is firmly established as a dominant talent inforensic mystery writing. Her signature blend of forensic descriptions that "chill to the bone" (Entertainment Weekly) and intense suspense have made her a number one New York Times bestseller and worldwide phenomenon.

The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio

Reichs isn't above a bit of melodrama, and her heroine is metaphorically tied to the tracks at one awkward juncture—until the forensic procedures take center stage, as they always do in this cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series.

About the Author, Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs burst onto the fiction scene in the late 1990s with her first novel, Déjà Dead, a thriller rooted in an expert knowledge of science and medicine and powered by a strong female protagonist, Temperance Brennan. Since then, Reichs has been a regular feature on bestseller lists and is often mentioned in the same breath as the chief of the autopsy whodunit, Patricia Cornwell.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

For forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, the 206 bones of the human body are the vocabulary of her work, the building blocks of evidence amassed to ultimately convict. In this crisp narrative, her pride in her work is undermined twice; first, when she is accused of mishandling an autopsy; second, when she regains consciousness in a small, totally darkened, very cold enclosure. "Bones" at her best.

Marilyn Stasio

Reichs isn't above a bit of melodrama, and her heroine is metaphorically tied to the tracks at one awkward juncture—until the forensic procedures take center stage, as they always do in this cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series.
—The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

As the 12th novel starring Dr. Temperance Brennan opens, the forensic anthropologist awakens to find herself entombed and tied up. While struggling to free herself, she recalls her most recent case, concerning a potential serial killer of elderly women, and her gradual awareness that an unknown enemy is trying to undermine her professionally and personally. Linda Emond ably embodies the brilliant but socially awkward Temperance. She makes a subtle but effective effort to indicate other voices and produces a convincing French accent when necessary (much of the action takes place in Montreal). Emond also ensures that the pace doesn't flag when Reichs takes quick timeouts from the narrative for a human anatomy lesson. A Scribner hardcover (Reviews, June 15). (Aug.)

Kirkus Reviews

Dr. Temperance Brennan unaccountably begins making mistakes. Could the Cook County forensic anthropologist really have misidentified a murder as accidental death? An anonymous tipster insists on it to the deceased person's well-connected relative, which sends Tempe up to Quebec where the body was originally found. The death now seems tied to the fates of three other elderly women, all of whom perished violently. Det. Andy Ryan, Tempe's on-again/off-again boyfriend, tries to help, but her new lab tech is surly and uncooperative, and the lab's latest hotshot is quick to point out her failings, which include an overlooked bullet track, phalanges gone missing and no notice of telltale tetracycline staining on the teeth. Eventually, Tempe realizes that her competence isn't slipping; she is being sabotaged. Six cases will come into question, and her lab status will be thoroughly compromised before she almost succumbs to an abduction that leaves her trussed up and helpless in an old military burial ground. Nearly as many plots as there are bones in the body, some to please medical pedants, some to appease ghouls, and some to show off the smart-mouth repartee Tempe (Devil Bones, 2008, etc.) has been indulging in since she got her own TV series on Fox.

Book Details

Published
June 1, 2010
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Pages
416
Format
Mass Market Paperback
ISBN
9781416525677

More by Kathy Reichs

Similar books