Burning Bones

Body of Evidence #7

by Christopher Golden, Rick Hautala

When two people suddenly burst into flame with no obvious cause and plenty of eyewitnesses, Jenna Blake and Slick begin to re-evaluate their faith in rational, scientific explanation. Original.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Teen, New Adult

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 30, 2001

About the author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Reviews

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

BURNING BONES is #7 in the delightfully intriguing and satisfying BODY OF EVIDENCE Series by Christopher Golden and the late Rick Hautala. Jenna Blake, Massachusetts university student, is very intelligent as well as insightful. In her part-time employment with the Chief Medical Examiner, Jenna has encountered much and also proved quite helpful. The current series of fatalities is a riddle wrapped in puzzles interwoven into an enigma. People suddenly ignite, with no trace of an accelerant or any logical cause. Detectives must discover the Who and the How to prevent any more disasters. They are facing a clever, arrogant, and very capable villain.

[Ingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my other reviews of the series, not much to add.
Far out idea, a little more believable for me, this time.
Ending ok, though all in all again 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Bought this and 4 others (one of it I already owned) as an ebook Omnibus "Season 2", will read them with distance between the books, so as not to spoil it, as they are sometimes a bit too much based on a formula/framework. Though I still think, there should be more books, going into the world we have today, with Wifi, tablets and smartphones, etc. .

[Sasha Soleta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bad guy is a little far fetched but I am still a sucker for the series.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable--a crime novel about someone who can cause a person(s) to burst into flame. Made you think. First read from this author. I will be reading some of his other works.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fasciotomy not eschars for pressure relief. Grr...details like this drive me crazy. Also, what does it mean to be “on a central line?” It’s a tool that is used, a person isn’t on one.

[Carlos Humberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazig book. I recomended those who wants to have fun

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read as long as you accept the premise

[Trista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenna Blake has just turned nineteen. As a student at Somerset University and a pathology assistant to the county medical examiner, Jenna doesn't have much time to devote to her crumbling social life. What little time she does have nearly disappears when an urgent and disturbing case comes into the M.E.'s office. Two people have recently burst into flame and burned alive in front of lots of witnesses with no obvious cause. Jenna and the medical examiner, Dr. Slikowski or "Slick", are attempting to work through the mystery behind the deaths when a third victim turns up. They all have to be connected somehow, and Jenna, along with the Somerset PD, are closing in on the case when the dangers hits a little too close to home. Is it spontaneous human combustion? Or something even more sinister? Jenna, Slick and the police need to find a solution before anyone else gets hurt, and the next victim could be one of them.

I first came across this book when I was in highschool and never knew it was the 7th book in the series until after I had reread it this time around. It says right on the cover that it's a "Body of Evidence" thriller starring Jenna Blake, but I had no idea there were so many in the series. Luckily, they're like stand alone novels that happen to feature the same characters. The story is not dependent on the back story developed in the previous books, it is quite possible to read just this story and get enough background and character development so you're not confused. As for the content, I was intrigued. Possible spontaneous human combustion?? Who doesn't like a good story that involves fire? The story is definitely violent and gives a lot of grisly details so may not be appropriate for younger teens. One criticism I do have is that Jenna is very unrealistic. How many 19-year-olds do you know who can keep straight As in university, have a part-time job as a medical examiner's assistant, help police solve crimes AND develop a bit of a love life all at the same time? None. Overall, though, the story was suspenseful and creative and worth the re-read. I would recommend this book to older teens who can handle the more disturbing moments, and to any fans of murder mysteries.

[Jenny Renninger · Rating 5 out of 5]

honestly i read this book so long ago I can't remember anything about it other then I absolutely loved it. I searched for the past 5 years to find this book. All i could remember about it was bones on the cover of the book and something about spontaneous combustion. This is definitely the next book I am going to read. By the way I graduated in 2006. I read this book while in middle school. I hope I still love it when I finish.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The developments in Jenna's personal life are less intriguing in this one, but the mystery delves into spontaneous human combustion and pyrokinesis, which is just cool. Danny's life is put in jeopardy as they begin to close in on the suspect, and the others have to find ways to outsmart the killer.
Another good edition to the series, one of my favorites.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. Even tho there were a few mistakes with the medical parts, it was a very nice book to read.

This might seem weird but I am a teenager and I don't like to read at all, but I found this book really good with the constant action and death around every page. It is a book that will keep you wanting to turn the page and never stop.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F GOL boe bk. 7

Forensics

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review is here

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story but not sure if I believe in pyrokinesis.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

a nice quick read for a long plane ride....