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Temperance Brennan #13
Mortal Remains
Book by Kathy Reichs
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 24, 2010
880 people are currently reading
14202 people want to read
About the author
Kathy Reichs
152 books17.3k followersKathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A professor of anthropology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (1998): Deja Dead
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (1998): Deja Dead
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,595 reviews
October 11, 2010
I quite like the Temperance Brennan novels. I've read all of them and so far there's only been 1 that I really didn't enjoy at all, which I think is a pretty good strike rate when there's been 12 of them. Well unfortunately, my toll now stands at 2/13. I didn't get into this book either.
Like Brennan, Reichs herself is a forensic anthropologist and she always claims that she never writes a novel and puts Temperance in a medical situation that she herself hasn't been in personally. She's obviously very smart, very knowledgable in her field but for the average layman who doesn't have a science brain (like myself) the long winded descriptions of procedures, tests, etc can feel like a lecture. Even when Temperance is supposed to be using “dumbed down” language, it often doesn't feel like that. Or maybe I'm just more dumbed down than the people in the books she's explaining things to? Anyway, it sometimes leads to me flicking pages in boredom until the pages of scientific descriptions stop. And that happened quite often in this novel.
Firstly – the abbreviations. There are oh so many of them and my brain can only keep track of so many acronyms at a time. It's even harder because I'm not American and don't have even a passing knowledge with some of these organisations. But I'm getting ahead of myself...plot first.
A floater is found somewhere in Quebec, Canada and due to being in the water, the body isn't easily identifiable so Tempe is called in to do her thing. Fingerprints identity the man as John Lowery which is a slight problem, as it's 2010 and apparently, John Lowery was declared dead in 1968 in Vietnam after a Chopper crash. Everyone is confused...if Lowery was a Vietnam soldier killed in action, how did he come to be in Canada? Tempe exumes the grave of John Lowery in North Carolina and finds that there is a partial skeleton inside that is supposed to be Lowery. Tempe decides to head to Hawaii to the headquarters of JPAC (one of those acronyms!) an organisation who dedicates itself to recovering American soldiers killed in conflict and bringing them home. Soon after arriving in Hawaii there turns up another body and this one has John Lowery's dogtags. So 3 bodies, all supposedly the same man. Which is the real Lowery and who are the other two? Tempe as always, is determined to find answers and justice for the fallen. Add in a threat on her life, her daughter Katy in a depression and Ryan and his daughter Lily and that's about the ballgame.
The plot was actually kind of interesting but I'm used to more action within these novels. There's always lots of creeping around and questioning people and Tempe usually getting herself involved in all sorts of things that she shouldn't be involved in and a pretty decent climax. This book lacked...a lot of things. Okay there was an attempt on Tempe's life but it was pretty lame, came out of no where and then totally fizzled out and was related to some random side case that Tempe got pulled on in out of no where. There was so much talking and explaining of organisations and DNA and other sorts of procedures and it was boring. The idea of an organisation that works to bring fallen soldiers home to their families for a proper burial was nice but there were some glaring errors made by an incompetent employee that led to remains being identified incorrectly which has potential disaster written all over it. I've no idea if that sort of thing occurs in real life, it probably does. Mistakes are made every day, I know it sometimes can't be helped, but you'd have to feel for people who were told remains were those of their son/father/brother/husband/etc and then later it turned out that they weren't.
Tempe's daughter Katy features more prominently in this one than she does in other novels and that's not necessarily a good thing. Katy is a selfish and often immature 24yo who is best left to just being the voice on the end of the phone whining about how much she hates her boring job now that she's graduated from university after a whopping 6 years. Ryan's daughter Lily appears more in this book too, mostly just to squabble with Katy. They both act like they're 12 years old for most of their time together and it's mostly just irritating. I think both of them could do with a good slap. Even Ryan was a nothing character this time around. And yes, she's still calling him Ryan! Can't she call him Andy even once? Or Andrew? Anything other than his last name, which, for a guy that she's slept with on and off for years now, is fairly ridiculous. It bugs me probably more than it should but hearing her refer to him as Ryan was confusing because I started to think his name was Ryan for a while, forgetting about the whole Andrew bit. At least this book laid off the devotion to describing his eyes twenty-seven different shades of blue.
I usually don't mind the fast pacing but the sentence fragments in this novel were very offputting and a bit reminiscent of the other book in this series I didn't enjoy, Cross Bones. At least Tempe and Ryan weren't acting like 4yos although I swear at the end of the previous book, 206 Bones that they were just about back together. However when Mortal Remains/Spider Bones opens up it's pretty clear that they are most definitely at an 'off' stage of their relationship. Ryan does a bit of half-hearted trying to get things going again but that mostly just involves him making vaguely suggestive remarks about getting back into Tempe's pants and Tempe pretending that she doesn't hear/understand what he's saying. Usually there's a bit of sexual tension between them but in this novel it was completely absent! I think the time has come for Tempe to make a decision about Ryan and if Reichs has no intentions getting them back together than they need to move him into the background. And if the are going to get back together, well then they need to do it. Without them having issues and breaking up in like every book from here on in. It's just getting really old.
Choppy disjointed writing, far too much explanation and lecturing on details of everything, lack of character development/growth, lack of sexual tension between anyone, confusing plot with far too many bodies and too many peripheral characters. If I hadn't of been reading this for the read-a-thon it's quite likely I might never have finished it.
Like Brennan, Reichs herself is a forensic anthropologist and she always claims that she never writes a novel and puts Temperance in a medical situation that she herself hasn't been in personally. She's obviously very smart, very knowledgable in her field but for the average layman who doesn't have a science brain (like myself) the long winded descriptions of procedures, tests, etc can feel like a lecture. Even when Temperance is supposed to be using “dumbed down” language, it often doesn't feel like that. Or maybe I'm just more dumbed down than the people in the books she's explaining things to? Anyway, it sometimes leads to me flicking pages in boredom until the pages of scientific descriptions stop. And that happened quite often in this novel.
Firstly – the abbreviations. There are oh so many of them and my brain can only keep track of so many acronyms at a time. It's even harder because I'm not American and don't have even a passing knowledge with some of these organisations. But I'm getting ahead of myself...plot first.
A floater is found somewhere in Quebec, Canada and due to being in the water, the body isn't easily identifiable so Tempe is called in to do her thing. Fingerprints identity the man as John Lowery which is a slight problem, as it's 2010 and apparently, John Lowery was declared dead in 1968 in Vietnam after a Chopper crash. Everyone is confused...if Lowery was a Vietnam soldier killed in action, how did he come to be in Canada? Tempe exumes the grave of John Lowery in North Carolina and finds that there is a partial skeleton inside that is supposed to be Lowery. Tempe decides to head to Hawaii to the headquarters of JPAC (one of those acronyms!) an organisation who dedicates itself to recovering American soldiers killed in conflict and bringing them home. Soon after arriving in Hawaii there turns up another body and this one has John Lowery's dogtags. So 3 bodies, all supposedly the same man. Which is the real Lowery and who are the other two? Tempe as always, is determined to find answers and justice for the fallen. Add in a threat on her life, her daughter Katy in a depression and Ryan and his daughter Lily and that's about the ballgame.
The plot was actually kind of interesting but I'm used to more action within these novels. There's always lots of creeping around and questioning people and Tempe usually getting herself involved in all sorts of things that she shouldn't be involved in and a pretty decent climax. This book lacked...a lot of things. Okay there was an attempt on Tempe's life but it was pretty lame, came out of no where and then totally fizzled out and was related to some random side case that Tempe got pulled on in out of no where. There was so much talking and explaining of organisations and DNA and other sorts of procedures and it was boring. The idea of an organisation that works to bring fallen soldiers home to their families for a proper burial was nice but there were some glaring errors made by an incompetent employee that led to remains being identified incorrectly which has potential disaster written all over it. I've no idea if that sort of thing occurs in real life, it probably does. Mistakes are made every day, I know it sometimes can't be helped, but you'd have to feel for people who were told remains were those of their son/father/brother/husband/etc and then later it turned out that they weren't.
Tempe's daughter Katy features more prominently in this one than she does in other novels and that's not necessarily a good thing. Katy is a selfish and often immature 24yo who is best left to just being the voice on the end of the phone whining about how much she hates her boring job now that she's graduated from university after a whopping 6 years. Ryan's daughter Lily appears more in this book too, mostly just to squabble with Katy. They both act like they're 12 years old for most of their time together and it's mostly just irritating. I think both of them could do with a good slap. Even Ryan was a nothing character this time around. And yes, she's still calling him Ryan! Can't she call him Andy even once? Or Andrew? Anything other than his last name, which, for a guy that she's slept with on and off for years now, is fairly ridiculous. It bugs me probably more than it should but hearing her refer to him as Ryan was confusing because I started to think his name was Ryan for a while, forgetting about the whole Andrew bit. At least this book laid off the devotion to describing his eyes twenty-seven different shades of blue.
I usually don't mind the fast pacing but the sentence fragments in this novel were very offputting and a bit reminiscent of the other book in this series I didn't enjoy, Cross Bones. At least Tempe and Ryan weren't acting like 4yos although I swear at the end of the previous book, 206 Bones that they were just about back together. However when Mortal Remains/Spider Bones opens up it's pretty clear that they are most definitely at an 'off' stage of their relationship. Ryan does a bit of half-hearted trying to get things going again but that mostly just involves him making vaguely suggestive remarks about getting back into Tempe's pants and Tempe pretending that she doesn't hear/understand what he's saying. Usually there's a bit of sexual tension between them but in this novel it was completely absent! I think the time has come for Tempe to make a decision about Ryan and if Reichs has no intentions getting them back together than they need to move him into the background. And if the are going to get back together, well then they need to do it. Without them having issues and breaking up in like every book from here on in. It's just getting really old.
Choppy disjointed writing, far too much explanation and lecturing on details of everything, lack of character development/growth, lack of sexual tension between anyone, confusing plot with far too many bodies and too many peripheral characters. If I hadn't of been reading this for the read-a-thon it's quite likely I might never have finished it.
June 11, 2011
Recently took a short trip and decided to take along Kathy Reichs SPIDER BONES on CD to help alleviate the boredom of a ride across the desert. I came away from the experience vowing never to read or listen to another offering in this series. My dissatisfaction stems from many sources. I will attempt to enumerate just a few.
1. Her relationship with Ryan. The green-eyed monster rears its ugly head every time another woman comes on the scene, in this case Honolulu medical examiner Hadley Perry. Temperance is supposed to be and intelligent, logical woman and when it comes to Ryan she is a dithering idiot. All I can say is “Make a decision already!” It’s either yes or no….you either love him or you don’t.
2. Temperance’s daughter Kathy is an exasperating twenty-four year old who behaves like a churlish, insolent brat. Her responses to her mother and others around her were those of a rather petulant sixteen year old rather than an educated young woman.
3. Adding multiple murders and the drug angle sent the story off on a tangent unrelated to the original narrative making an already tedious story, overly convoluted. When you removed all the extraneous material, the solution to the initial mystery was fairly obvious so perhaps this was the reason for Ms. Reich’s meandering all over the map with her tale.
4. All of the acronyms in the book and the extensive medical explanations exacerbated my frustration with this book and were mind numbing……although I did add one new word to my vocabulary –chimera. (I always thought it was an inexpensive outdoor fireplace, now I know better).
I have created my own acronym to describe this book. J.U.N.K = JUMBLED –UNEVENTFUL - NOT a KEEPER.
1. Her relationship with Ryan. The green-eyed monster rears its ugly head every time another woman comes on the scene, in this case Honolulu medical examiner Hadley Perry. Temperance is supposed to be and intelligent, logical woman and when it comes to Ryan she is a dithering idiot. All I can say is “Make a decision already!” It’s either yes or no….you either love him or you don’t.
2. Temperance’s daughter Kathy is an exasperating twenty-four year old who behaves like a churlish, insolent brat. Her responses to her mother and others around her were those of a rather petulant sixteen year old rather than an educated young woman.
3. Adding multiple murders and the drug angle sent the story off on a tangent unrelated to the original narrative making an already tedious story, overly convoluted. When you removed all the extraneous material, the solution to the initial mystery was fairly obvious so perhaps this was the reason for Ms. Reich’s meandering all over the map with her tale.
4. All of the acronyms in the book and the extensive medical explanations exacerbated my frustration with this book and were mind numbing……although I did add one new word to my vocabulary –chimera. (I always thought it was an inexpensive outdoor fireplace, now I know better).
I have created my own acronym to describe this book. J.U.N.K = JUMBLED –UNEVENTFUL - NOT a KEEPER.
July 5, 2024
4! Another bias novel...Love Tempe and Ryan...can't wait to see what happens between the two! But still not as good as the tv show. I wish I would've read through the book series first!
September 12, 2024
The 13th in the series, I am really getting somewhere with this series now. I think these are good, quick reads they aren't anything too amazing but they are a nice palette cleanser.
This book has so many abbreviations and it didn't take long to get annoying. There was a very small mention of our main character reading a Stephen King book which I enjoyed. This one was nicely paced and kept my reading on.
As always with these the gore detail is impressive and so well done, Kathy Reichs uses each sense to describe everything her main character sees, the smell, touch, textures, sounds and how it look, it creates a really gruesome image in your mind. I really like Danny as a characters and I hope we see more of him.
The mother daughter and father daughter relationship is explored in this book and it is done pretty well. I also like Katy's character, she is turning into someone interesting who I think could be ruffling feathers in the future. This defiantly had summer vibes, set in Hawaii and I would love to go! The Easter egg of Bones was pretty funny too.
The ending I thought ended up being a little weak and I don't think everything was tied up that well...still decent read though and I will be going onto number 14.
This book has so many abbreviations and it didn't take long to get annoying. There was a very small mention of our main character reading a Stephen King book which I enjoyed. This one was nicely paced and kept my reading on.
As always with these the gore detail is impressive and so well done, Kathy Reichs uses each sense to describe everything her main character sees, the smell, touch, textures, sounds and how it look, it creates a really gruesome image in your mind. I really like Danny as a characters and I hope we see more of him.
The mother daughter and father daughter relationship is explored in this book and it is done pretty well. I also like Katy's character, she is turning into someone interesting who I think could be ruffling feathers in the future. This defiantly had summer vibes, set in Hawaii and I would love to go! The Easter egg of Bones was pretty funny too.
The ending I thought ended up being a little weak and I don't think everything was tied up that well...still decent read though and I will be going onto number 14.
June 9, 2014
This is the first Kathy Reichs I've read, and, well, I didn't hate it. (Unlike the Patricia Cornwell I read last year.) But neither am I really grabbed by it. Will I read more? Only time will tell, and whether or not one of my lists coughs up one for me to read. I certainly won't avoid it, but I know there's at least one mystery writer writing forensic anthropology mysteries that my mother likes more. Maybe I'll search him out.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
October 28, 2010
I've been a longtime fan of this series (and the show) but I must admit, this newest effort was such a wank job. Uninteresting story with a resolution that was so confusing, I didn't understand what was going on even as it was explained to me.
Reichs strains mightily to get Tempe out of the office and into the line of fire and shoehorns into the narrative 2-3 action scenes that feel forced and are unbelievable. The end, when both Tempe and Ryan's daughters are put in danger, is a series' lowpoint.
I've been mainly sticking with this series because I genuinely like Tempe and Ryan and have been waiting years to see them finally settle down together but I understand now that Reichs will never give us this happy ending. Like a weekly TV show that "resets" every week, no progress in any one book is carried over to the next. Frustrating and unsatisfying. Until Reichs picks up her game, I can't recommend this series in it's current state to anyone:(
Reichs strains mightily to get Tempe out of the office and into the line of fire and shoehorns into the narrative 2-3 action scenes that feel forced and are unbelievable. The end, when both Tempe and Ryan's daughters are put in danger, is a series' lowpoint.
I've been mainly sticking with this series because I genuinely like Tempe and Ryan and have been waiting years to see them finally settle down together but I understand now that Reichs will never give us this happy ending. Like a weekly TV show that "resets" every week, no progress in any one book is carried over to the next. Frustrating and unsatisfying. Until Reichs picks up her game, I can't recommend this series in it's current state to anyone:(
July 22, 2024
There are far to many coincidences in this story. The setting of Hawaii was different and interesting. I agree with other reviewers about far to many abbreviations and jargon even when it’s dumbed down. It’s also weird how she calls Ryan by his last name and will they or won’t they relationship. The two daughters Katy and Lily were unnecessary but it does serve for future stories for involving them.
SPOILERS AHEAD
In the end Tempe identifies the three possible people the corpse could be buried in Spiders grave. The ending is abrupt with the final confrontation on a Hawaiian cliff top and Lily’s rescue. I have to admit I got a bit muddled of who was who. The two young men murdered who became shark food was interesting in how Tempe identified the bodies.
Lily kept secret her fling with Byrd who was shot on the cliff and survived. Reggie Cumbo a cousin took Spider’s identity to go to Vietnam while Spider took another and went to Canada. Cumbo killed Luiz Alvarez in Vietnam to escape Vietnam. The genetic chimera aspect was f the cousins was interesting.
I will continue to read the series when I come across the books but would like her to call Ryan Andy or Andrew once.
SPOILERS AHEAD
In the end Tempe identifies the three possible people the corpse could be buried in Spiders grave. The ending is abrupt with the final confrontation on a Hawaiian cliff top and Lily’s rescue. I have to admit I got a bit muddled of who was who. The two young men murdered who became shark food was interesting in how Tempe identified the bodies.
Lily kept secret her fling with Byrd who was shot on the cliff and survived. Reggie Cumbo a cousin took Spider’s identity to go to Vietnam while Spider took another and went to Canada. Cumbo killed Luiz Alvarez in Vietnam to escape Vietnam. The genetic chimera aspect was f the cousins was interesting.
I will continue to read the series when I come across the books but would like her to call Ryan Andy or Andrew once.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2011
The Queen of Unbelievable Coincidences strikes again. Seriously, why has no one with any influence over Kathy Reichs ever sat her down and explained that she can't keep forcing connections between cases that have no business being related? It takes away from an otherwise great series.
In this one, Tempe starts out with a body in Canada, but heads back to the States (NC, of course) when the body is identified as a man who reportedly died during the Vietnam war. Then it's off to Hawaii for some Linda Fairstein-style education about the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command. While there, Tempe is also asked to help identify some body parts that have been gnawed on by sharks. And GUESS WHAT? Everything is connected somehow! Bet you didn't see that one coming...
I still love reading these books, but it's hard to imagine giving one more than 3 stars right now.
In this one, Tempe starts out with a body in Canada, but heads back to the States (NC, of course) when the body is identified as a man who reportedly died during the Vietnam war. Then it's off to Hawaii for some Linda Fairstein-style education about the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command. While there, Tempe is also asked to help identify some body parts that have been gnawed on by sharks. And GUESS WHAT? Everything is connected somehow! Bet you didn't see that one coming...
I still love reading these books, but it's hard to imagine giving one more than 3 stars right now.
October 16, 2010
I quite like the Temperance Brennan novels. I’ve read all of them and so far there had been only 1 that I really didn’t enjoy at all, which I think is a pretty good strike rate when there’s 12 novels to the series. Well unfortunately, my toll now stands at 2/13. I didn’t get into this book either.
Like Brennan, Reichs herself is a forensic anthropologist and she always claims that she never writes a novel and puts Temperance in a medical situation that she herself hasn’t been in personally. She’s obviously very smart, very knowledgable in her field but for the average layman who doesn’t have a science brain (like myself) the long winded descriptions of procedures, tests, etc can, very occasionally, feel like a lecture. Even when Temperance is supposed to be using “dumbed down” language in this novel, it often doesn’t feel like that. Or maybe I’m just more dumbed down than the people in the book she’s explaining things to? Anyway, it sometimes leads to me flicking pages in boredom until the pages of scientific descriptions stop. And that happened quite often in this novel.
Firstly – the abbreviations. There are oh so many of them and my brain can only keep track of so many acronyms at a time. It’s even harder because I’m not American and don’t have even a passing knowledge with some of these organisations. But I’m getting ahead of myself…plot first.
A floater is found somewhere in Quebec, Canada and due to being in the water, the body isn’t easily identifiable so Tempe is called in to do her thing. Fingerprints identity the man as John Lowery which is a slight problem, as it’s 2010 and apparently, John Lowery was declared dead in 1968 in Vietnam after a Chopper crash. Everyone is much confused – if Lowery was a Vietnam soldier killed in action, how did he come to be in Canada? Tempe exumes the grave of John Lowery in North Carolina and finds that there is a partial skeleton inside that is supposed to be Lowery. Tempe decides to head to Hawaii to the headquarters of JPAC (one of those acronyms!) an organisation who dedicates itself to recovering American soldiers killed in conflict and bringing them home. Soon after arriving in Hawaii there turns up another body and this one has John Lowery’s dogtags. So 3 bodies, all supposedly the same man. Which is the real Lowery and who are the other two? Tempe as always, is determined to find answers and justice for the fallen. Add in a threat on her life, her daughter Katy in a depression and Ryan and his daughter Lily and that’s about the ballgame.
The plot was actually kind of interesting but I’m used to more action within these novels. There’s always lots of creeping around and questioning people and Tempe usually getting herself involved in all sorts of things that she shouldn’t be involved in and a pretty decent climax. This book lacked…a lot of things. Okay there was an attempt on Tempe’s life but it was pretty lame, came out of nowhere and then totally fizzled out and was related to some random side case that Tempe got pulled in on out of no where. There was so much talking and explaining of organisations and DNA and other sorts of procedures and it was boring. The idea of an organisation that works to bring fallen soldiers home to their families for a proper burial was nice but there were some glaring errors made by an incompetent employee that led to remains being identified incorrectly which has potential disaster written all over it. I’ve no idea if that sort of thing occurs in real life, it probably does. Mistakes are made every day, I know it sometimes can’t be helped, but you’d have to feel for people who were told remains were those of their son/father/brother/husband/etc and then later it turned out that they weren’t.
Tempe’s daughter Katy features more prominently in this one than she does in other novels and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Katy is a selfish and often immature 24yo who is best left to just being the voice on the end of the phone whining about how much she hates her boring job now that she’s graduated from university after a whopping 6 years. Ryan’s daughter Lily appears more in this book too, mostly just to squabble with Katy. They both act like they’re 12 years old for most of their time together and it’s mostly just irritating. I think both of them could do with a good slap. Even Ryan was a nothing character this time around. And yes, she’s still calling him Ryan! Can’t she call him Andy even once? Or Andrew? Anything other than his last name, which, for a guy that she’s slept with on and off for years now, is fairly ridiculous. It bugs me probably more than it should but hearing her refer to him as Ryan was confusing because I started to think his name was Ryan for a while, forgetting about the whole Andrew bit. At least this book laid off the devotion to describing his eyes twenty-seven different shades of blue.
I usually don’t mind the fast pacing but the sentence fragments in this novel were very offputting and a bit reminiscent of the other book in this series I didn’t enjoy, Cross Bones. At least Tempe and Ryan weren’t acting like 4yos although I swear at the end of the previous book, 206 Bones that they were just about back together. However when Mortal Remains opens up it’s pretty clear that they are most definitely at an ‘off’ stage of their relationship. Ryan does a bit of half-hearted trying to get things going again but that mostly just involves him making vaguely suggestive remarks about getting back into Tempe’s pants and Tempe pretending that she doesn’t hear/understand what he’s saying. Usually there’s a bit of sexual tension between them but in this novel it was completely absent! I think the time has come for Tempe to make a decision about Ryan and if Reichs has no intentions getting them back together than they need to move him into the background. And if they are going to get back together, well then they need to do it. Without them having issues and breaking up in like every book from here on in. It’s just getting really old.
Choppy disjointed writing, far too much explanation and lecturing on details of everything, lack of character development/growth, lack of sexual tension between anyone, confusing plot with far too many bodies and too many peripheral characters, not to mention what felt like hundreds of acronyms. It was confusing – I had trouble remembering what organisation did what, what they used to be called before X happened, or they merged with Y, etc. If I hadn’t of been reading this for the read-a-thon it’s quite likely I might never have finished it. That’s kind of sad, because I normally like these books quite a bit.
Like Brennan, Reichs herself is a forensic anthropologist and she always claims that she never writes a novel and puts Temperance in a medical situation that she herself hasn’t been in personally. She’s obviously very smart, very knowledgable in her field but for the average layman who doesn’t have a science brain (like myself) the long winded descriptions of procedures, tests, etc can, very occasionally, feel like a lecture. Even when Temperance is supposed to be using “dumbed down” language in this novel, it often doesn’t feel like that. Or maybe I’m just more dumbed down than the people in the book she’s explaining things to? Anyway, it sometimes leads to me flicking pages in boredom until the pages of scientific descriptions stop. And that happened quite often in this novel.
Firstly – the abbreviations. There are oh so many of them and my brain can only keep track of so many acronyms at a time. It’s even harder because I’m not American and don’t have even a passing knowledge with some of these organisations. But I’m getting ahead of myself…plot first.
A floater is found somewhere in Quebec, Canada and due to being in the water, the body isn’t easily identifiable so Tempe is called in to do her thing. Fingerprints identity the man as John Lowery which is a slight problem, as it’s 2010 and apparently, John Lowery was declared dead in 1968 in Vietnam after a Chopper crash. Everyone is much confused – if Lowery was a Vietnam soldier killed in action, how did he come to be in Canada? Tempe exumes the grave of John Lowery in North Carolina and finds that there is a partial skeleton inside that is supposed to be Lowery. Tempe decides to head to Hawaii to the headquarters of JPAC (one of those acronyms!) an organisation who dedicates itself to recovering American soldiers killed in conflict and bringing them home. Soon after arriving in Hawaii there turns up another body and this one has John Lowery’s dogtags. So 3 bodies, all supposedly the same man. Which is the real Lowery and who are the other two? Tempe as always, is determined to find answers and justice for the fallen. Add in a threat on her life, her daughter Katy in a depression and Ryan and his daughter Lily and that’s about the ballgame.
The plot was actually kind of interesting but I’m used to more action within these novels. There’s always lots of creeping around and questioning people and Tempe usually getting herself involved in all sorts of things that she shouldn’t be involved in and a pretty decent climax. This book lacked…a lot of things. Okay there was an attempt on Tempe’s life but it was pretty lame, came out of nowhere and then totally fizzled out and was related to some random side case that Tempe got pulled in on out of no where. There was so much talking and explaining of organisations and DNA and other sorts of procedures and it was boring. The idea of an organisation that works to bring fallen soldiers home to their families for a proper burial was nice but there were some glaring errors made by an incompetent employee that led to remains being identified incorrectly which has potential disaster written all over it. I’ve no idea if that sort of thing occurs in real life, it probably does. Mistakes are made every day, I know it sometimes can’t be helped, but you’d have to feel for people who were told remains were those of their son/father/brother/husband/etc and then later it turned out that they weren’t.
Tempe’s daughter Katy features more prominently in this one than she does in other novels and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Katy is a selfish and often immature 24yo who is best left to just being the voice on the end of the phone whining about how much she hates her boring job now that she’s graduated from university after a whopping 6 years. Ryan’s daughter Lily appears more in this book too, mostly just to squabble with Katy. They both act like they’re 12 years old for most of their time together and it’s mostly just irritating. I think both of them could do with a good slap. Even Ryan was a nothing character this time around. And yes, she’s still calling him Ryan! Can’t she call him Andy even once? Or Andrew? Anything other than his last name, which, for a guy that she’s slept with on and off for years now, is fairly ridiculous. It bugs me probably more than it should but hearing her refer to him as Ryan was confusing because I started to think his name was Ryan for a while, forgetting about the whole Andrew bit. At least this book laid off the devotion to describing his eyes twenty-seven different shades of blue.
I usually don’t mind the fast pacing but the sentence fragments in this novel were very offputting and a bit reminiscent of the other book in this series I didn’t enjoy, Cross Bones. At least Tempe and Ryan weren’t acting like 4yos although I swear at the end of the previous book, 206 Bones that they were just about back together. However when Mortal Remains opens up it’s pretty clear that they are most definitely at an ‘off’ stage of their relationship. Ryan does a bit of half-hearted trying to get things going again but that mostly just involves him making vaguely suggestive remarks about getting back into Tempe’s pants and Tempe pretending that she doesn’t hear/understand what he’s saying. Usually there’s a bit of sexual tension between them but in this novel it was completely absent! I think the time has come for Tempe to make a decision about Ryan and if Reichs has no intentions getting them back together than they need to move him into the background. And if they are going to get back together, well then they need to do it. Without them having issues and breaking up in like every book from here on in. It’s just getting really old.
Choppy disjointed writing, far too much explanation and lecturing on details of everything, lack of character development/growth, lack of sexual tension between anyone, confusing plot with far too many bodies and too many peripheral characters, not to mention what felt like hundreds of acronyms. It was confusing – I had trouble remembering what organisation did what, what they used to be called before X happened, or they merged with Y, etc. If I hadn’t of been reading this for the read-a-thon it’s quite likely I might never have finished it. That’s kind of sad, because I normally like these books quite a bit.
September 29, 2011
Being a huge fan of the TV series, I really really really want to love the books.
I don't.
I try and I try and I try, but at some point I have to shake my head and move on to something else.
I'm a student at uni and like to read crime novels for light relief between study, assignments and exams. I want something that pushes me to think, but that entertains me at the same time. Somewhere along the line, Reichs fails to achieve this.
I've tried to work out what I don't like and I think it comes down to two things.
1. In the TV series Temperence Brennan is a forensic anthropologist and a best-selling novelist. Now, given her total inability to engage in normal social conversation without a translation dictionary, I find it hard to believe she can write complex characters such as those discribed and have them ring true. In the novels Brennan is a lot more socially savvy, but still the people who inhabit her novels come across as character-types from central casting rather than people in their own right. Like TV Brennan, Reichs may be good at dealing with skeletons, but not the flesh and souls that make them their home.
2. Oh my goodness, the info-dumping. Novel-Brennan is constantly lecturing her daughter, her lover, the local cops, her butcher, her baker, the nearest bum on the street as a way of informing her audience and it's just awful. The way she goes about this is so heavy-handed and it pulls me out of the story everytime Brennan says "What do you know about..." then proceeds to bring them up to speed.
So, no. Not a fan. I know Reichs is on the best-seller list. I know others love what she does. Not me. I'm off now, there's a new season of Bones to pop into the DVD player.
I don't.
I try and I try and I try, but at some point I have to shake my head and move on to something else.
I'm a student at uni and like to read crime novels for light relief between study, assignments and exams. I want something that pushes me to think, but that entertains me at the same time. Somewhere along the line, Reichs fails to achieve this.
I've tried to work out what I don't like and I think it comes down to two things.
1. In the TV series Temperence Brennan is a forensic anthropologist and a best-selling novelist. Now, given her total inability to engage in normal social conversation without a translation dictionary, I find it hard to believe she can write complex characters such as those discribed and have them ring true. In the novels Brennan is a lot more socially savvy, but still the people who inhabit her novels come across as character-types from central casting rather than people in their own right. Like TV Brennan, Reichs may be good at dealing with skeletons, but not the flesh and souls that make them their home.
2. Oh my goodness, the info-dumping. Novel-Brennan is constantly lecturing her daughter, her lover, the local cops, her butcher, her baker, the nearest bum on the street as a way of informing her audience and it's just awful. The way she goes about this is so heavy-handed and it pulls me out of the story everytime Brennan says "What do you know about..." then proceeds to bring them up to speed.
So, no. Not a fan. I know Reichs is on the best-seller list. I know others love what she does. Not me. I'm off now, there's a new season of Bones to pop into the DVD player.
July 25, 2018
Kathy Reichs legt viel Wert darauf, zu betonen, dass ihre Romanheldin Temperance Brennan nicht ihr Alter Ego ist. Zwar sind die Parallelen zwischen der realen und der fiktiven Frau auffallend – derselbe Beruf, dieselben Örtlichkeiten und ähnliche professionelle Erfahrungen – doch sie sind nicht ein und dieselbe Person. Zum Glück, denn wer die Thriller-Reihe verfolgt, könnte meinen, eine Karriere als forensische Anthropologin sei brandgefährlich. Ein ums andere Mal gerät Tempe in die Schusslinie und ich erwartete auch von Band 13 „Blut vergisst nicht“ einen aufregenden und riskanten Kriminalfall. Ich wurde nicht enttäuscht.
Im Laufe ihrer Karriere als forensische Anthropologin sind Dr. Temperance Brennan viele skurrile Fälle untergekommen – bisher war sie jedoch überzeugt, ein Mensch könne nur einmal sterben. Die Leiche, die aus einem See nahe Montreal geborgen wird, kann anhand der Fingerabdrücke eindeutig als John Charles Lowry identifiziert werden. Lowry war US-Soldat und kam offiziell bereits 1968 im Vietnamkrieg ums Leben. Doch wenn Lowry erst kürzlich in Kanada starb, wer liegt dann seit 40 Jahren in seinem Grab? Verwirrt reist Tempe nach Hawaii, um die Hilfe der Expert_innen des JPAC in Anspruch zu nehmen, der staatlichen Behörde zur Auffindung vermisster Soldat_innen der US-Streitkräfte. Während in ihrem Fall ermittelt wird, bittet die örtliche Gerichtsmedizinerin sie um Unterstützung. Sie soll die an der Küste angespülte, von Haien zerfleischte Leiche eines Kleinkriminellen untersuchen. War sein Tod ein tragisches Unglück oder war er in den Drogenkrieg verstrickt, der Hawaii seit Jahren belastet? Auf ihrer Suche nach Antworten lernt Tempe die dunkle Seite der paradiesischen Insel kennen und gerät in Lebensgefahr…
„Blut vergisst nicht“ ist ein typischer „Temperance Brennan“-Roman. Der grobe strukturelle Ablauf der Bände ist ein unveränderliches Gerüst, lediglich die Details unterscheiden sich. Ich weiß das und lasse deshalb meist viel Zeit zwischen zwei Bänden verstreichen, da mich die Ähnlichkeiten dann weniger stören. Das letzte Mal besuchte ich Tempe 2015. Meiner Ansicht nach spricht es für die Reihe, dass es problemlos möglich ist, jahrelang keinen „Brennan“ zu lesen und trotz dessen ohne Schwierigkeiten wieder einzusteigen, weil jeder Band einen abgeschlossenen Fall behandelt. In „Blut vergisst nicht“ konzentriert sich Kathy Reichs auf die Vorstellung des JPAC, das sie selbst, ebenso wie Tempe, unterstützte. Das Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command ist eine Behörde des US-Verteidigungsministeriums, deren Mitglieder Kriegsgefangene und im Einsatz vermisste und/oder verstorbene Soldat_innen suchen und nach Hause bringen. Ihr Motto lautet „Bis sie zu Hause sind“. Reichs beleuchtet ihre Arbeit ausführlich, beschreibt die Hindernisse, die sie überwinden müssen und illustriert am fiktiven Fall des verstorbenen John Charles Lowry, wie bedeutend ihre Bemühungen für die Angehörigen sind. Ich bin persönlich etwas zwiegespalten hinsichtlich des JPAC. Obwohl ich ihre Arbeit anerkenne, wertschätze und die Einrichtung für wichtig halte, schüttelt die pazifistische Idealistin in mir den Kopf darüber, dass es das JPAC überhaupt braucht. Beträfen ihre Anstrengungen ausschließlich die Kriege der Vergangenheit, wie den Zweiten Weltkrieg oder den Vietnamkrieg, bliebe meine kritische Stimme stumm, doch es wurmt mich, dass die zeitgenössische US-amerikanische Außenpolitik ihnen neue Fälle liefert. Das JPAC verfügt über Außenstellen in Thailand, Vietnam und Laos, ihre Zentrale befindet sich in der Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam auf Hawaii. Dadurch erlebt die Reihe einen interessanten Schauplatzwechsel, der mich darin bestätigte, dass der 50. Bundesstaat der USA eine traumhafte Insel ist, die ich eines Tages besichtigen möchte. Für die Protagonistin und Ich-Erzählerin ändert sich durch das neue Setting erstaunlich wenig. „Blut vergisst nicht“ konfrontiert Tempe mit einer äußerst komplizierten, verschachtelten Ermittlung, die wuchs und wuchs, bis ich den Eindruck einer wilden Mutation gewann. Meinem Empfinden nach war diese Entwicklung eindeutig übertrieben; Reichs involvierte zu viele Komponenten und Querverbindungen, sodass ich nicht fähig war, den Fall selbst zu lösen. Tempe hingegen ist wie immer mitten drin. Ihr starkes Kontrollbedürfnis wird ihr wieder einmal zum Verhängnis: da sie unfähig ist, zu delegieren und ihre Nase in alles hineinstecken muss, bringt sie sich selbst und ihre Liebsten in Gefahr. Ich finde ihre Rolle als Zielscheibe mittlerweile unglaubwürdig und ausgelutscht. Bei allen Abstrichen zugunsten der Action sollte Kathy Reichs nicht vergessen, dass Tempe keine Polizistin ist und als forensische Anthropologin innerhalb einer realistischen Ermittlung somit eher eine Randfigur wäre.
Wenn ich zu einem „Temperance Brennan“-Roman greife, weiß ich, worauf ich mich einlasse. Ich weiß, dass Kathy Reichs ihre Protagonistin Tempe als schillernde Heldin inszenieren wird, ohne die die Lösung des hochkomplizierten Kriminalfalls, dessen spektakuläres Actionlevel die Grenzen der Realität mühelos sprengt, völlig undenkbar wäre. Ich bin mir absolut im Klaren darüber, was mich erwartet. Daher ist es Kathy Reichs beinahe unmöglich, mich zu enttäuschen. Ich betrachte die Bände als Appetithäppchen für Zwischendurch, die mich mit einem angenehmen Strom neuen Wissens und respektablem Unterhaltungswert sättigen. Nach diesen Maßstäben beurteile ich „Blut vergisst nicht“. Der 13. Band überzeugt meiner Meinung nach vor allem durch die Informationen über das JPAC, das beeindruckende Arbeit leistet und zurecht im Fokus des Falls steht. Das ganze Brimborium drum herum – Haiangriffe, Identitätstausch, organisiertes Verbrechen – halte ich persönlich für unnötig, aber das ist sicher Geschmackssache und hält mich nicht davon ab, Tempe erneut zu besuchen. Bis in drei Jahren, meine Liebe.
January 22, 2012
Why read: Love the series
What impressed me: I loved Tempe in Hawaii. I loved her vacationing with her daughter and I loved seeing her work in a new place with a different group of people. I absolutely loved Tempe and Ryan spending time together, with their respective kids, and not having everything be sort of overwhelmed by work as it usually is. The mystery was completely unforeseeable. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times, but was always proven wrong.
What disappointed me: I'm sort of getting sick of Tempe constantly being in danger. At the rate she's going, you'd expect her to have a constant security detail.
Recommended: Yes. Series fans will love the great balance between mystery and Tempe's personal life.
Continue series: Definitely. However long the series lasts, I'm sticking with it.
What impressed me: I loved Tempe in Hawaii. I loved her vacationing with her daughter and I loved seeing her work in a new place with a different group of people. I absolutely loved Tempe and Ryan spending time together, with their respective kids, and not having everything be sort of overwhelmed by work as it usually is. The mystery was completely unforeseeable. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times, but was always proven wrong.
What disappointed me: I'm sort of getting sick of Tempe constantly being in danger. At the rate she's going, you'd expect her to have a constant security detail.
Recommended: Yes. Series fans will love the great balance between mystery and Tempe's personal life.
Continue series: Definitely. However long the series lasts, I'm sticking with it.
December 10, 2018
Not a lot happened in this book...
Spider Bones was a pretty quick audio to listen to while at work. In it, Tempe and her daughter go to Hawaii to try to have a vacation. lmfao, yeah.. sure. While there, she is of course working on a murder case. She also invited Ryan and his daughter to come join them.
The duo definitely worked some magic on this case and by the end of the book, it was solved. It also didn't hurt that it was kind of like a family thing as well. Their daughters both had a hand in helping this case get solved - it just sucked ass that they had to be in danger too.
Other than that, this book was just kind of meh. The girls were a bit dramatic and annoying throughout the book until they reached a mutual understanding. Then Ryan and Tempe's little whatever drama was just meh and annoying as well. I don't care if they are or aren't together.. but could they just pick a side already. I hate the back and forth of their relationship and just want to know their final decision.
Spider Bones was a pretty quick audio to listen to while at work. In it, Tempe and her daughter go to Hawaii to try to have a vacation. lmfao, yeah.. sure. While there, she is of course working on a murder case. She also invited Ryan and his daughter to come join them.
The duo definitely worked some magic on this case and by the end of the book, it was solved. It also didn't hurt that it was kind of like a family thing as well. Their daughters both had a hand in helping this case get solved - it just sucked ass that they had to be in danger too.
Other than that, this book was just kind of meh. The girls were a bit dramatic and annoying throughout the book until they reached a mutual understanding. Then Ryan and Tempe's little whatever drama was just meh and annoying as well. I don't care if they are or aren't together.. but could they just pick a side already. I hate the back and forth of their relationship and just want to know their final decision.
September 18, 2022
I wasn't super into the plot of this one, but it did ramp up at the end. So I guess slightly better than the last one?
April 15, 2017
I'm not sure I can explain the plot of this one. It gets complicated! Basically, a body is found that is identified as John Lowery, but records show he died in Vietnam forty years earlier! Dr Temperance Brennan must exhume the grave that everybody thought was John Lowery and take it to Hawaii for reanalysis, as they are obviously the bones of a different veteran. While in Hawaii, another body is found, which has John Lowery's dog tags on them! Who is who? Tied in with all of this are remains that look as if they are the result of a shark attack.
I thought the last Kathy Reichs book (206 Bones) was below average, but she more than makes up for it with this one! In fact, this is better than the last few I've read. As I always say, I love a good story, and I got one here! That helped me overlook some things that bothered me - too much description about travel routes. I'm sure with all the detail provided here Kathy Reichs must have claimed a trip to Hawaii herself on tax (for "research" purposes)! There was also too many instances of a history provided on places and things that wasn't necessary, plus a gratuitous dream sequence.
However, the complex web behind the identities of the three dead bodies was fascinating, and managed to somewhat tie in with the shark victim bodies as well. Quite clever! Drug trafficking and gang warfare does play a part in the plot, which initially had me worried because I find that sort of plot so dull, but it's only references through dialogue, thankfully. The story is capped off with some plot twists - and scientific twists - and a fairly suspenseful climax. It has me wanting to go back and watch Bones, which I abandoned some time during the fifth season. And read more of the books, of course!
Note: In Australia, the version I read was called Mortal Remains, a tactic I find very, very annoying. Book publishers seem to be in denial that the Internet even exists! Do they really think people can't go on-line and find these things out themselves?!? So I'm reviewing it under the title it was meant to be published under.
I thought the last Kathy Reichs book (206 Bones) was below average, but she more than makes up for it with this one! In fact, this is better than the last few I've read. As I always say, I love a good story, and I got one here! That helped me overlook some things that bothered me - too much description about travel routes. I'm sure with all the detail provided here Kathy Reichs must have claimed a trip to Hawaii herself on tax (for "research" purposes)! There was also too many instances of a history provided on places and things that wasn't necessary, plus a gratuitous dream sequence.
However, the complex web behind the identities of the three dead bodies was fascinating, and managed to somewhat tie in with the shark victim bodies as well. Quite clever! Drug trafficking and gang warfare does play a part in the plot, which initially had me worried because I find that sort of plot so dull, but it's only references through dialogue, thankfully. The story is capped off with some plot twists - and scientific twists - and a fairly suspenseful climax. It has me wanting to go back and watch Bones, which I abandoned some time during the fifth season. And read more of the books, of course!
Note: In Australia, the version I read was called Mortal Remains, a tactic I find very, very annoying. Book publishers seem to be in denial that the Internet even exists! Do they really think people can't go on-line and find these things out themselves?!? So I'm reviewing it under the title it was meant to be published under.
December 2, 2020
DNFinish
July 13, 2019
Tempe number 13. Is an OK read. No more. This is also the 13th I've read, and although it is all right, it doesn't have the vigour of the previous 12, not for me anyway.
So many acronyms got bandied about that this time it became a real chore. The plot is complex and the confusion of the plot mirrored that of the reader, and I'm still not sure it was explained well. It's all very well being a clever writer, with a clever plot, but the reader sometimes needs a little more to play catchup.
The Ryan relationship also did not work. All the yes, no, on, off shenanigans didn't really add much for me.
I have no more Reichs on the TBR List, but I think there are more, I'll give have a rest from the series for the moment.
So many acronyms got bandied about that this time it became a real chore. The plot is complex and the confusion of the plot mirrored that of the reader, and I'm still not sure it was explained well. It's all very well being a clever writer, with a clever plot, but the reader sometimes needs a little more to play catchup.
The Ryan relationship also did not work. All the yes, no, on, off shenanigans didn't really add much for me.
I have no more Reichs on the TBR List, but I think there are more, I'll give have a rest from the series for the moment.
July 26, 2017
This is my favorite Kathy Reichs book I've read to date. The plot was interesting and had several great twists and turns. More than that, I enjoyed reading about how POW/MIA remains are handles and identified.
March 18, 2024
I did not like this one. The characters were all intolerable especially Katie. The plot was interesting enough but got too odd and the 'danger' they face felt so fake. I don't even feel like full reviewing this. I'm just going to move forward and hope I like the next one better.
November 30, 2021
More like 4 1/2 stars.
August 21, 2025
Started off strong but quickly went downhill—too much jargon, too many acronyms, and a confusing, unbelievable ending. The only highlight was the part on chimerism, which was interesting (even if I had to read it twice to fully get it).
October 20, 2018
I have been following this series of books for many years now and have always enjoyed every reading experience. Recently I have revisited them again as my daughter wanted me to buddy read them with her after discovering the television series and then seeing the books in our bookshelves. Even though I explained that the books and TV show are two different entities, she was still determined to read them. So here I am, many books later and enjoying them just as much as I did the first time. I am glad I read the books before seeing some of the television show because otherwise I may not have liked them quite so much. Temperance is depicted differently on the show than in the books. Although there are tie-ins of course. I don’t want to go into too much detail about it because I don’t want to spoil them for you.
Temperance Brennan is a bit of a quirky character- she’s quite complex, highly intelligent, a little damaged, but incredibly good at what she does. She’s a forensic anthropologist who is called upon to help in the trickiest of investigations. Through this series we get to tag along as she works, following her through the investigations, mysteries, and intriguing situations.
Each book is a great read in its own right, but as a series they help to develop a bigger and more intricate picture- giving greater insights into the character/s and backstory.
I recommend this series, it’s definitely worth the read. But keep a bit of an open mind if you’re a fan of the TV show- it’s not quite the same.
Happy reading!
Temperance Brennan is a bit of a quirky character- she’s quite complex, highly intelligent, a little damaged, but incredibly good at what she does. She’s a forensic anthropologist who is called upon to help in the trickiest of investigations. Through this series we get to tag along as she works, following her through the investigations, mysteries, and intriguing situations.
Each book is a great read in its own right, but as a series they help to develop a bigger and more intricate picture- giving greater insights into the character/s and backstory.
I recommend this series, it’s definitely worth the read. But keep a bit of an open mind if you’re a fan of the TV show- it’s not quite the same.
Happy reading!
August 28, 2010
To keep this short -
Tempe is back for her thirteenth book and I haven't been so intrigued about the victims for a very long time. It's a good thing to because this book is not full of Tempe's indecision about Ryan "leaving her" (although in my opinion, he gave her a chance to fight in the book before they break it off it is about the victims and their weaknesses that led to a chain reaction 40 years after Vietnam.
Soldiers dead in Vietnam, a body found in Canada and a drug ring in Hawaii all come together and for once, Tempe is only assaulted once.
Ryan is in this book but while there was a little bit of tension, both characters seemed muted. Tempe needs to forgive because again, in my opinion, part of it was her fault. She keeps Ryan just outside of her heart (I know, it sound pretty cheesy) and when she was presented with opportunities to show him that she loved him and was willing to fully be with him, she folded. On the other side, she is a stubborn lady and you gotta love her for that.
Katy was in this book as well as Lily and while I would have liked to see Lily more as a character instead of cause for concern. Katy was still a bit whiny and bratty but for the first part of the book she had a good reason to be. However, I hope this blog thing matures her a little bit.
Anyway, while dense in its medical explanations, this installment is one of the good ones in terms of plot. I just wish we could work on the Ryan/Brennan relationship.
Tempe is back for her thirteenth book and I haven't been so intrigued about the victims for a very long time. It's a good thing to because this book is not full of Tempe's indecision about Ryan "leaving her" (although in my opinion, he gave her a chance to fight in the book before they break it off it is about the victims and their weaknesses that led to a chain reaction 40 years after Vietnam.
Soldiers dead in Vietnam, a body found in Canada and a drug ring in Hawaii all come together and for once, Tempe is only assaulted once.
Ryan is in this book but while there was a little bit of tension, both characters seemed muted. Tempe needs to forgive because again, in my opinion, part of it was her fault. She keeps Ryan just outside of her heart (I know, it sound pretty cheesy) and when she was presented with opportunities to show him that she loved him and was willing to fully be with him, she folded. On the other side, she is a stubborn lady and you gotta love her for that.
Katy was in this book as well as Lily and while I would have liked to see Lily more as a character instead of cause for concern. Katy was still a bit whiny and bratty but for the first part of the book she had a good reason to be. However, I hope this blog thing matures her a little bit.
Anyway, while dense in its medical explanations, this installment is one of the good ones in terms of plot. I just wish we could work on the Ryan/Brennan relationship.
January 27, 2012
i thought that this was finally going to be the book where something horrible doesn't happen to temperance brennan, but hahahahah! halfway through she is driven off a cliff into the ocean. THESE THINGS DO NOT HAPPEN TO PEOPLE EVERY YEAR OF THEIR LIVES. your husband doesn't get shot in the face one year and you don't get buried in a sewer tomb the next. bad things do not rain down on people like that. maybe your car breaks down and you can't afford to feed yourself, but you aren't being targeted by all the world's criminals year after year. i guess had i actually read these books as they were being released (in 1997 i was 6 years old, so that's arguably entirely feasible, right? i was a pretty avid reader even then!) i'd be so less fatigued and irritated by these books, but shit.
i really appreciate the science-y aspect of these books but i'm tired of roughing through tempe's boring-ass going-nowhere relationship with ryan and her interactions with her petulant 24 y/o daughter. at least i only have one more book to go, i guess. blech.
eta: wait a second, the next book is YA and doesn't focus on tempe!? maybe it'll fare a little better.
i really appreciate the science-y aspect of these books but i'm tired of roughing through tempe's boring-ass going-nowhere relationship with ryan and her interactions with her petulant 24 y/o daughter. at least i only have one more book to go, i guess. blech.
eta: wait a second, the next book is YA and doesn't focus on tempe!? maybe it'll fare a little better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2010
What I like about the series is the Montreal setting, where applicable, and the police procedural/forensic stuff. What I thoroughly disliked, enough to stop reading the series, was the way Temperance was always the center of any mystery, going alone into every lair of evildoers, being the motivation behind every nutcase's decision to start killing people...
I am glad I picked up this one. The Hawaii setting was interesting. There was still a lot of her personal life, but, for once, there was something other than her personal life motivating the crimes. And there were only a couple of times where this aging woman with half-dozen PhDs performed the kinds of stunts Navy Seals train for years to achieve.
People love the forensic anthropology. In this book, it is not overshadowed by Temperance's adventures and personal life. Hoping to find another one in the series with similar characteristics
I am glad I picked up this one. The Hawaii setting was interesting. There was still a lot of her personal life, but, for once, there was something other than her personal life motivating the crimes. And there were only a couple of times where this aging woman with half-dozen PhDs performed the kinds of stunts Navy Seals train for years to achieve.
People love the forensic anthropology. In this book, it is not overshadowed by Temperance's adventures and personal life. Hoping to find another one in the series with similar characteristics
September 8, 2010
I'm a big fan of Kathy Reichs' books, of which Spider Bones is the most recent. In this outing, protagonist Temperance Brennan is asked to bring her forensic anthropology skills to bear when three different sets of remains are identified as belonging to the same man.
Clearly, this is impossible.
Brennan is whisked off to the military's Joint Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Command (JPAC), because the man in question, John Lowery, is cited as having died during the Vietnam war.
Along the way, Brennan runs afoul of local gangs, the local medical examiner, and Lowery's father.
As is always the case with Reichs, the book was a real page-turner. I used to work for the Dept. of Defense, and I can say that her particulars about repatriation of remains and other military matters are spot-on.
Highly recommended for those who enjoy a good police procedural
Clearly, this is impossible.
Brennan is whisked off to the military's Joint Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Command (JPAC), because the man in question, John Lowery, is cited as having died during the Vietnam war.
Along the way, Brennan runs afoul of local gangs, the local medical examiner, and Lowery's father.
As is always the case with Reichs, the book was a real page-turner. I used to work for the Dept. of Defense, and I can say that her particulars about repatriation of remains and other military matters are spot-on.
Highly recommended for those who enjoy a good police procedural
December 29, 2020
Being book 13 in a long-standing series is never easy. By now, people know what to expect. Some want to be surprised, others love to be served exactly what they wish for.
Spider Bones was interesting - I loved reading about JPAC, a US Institution that strives to recover Americans who have died in past wars. However, Reichs still tries to fit two large-scale cases as well as catastrophes from Tempe’s everyday life in a 300-page-book. Some aspects really suffer and I wish I had more time to focus on one topic.
In the end, I will continue the series because the books are entertaining and fast-paced. Just what I sometimes need.
Spider Bones was interesting - I loved reading about JPAC, a US Institution that strives to recover Americans who have died in past wars. However, Reichs still tries to fit two large-scale cases as well as catastrophes from Tempe’s everyday life in a 300-page-book. Some aspects really suffer and I wish I had more time to focus on one topic.
In the end, I will continue the series because the books are entertaining and fast-paced. Just what I sometimes need.
August 20, 2010
I have to admit, I've never read a Kathy Reichs book before this one. I'm a devout fan of the TV show "Bones", but once I learned there weren't too many similarities between the two, I just kinda forgot about them. Oh, I was so wrong! I absolutely devoured this in under 24 hours. The case was totally intriguing, and it was such an easy read. I really didn't fee lost at any moment, regardless of what I've missed in previous books. I think I may have to start making her a regular author of mine. Fabulous work!
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