Break No Bones

May 22, 2006
The success of the Fox TV show Bones
, based on bestseller Reichs's series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (Cross Bones
, etc.), bodes well for this latest installment, in which Brennan once again stumbles on a modern-day mystery inadvertently. While supervising a dig of Native American burial grounds in Charleston, S.C., Brennan finds more recent remains. Soon, her ex-husband, who's a lawyer, appears in town, pursuing leads in a missing persons case connected with a local church. Bodies start piling up at an alarming rate, and Brennan begins to suspect that the deaths are linked to each other—and her ex-husband's inquiry. Reichs's down-to-earth heroine is an appealing creation, who deftly juggles personal problems with professional challenges. Despite the somewhat obvious solution, this novel confirms the series' place in the front rank of the ever-expanding forensic thriller subgenre.

Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is leading a two-week student dig on a South Carolina barrier island when a fresh body is discovered. Not surprising to fans of this series, Tempe finds herself as the acting coroner for a less-than-prehistoric death. Barbara Rosenblat's superb narration reveals Tempe's commitment to justice despite a complicated personal life. Her soon-to-be-ex-husband and boyfriend show up at the same time, and her friend (the real coroner) is struggling with cancer. Tempe endeavors to focus on the mystery at hand and identify the villains--without being distracted by her conflicting feelings for both men. Some far-fetched plot twists seem tolerable when delivered alongside Rosenblat's rich characterizations. N.M.C. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine