Grave Secrets

Things are never what they seem to be, but forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan digs deep to find the truth about a massacre that happened in a Guatemalan village. As the story heats up, Brennan gets involved not only in her assigned case but also, in the case of missing young girls in and around Guatemala. Katherine Borowitz tells the story in the same way that the methodical and composed Brennan unravels the mysteries before her. Her even narration effortlessly changes from English to French to Spanish accents in this international affair. Borowitz expertly and patiently guides the listener through the examination of septic tanks, morgues, and graves, and when the secret is revealed, it is quite shocking. D.L.M. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

June 17, 2002
Fans of the Temperance Brennan series will be pleased by forensic anthropologist Reichs's latest installment (after Fatal Voyage; Deadly Decisions; etc.). Grave Secrets
finds Tempe plying her pathology trade in Guatemala, investigating a massacre site as a favor to a Guatemalan anthropology association. However, when her team is ambushed by gunmen, Tempe finds herself ensnared in a mesh of corruption and murder stretching from Guatemala City to Montreal, involving DAs, military thugs and kinky diplomats. Tempe finds herself drawn—and trapped—between the two cops investigating: her longtime Canadian suitor, Lt. Andrew Ryan, and her would-be Latin lover, agente
Bartolomé Galiano. That the two men know each other and are friends doesn't help the situation. When a nosy reporter looking into the massacre is gunned down before Tempe's eyes, she realizes she herself is the next likely target. As has been said before, Reichs has much in common with Patricia Cornwell, though her language is more stripped down and there is less melodrama between autopsies. Devotees of medical procedurals will appreciate the detailed descriptions of bone formation and the mechanics of bodily decomposition within a septic tank; others may not. But the author keeps the twists coming, and by the novel's climax, she has skillfully interwoven her many subplots and red herrings into a satisfying puddle of sex, sleaze, greed and gore. (July)Forecast:Reichs traveled to Guatemala herself in 2000 as part of a special forensic team. Her firsthand knowledge of the terrain shines through and should win her a few more devoted readers.

The secrets uncovered by anthropologist Tempe Brennan have the chilling reality of true crime, and Reichs's ability to set scenes with careful detail makes this medical thriller particularly unsettling. The unlikely locales of Guatemala and Montreal provide interesting contrast. Narrator Katherine Borowitz's facility with the various accents places each of the characters as she moves the story through its intriguing twists of human rights issues, forensic science and government corruption. Borowitz is masterful with the banter between the detectives, Canadian and Guatemalan, and Brennan. She switches easily between the accents without a miss. Listeners will have a hard time turning this off before the final clues are revealed. R.F.W. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine