Cold Cold Bones - Kathy Reichs

 Cold Cold Bones - Kathy Reichs

She read

Publication Date: July 5, 2022

This is the 21st in the forensic pathologist Temperance Brennan series; I have read all of them.

It is winter in North Carolina and Tempe’s daughter has returned home from the army; her partner, Ryan, now private detective, is in St. Martin on a case.  A package containing an eyeball left on her back porch is the first of a series of puzzling events and murders. Are they all related?  Why is Tempe being targeted?  Does her daughter’s disappearance signal danger or does she merely need time on her own to work out her PTSD?

Kathy Reichs writing style is short, to the point, and objective. When reading her books, I am often reminded of the old TV series, Dragnet, and its terse “just the facts, mam”. Her descriptions can be pretty clinical and graphic. She has a clever way with words and a good sense of humor comes through.

Obviously, since I continue to read each new release in this series, I enjoy it.  Usually I like the main character, but in this installment, she annoyed me a bit by taking some very careless, foolish steps putting herself in such apparent peril. 

It’s difficult to put down one of Ms. Reichs' novels as her foreshadowing of events at the end of chapters keeps the intrigue going and prods the reader to go on for “just one more chapter.”

While this might not have been the strongest plot in the series, it still made for an engrossing read and I enjoyed visiting again with the old characters, including the irascible detective Skinny Slidell.  

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the DRC.

****