Review - Flash and Bone by Kathy Reichs

Series: Temperance Brennan #14
Genre: Mystery 
Age Group: Adult
Hardcover - 288pgs
Source: Purchased
Published- July 2011
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Rating: 3.5/5

FLASH! Illuminated by lightning, a lifeless human hand seems to reach from a barrel of asphalt beside the Charlotte racetrack.

Even for forensic anthropologist Dr Tempe Brennan it is a disturbing sight. And now she must find answers before thousands arrive for the year's big race. But before she can carry out a proper examination, the FBI mysteriously confiscate and destroy the body.

It's a dead end. Until a young engineer alerts Tempe to the disappearance of his sister and her boyfriend from Charlotte twelve years earlier, and she determines to uncover what really happened to them. Soon after, the engineer’s body is found crushed under the wheels of a race car. Tempe realizes the situation is truly sinister - and that even her own life could be in terrible danger

While I normally enjoy the Temperance Brennan books, this one disappointed me. Personally, I don’t have lot to say about it beyond that it was a dud. Many of the characters we met and Tempe worked with were downright revolting. Once again Tempe and Ryan are at odds which is frustrating and has been going on too long. Plus Tempe makes poor decisions and puts herself in danger once again. You would think she would remember that she’s done this before and it turned out badly. Apparently, the bad decisions in past books have disappeared from her memory even though none of Ryan’s sexual deeds have.

My Last Review--> Capital Dames by Cokie Roberts

Review - Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs

Series: Temperance Brennan #13

Genre: Mystery

Age Group: Adult

Source: Purchased used

Hardcover: 306 pgs

Scribner (2010)

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Rating: 3/5

John Lowery was declared dead in 1968—the victim of a Huey crash in Vietnam, his body buried long ago in North Carolina. Four decades later, Temperance Brennan is called to the scene of a drowning in Hemmingford, Quebec. The victim appears to have died while in the midst of a bizarre sexual practice. The corpse is later identified as John Lowery. But how could Lowery have died twice, and how did an American soldier end up in Canada?

Tempe sets off for the answer, exhuming Lowery’s grave in North Carolina and taking the remains to Hawaii for reanalysis—to the headquarters of JPAC, the U.S. military’s Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command, which strives to recover Americans who have died in past conflicts. In Hawaii, Tempe is joined by her colleague and ex-lover Detective Andrew Ryan (how “ex” is he?) and by her daughter, who is recovering from her own tragic loss. Soon another set of remains is located, with Lowery’s dog tags tangled among them. Three bodies—all identified as Lowery.

And then Tempe is contacted by Hadley Perry, Honolulu’s flamboyant medical examiner, who needs help identifying the remains of an adolescent boy found offshore. Was he the victim of a shark attack? Or something much more sinister?

It has been a few years since I read a Temperance Brennan novel. It surprised me just how long it has been. I was a big fan of the show based on these books, and I think the show ending spurred me onto picking up this book. I've missed the murder mystery aspect even though the characters are very very different from the ones I know and love on Bones.

To me the focus of this book on POW and MIA soldiers was fascinating.  Knowing JPAC, the organization that helps recover these soldiers for their families, was real connected me to the story in a way I wasn't expecting. In the middle of reading I looked up this organization and looked at the numbers of still missing soldiers. It made me rather emotional about their work and those sections of the book. The mystery wasn't the strongest one in Reich's arsenal, but I couldn't pin it down and figure it out either.

Though I found the mystery and forensic anthropology aspects of these novels intriguing, the characters seem to spin their wheels. Katy, Brennan's daughter, is in the same position as she was several books ago. Tempe seems to be stuck since her marriage fell apart. Ryan is in and out because things with Tempe have gone bad, but he still works the cases. I'm just unimpressed with the character development over the books. I'd like some growth and change. Hopefully this holding pattern will break in the next few books!

Hopefully I'll check out the next book in a more timely fashion. Three years was too long. 

 Last Review--> Rebel Mechanics 

Review - Code by Brendan Reichs and Kathy Reichs

Series: Virals #3

Genre: Science-Fiction

Age Group: Young Adult

Published: Young Arrow (2013)

Paperback - 408 pg

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Rating: 4/5

The Virals are put to the ultimate test when they find a geocache containing an ornate puzzle box. Shelton decodes the cipher inside, only to find more tantalizing clues left by "The Gamemaster." A second, greater geocache is within reach—if the Virals are up to the challenge.

But the hunt takes a dark turn when Tory locates the other box—a fake bomb, along with a sinister proposal from The Gamemaster. Now, the real game has begun: another bomb is out there—a real one—and the clock is ticking. 

After a very long break between books, I've finally picked up the third book in this series. I forgot how much I love this group of intelligent and quick thinking kids. At times this is a mix of Scooby-Doo and the Temperance Brennan novels which is a lot of fun to read. This particular book features a serial killer, which as a crime show fan I approve of, and the kids need to beat him at his own game.

Just like the other novels in this series, the story starts off a little slowly, but events start to pile up as the book continues. By the second half it was hard for me to put this book down because I need to know what will happen next! 

Tory's strong personality and her independence are both qualities I admire in her, but I wish Reichs balanced the characters a little more. At times Tory's take-charge attitude was a little overwhelming and the other three characters get overshadowed.  I really enjoyed how Reichs has written this group. All of the characters read as teens and have teen problems even though they are incredible smart and inventive. They worry about high school bullies and curfew while they try to defeat a killer. 

Though the pack does some pretty unbelievable things with their enhanced abilities, I had the hardest time believing their break ins at the lab. After the events in book two, Tory mentions a lot of increased security measures. I don't believe the kids could skip through these so easily. This part of the story really bothered me especially since it happened multiple times throughout the book.