Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels)

Book Description

Following the tremendous success of Cross Bones, Kathy Reichs explores another high-profile topic in Break No Bones -- a case that lands forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan in the middle of a gruesome international scheme.

Summoned to South Carolina to fill in for a negligent colleague, Tempe is stuck teaching a lackluster archaeology field school in the ruins of a Native American burial ground on the Charleston shore. But when Tempe stumbles upon a fresh skeleton among the ancient bones, her old friend Emma Rousseau, the local coroner, persuades her to stay on and help with the investigation. When Emma reveals a disturbing secret, it becomes more important than ever for Tempe to help her friend close the case.

The body count begins to climb. An unidentified man is found hanging from a tree deep in the woods. Another corpse shows up in a barrel. There are mysterious nicks on bones in several bodies, and signs of strangulation. Tempe follows the trail to a free street clinic with a belligerent staff, a suspicious doctor, and a donor who is a charismatic televangelist. Clues abound in the most unlikely places as Tempe uses her unique knowledge and skills to build her case, even as the local sheriff remains dubious and her own life is threatened.

Tempe's love life is also complicated. Ryan, her current flame, has come down to visit her from Montreal, and Pete, her former husband, is investigating the disappearance of a local woman -- and he and Tempe are staying in the same borrowed beach house. Ryan and Pete compete for her attentions, and Tempe finds herself more distracted by her feelings for both men than she expected.

Break No Bones is a smart, taut thriller featuring the kind of high-stakes crime that makes the headlines every week. Reichs, the inspiration for the hit FOX TV show Bones, is writing at the top of her form, and Tempe has never been more compelling.

Customer Reviews:

A bone to pick.......2007-10-03

While I generally enjoy the Tempe books - and this is overall no exception - this is not my favorite of the series. Tempe is again undecided and scattered through half the book - does she love Pete or does she love Ryan? Is the guilty party Marshall or Daniels or someone else altogether? She's constantly "all in a froth" and "agitated," seemingly forgetful of the fact that she is not a member of the police force and should therefore, perhaps, simply give them the information she is aware of and then stay out of their way. Then again, that would make for a pretty dull book :-) However, I just don't care for the way Tempe is presented in this book - she is entirely too excitable overall and that state of mind seemingly has been transferred onto Andy Ryan as well.

However, the irrepressible Pete is as entertaining as ever and the sub-plot about Emma and her battle with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma is just heart-rending. The actual mystery - what happened to the people who had been killed and the mysterious fracture of only their 6th cervical vertebrae - is great also and keeps you guessing almost to the very end. Overall, I can recommend this to fans of the Reichs' series, as well as fans of the genre of forensic thrillers, as that aspect of the book is fabulous.

Break No Bones.......2007-10-01

Although not my favorite book by this author, it was still very good. In general, I really enjoy this author and would highly recommend any of her books.

Good but flawed........2007-09-30

This entry in the Brennan series is much better than the disasterous Cross Bones. The plot is good and kept me guessing. BUT... as Kirkman correctly pointed out in a previous review coroners do not do autopsies. This isn't a trivial error. Also, one of the bodies in the book has been hung. But the head has falled off. OK - the human head isn't attached to the rest of the body by bone, but only by muscles and ligaments. But the rest of the body is still hanging from the noose. What's keeping it there??? In reality the rest of the body would have fallen when the head fell off. This is a stupid error for Reichs to make.

I'll give it 3 1/2 stars.......2007-09-27

This episode has Tempe Brennan in South Carolina filling in as a teacher at an archeology field school. But she and her students find a recent burial among the Native Indian burials. She's asked to stay in Charleston because the coroner there (who's also Tempe's friend) is ill. Soon another body is found hanging in the forest, and then another washes up in a barrel. Of course, Tempe can't keep her nose out of it and gets involved finding out why these people died, who did it and why. And during this week, she's sharing a friend's home with her estranged husband and her boyfriend. Yeah, right...like that would happen...this IS fiction.

This is a good book for a plane ride or rainy day. And, of course, there's plenty of fodder for the next book.

Coroners do not perform autopsies .......2007-09-27

The entire premise of this book is incorrect. Charleston County has both a coroner and medical examiner system (forensic pathology). The office of the medical examiner would have been involved from the beginning, since the two offices work closely together. To think that an out-of-state anthropologist would be given free rein to evaluate the remains, including having the bones stripped without an autopsy first, is preposterous. She was not a physician, let alone licensed, credentialed and privileged to practice forensic pathology in SC. She may have been invited to consult because of her forensic bone expertise but she would never have been permitted to do what was chronicled.

I trained at MUSC and practiced in Charleston. And I could not believe what I was reading. Ms. Reichs had done her Charleston research well in terms of locations, restaurants and attractions (although two of the plants she listed I had never heard of and I lived there 20 years), but not about the coroner/medical examiner system, which was the crux of the story. I struggled with whether or not to finish the book because I was so incredulous. But I did.

I had read several of her other books and liked them, so I picked this one up at the airport. I thought she had some really great similes and metaphors, but by and large I found her writing self-conscious and superficial. I agree with the reviewers about the lack of character development and the situation with the dueling suitors was a bit far fetched. There was a lot of filler, such as (paraphrased), "I opened my Dell, booted it up, watched the blue screen and got online." I do not know why she had to refer to Boyd as "the chow" over and over. The "twirly eyebrows" got old, too. There were factual errors; veins don't pulse, arteries do. Writing "scrips" instead of "scripts," as an abbreviation for prescriptions. I expected someone in the medical field to know better. I, too, thought the plot was disorganized and strained credulity.

Perhaps I am being too martinetish about the details; probably because I was so off-put by the incorrect framework.

That having been said, I thought she shone when discussing technical aspects and I enjoyed those parts. I also learned that killing people to sell their bodies is called "Burking, "after a Scotsman, William Burke, in the 1820s.

I am giving it a one because of the factual inaccuracy; were it not for that I would have given it a two--it is just not as well written as her others.

Average customer rating:

Newest 'Bones' novel
Reichs Does It Again
More Bones
Too much jargon!
great book

Bones to Ashes: A Novel
Kathy Reichs
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743294378

Book Description

Temperance Brennan, like her creator Kathy Reichs, is a brilliant, sexy forensic anthropologist called on to solve the toughest cases. But for Tempe, the discovery of a young girl's skeleton in Acadia, Canada, is more than just another assignment. Évangéline, Tempe's childhood best friend, was also from Acadia. Named for the character in the Longfellow poem, Évangéline was the most exotic person in Tempe's eight-year-old world. When Évangéline disappeared, Tempe was warned not to search for her, that the girl was "dangerous."

Thirty years later, flooded with memories, Tempe cannot help wondering if this skeleton could be the friend she lost so many years ago. And what is the meaning of the strange skeletal lesions found on the bones of the young girl?

Meanwhile, Tempe's beau, Ryan, investigates a series of cold cases. Three girls dead. Four missing. Could the New Brunswick skeleton be part of the pattern? As Tempe draws on the latest advances in forensic anthropology to penetrate the past, Ryan hunts down a serial predator.

Customer Reviews:

Newest 'Bones' novel.......2007-10-05

This is the tenth Temperance Brennan novel. She is a North Carolina-born, Montreal-based forensic anthropologist. In her childhood, she met and became great friends with an Acadian girl two years her senior. Then the friend, Evangeline, disappeared, along with her mother and sister. For the next few years, Tempe sought traces of her friend with no success.

Thirty years later, a skeleton is found, one of a young girl unearthed in Acadia. Immediately, Tempe theorizes it could be Evangeline. Meanwhile, a number of other missing girls flood the crime scene, with Tempe's partner tracking cold cases, two unidentified corpses and three missing persons. All teenage girls.

While working the cases, Tempe continues to obsess over the possibility that the skeleton is that of her friend. She locates Evangeline's sister in Acadia, who tells Tempe her friend was murdered 30 years before. Some clues implicate the sister's husband, an operator of strip joints, among other shady dealings. Ryan and Hippo, another cop, and Tempe pursue the mysteries of the cold cases, and Tempe keeps up her hopes of identifying Evangeline.

As in previous novels, there is an abundance of forensic anthropological science, details of bone dissections and linguistic analyses, all of which prove useful in the process of solving the mysteries. The customary fast-paced writing and tight plotting brings the novel to an unanticipated conclusion

Reichs Does It Again.......2007-10-04

The TV show Bones will NEVER be as good as its mentor series of books by Kathy Reichs. She has taken the job she holds so dear and the characters she has worked with over the years and made them more than life like. The latest book makes me yearn for longer books and many more of them. The woman is amazing. I want to know more about her love life, but the work she does as a forensic anthropologist is the real thing and the cutting edge of science. Waiting with great expectations for the next part of the series. Hope it is soon.

More Bones.......2007-10-04

This is the latest in Kathy Reich's series about Tempe Brennan. It is, as usual, a great mystery, and loads of fun following the engaging characters. In addition, this series has a lot to teach about forensic anthropology, things that are intelligent without being excessively deep or "teach-y." I have loved this series, and I am sure I will continue to get the books as they come out. I look forward to them. It's also been fun to follow the tv series, which really has a different feel from the books - of course, I'm a confirmed bibliophile, and I like to develop my own visions from the printed word. While the tv series is great, IT does the vision creation.

Too much jargon!.......2007-10-03

I have very much enjoyed Kathy Reichs' books over the years and have read every one. This time I was a bit disappointed. I found the medical explanations overly lengthy and too jargon-filled. I also found it annoying when French was used and not translated for the reader. I'll continue to read and enjoy the books about Tempe, but I'd like to see Ms. Reichs bring them back down to a more general reader level. Good book, though.

great book.......2007-10-02

Kathy Reichs fans will not be disappointed! Twists and turns and surprise ending, all in one great story. You will not be disappointed !

Average customer rating:

Great Starting Comic for all Ages
Most excellent all age entertainment
Cute one for the kids
A very fun read.
Somewhat funny

Bone Volume 1: Out From Boneville
Jeff Smith
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0439706408

Book Description

The BONE adventures tell the story of a young bone boy, Fone Bone, and his two cousins, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, who are banned from their homeland of Boneville. When the cousins find themselves mysteriously trapped in a wonderful but often terrifying land filled with secrets and danger - and special new friendships - they are soon caught up in adventures beyond their wildest dreams. In OUT FROM BONEVILLE, the three Bone cousins are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley where they come face to face with...

Customer Reviews:

Great Starting Comic for all Ages.......2007-09-05

If I had the choice I would give this 4 and a half stars but I don't think its a 5 since its mostly light fare with only few foreshadowings of the epic fantasy adventure to come.

Bone Vol. 1 is the start of the adventures of Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone. They are cousins kicked out of Boneville for Phoneys wrong doings and left in the great unknown. This is where there journey begins. They soon get split up and the comic is mostly about there finding each other and just setting up the story for the volumes to come.

I highly recommend it to fans of books, comics books, cartoons or anything fun/cute. Don't judge it by its cover, there's a deep and slightly dark fantasy story to be had which only begins to bloom in this first volume.

****1/2

Most excellent all age entertainment.......2007-08-10

Over the years, I'd picked up single issues of Bone now and again, and was quite enchanted with the quality of artwork and story telling. But was a bit let down that they were published in black and white, which didn't really seem to fit with the rest of the graphic look of the books.

Finally, they have been colorized! The color treatment here is superb. Smith seems to be mining the Carl Barks and Walt Kelly territory, but he's got him own special gifts to display here, in this collection of reprints enjoyable for youngsters and their parents. Highly Recommended for all ages.

Cute one for the kids.......2007-08-07

Set your expectations properly and you'll find a fair story here. They're simple characters in simple, kid-safe adventures. There's Smiley, the tall guy with a very short brain, Phoney with his inane get-rich schemes, and Fone Bone, the protagonist, an all-around nice guy trying to do the right thing for everyone. We also have bold dragons, ineptly evil rat-beings (but I like rats!), a beautiful maiden for chaste and silly romance, and other characters that are easy to identify and to identify with. Then, behind them all, there's the mysterious bad guy, plotting against ...

Well, just see for yourself. The plot and characters work well for unsophisticated readers. Still, the text doesn't talk down to a young reader with an artificially stripped-down vocabulary. If you or yours are in the target demographic, it could be a good bit of fun.

-- wiredweird

A very fun read........2007-08-03

I'm kindof rediscovering graphic novels again after many years, and I definitely am glad that I came across this first volume of the Bone series. The characters are very fun, the plot interesting and engaging, and the artwork is visually captivating. It makes good fantasy adventure reading.

Somewhat funny.......2007-05-17

The graphics, paper quality, and general presentation of this book are all excellent. The author is a skilled artist. However I eventually got bored with it after a while. It was funny at the beginning, but the same humor was all the way through.

Average customer rating:

Creepy and Comforting?
Moving Novel About Love and Loss
All Over The Place
Terrible writing
Sad and pointless

The Lovely Bones: A Novel
Alice Sebold
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316666343

Amazon.com

Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."

The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Book Description

On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue." The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife.Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Download Description

This edition of the New York Times best-seller and a Good Morning America "Read This" Book Club pick contains features available only in the electronic version! Included in this eBook edition are a Reading Group Guide, an exclusive interview with the author, and "The Oddity of Suburbia," Alice Sebold's comments on growing up in the suburbs of "Nowhere U.S.A." When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. (It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing set.) With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief-her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor-and begin the difficult process of healing. In the hands of a brilliant new novelist, and through the eyes of her winning young heroine, this story of seemingly unbearable tragedy is transformed into a suspenseful, touching, even funny novel about family, memory, love, heaven, and living.

Customer Reviews:

Creepy and Comforting?.......2007-09-29

Everyone else is right. Th book is great in the beginning. It contains some odd scenes that are unnecessary and hurt, more than help, the story's momentum and punch. The author tried to wrap up too many loose ends too quickly in the end, and I felt so dissappointed that a book I really enjoyed and that had so much potential ended so poorly. However, I so enjoyed the beginning, that I got over the ending.

The aspect that I think I most enjoyed about the plot of this book, was that the main mystery was solved very close to the begnning.
You do not feel suspense waiting to find out "who did it?" The author tells you who did it right away. Then you don't feel suspense waiting to see when one of the other characters will figure it out, because another character figures it out right away. You feel suspense waiting to see when others will believe and if the murdered will ever get caught. Very non-traditional suspense.

I really appreciate books that make me FEEL. Good, bad, hapy, sad, scared,or totally creeped out. I just enjoy having my emotions provoked by a good book. This book made me feel every one of those things. I laughed and cried, sometimes one right after the other. I definitely felt completely creeped out and oddly comforted really close together. That's why this book is a winner.

This book will make you think. If you don't like to feel sad, or uncomfortable, this book is not for you. If you appreciate emotion and creativity, you will enjoy this different book. I look forward to the movie, hoping they don't massacre the story.

Moving Novel About Love and Loss.......2007-09-19

After fourteen year old Susie Salmon is raped and murdered, she goes to heaven where she is able to look down at her family and friends and the rest of the world. As she is adjusting to life in heaven and making friends there, she is also watching her family deal with her disappearance. She watches as both her parents struggle to accept the fact that she is gone and the affect it has on their marriage; she watches her younger sister Lindsay grow and become stronger as a person; and she watches her little brother Buckley, who is too young to understand what is going on. She also watches her friends Ray Singh and Ruth Connors, as they grow closer after Susie's death. As Susie watches her family and friends grow older and mature, she begins to realize how much she has lost and longs for one more chance for life on earth.

"The Lovely Bones" is a sad, moving, and at times odd novel. Extremely well written by Alice Sebold, it is told in the first person by Susie. This unique perspective means that we not only have insight into what Susie was like as a person, but who her killer was and how frustrating it is for her to not only watch the killer stalk other victims (including someone close to Susie) but watch the police try and find her body and determine who her killer is and prove it. Her ability to look down from heaven to see her family and others (and somehow be privy to their thoughts) adds poignancy to the novel, as each of her family members and friends struggle to cope with their loss in their own private ways. It is heartbreaking to read about how Susie's disappearance and the inability of the police to find her body affects her parents marriage, and how Susie begins to realize she didn't know them, especially her mother, all that well. It's equally heartbreaking to see Susie watch her sister Lindsay grow up and experience things that Susie never will, especially falling in love and having sex for the first time. Sebold makes the characters so believable that at times I wanted to hug them and say "I'm sorry" and at other times I wanted to shake them and make them aware of how their actions were hurting others. Although the book is sad, it's not as depressing as I thought it would be and there are some humorous moments in the book, mostly with Susie's Grandma Lynn. While I thought "The Lovely Bones" was well written for the most part, there was a truly odd section towards the end that felt out of place in the book.

"The Lovely Bones" is a moving novel about love and loss.

All Over The Place.......2007-08-29

I had heard great things about this book so decided to read it. I agree with a lot of the other reviews that say it started out really great and then fizzled out. I think the storyline was all over the place, and I couldn't understand what the point was, other than just to be a fly on the wall in the lives of Susie's family. I was also not happy with the bodily possession (a bit much in my opinion) or the weak ending. I think the concept was interesting, and I think I would have liked it better if it kept the same energy it had in the beginning. I did enjoy the fact that it was based in the Philadelphia suburbs, as I am familiar with that area.

Terrible writing.......2007-08-27

I couldn't finish reading this book after getting about 150 pages in. This turned out to be a fortunate decision. My wife tells me it got worse and worse. I'm shocked at how well-recieved it was... The writing is sloppy, we're given no descriptions of the characters, and the storyline makes you groan with its cliches. What really annoyed me were the incredibly strained metaphors tossed around, dice in a Yatzee game of literature, spinning like Disneyland teapots in the cosmos of ludicrousness. This was one gem: "leaden weights had been tied by anesthesia to the four corners of his consciousness".

Sad and pointless.......2007-08-24

I'm sorry to say it... I really wanted to like this book... but I didn't! In fact, I was quite stunned to discover how disappointing and unproductive this book is, considering the number of people who have read it. I read it on a recommendation from a friend whose book recommendations I usually agree with. Unfortunately, I wish I had gone with my gut instinct and put the book down after getting nowhere in the first 100 pages. Instead, I kept reading just to get through it. I really disliked this book! I'm not a book snob, but I like a book to be somewhat believable if the author is attempting to depict a real life scenario ie: a family's coping with the death of thier murdered child. The whole thing, start to finish, was so contained, so picture-perfect, so annoying!!!

It's funny, the person who recommended the book to me said the hardest part of the book was the first chapter because of the grisly details of poor Susie's death. I disagree. Though I am not a fan of horror or even CSI shows... I at least found the first chapters suspenseful and engaging... I cannot say that for the rest of the novel!

The concept of the narrator being in heaven is definitely an interesting one, but the story she tells is so contrived and meandering and really uninspired that her perspective hardly seems special.

I think this novel has the ability to be interesting or possibly helpful to someone who has had to deal with the death of a close family member because it so plainly shows that a family falls apart around such a loss and that this is sort of a natural process. But beyond that situation... I'm sorry, I would not recommend this book.

Bare Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels)

Average customer rating:

Bare Bones: A Novel
Kept me awake
Bare Bones review
Too Much Information
great book bad ending-Bare Bones

Bare Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels)
Kathy Reichs
Manufacturer: Pocket Star
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 074345300X
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Amazon.com

"As I was packaging what remained of the dead baby, the man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte."

With this opening sentence, Kathy Reichs serves notice that her heroine, Temperance Brennan, is in for one of her scariest, most gruesome adventures yet. As fans of this popular series already know, Tempe is a forensic anthropologist: an expert in the human form (especially bones) who helps solve crimes. The abovementioned infant is only the first in a series of grisly remains, both human and animal, that Tempe must sort through and decode. Meanwhile, as several seemingly unrelated cases begin to intertwine, her sleuthing puts her in the crosshairs of a very nasty stalker who hides behind an e-mail alias.

Reichs knows how to keep the narrative ball rolling with a canny mix of plot developments, character delineation, and scientific detail, all relayed in Tempe's smart, breezy, sarcastic voice. In fact, Bare Bones has a few too many characters and plot lines for Reichs--or most readers--to keep perfect track of. But it's a fun ride anyway, enlivened by some steamy romantic scenes and some fascinating, appalling information about the illicit trade in endangered wildlife (did you know that bears' gall bladders fetch more money per ounce than cocaine?). Bare Bones is a crisp, enjoyable read that cements Kathy Reichs's standing as the best forensic-thriller writer at work today. --Nicholas H. Allison

Book Description

"Fans of TV's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation should be in heaven" (People) stepping into the world of forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan, star of Kathy Reichs' electrifyingly authentic bestsellers.

She works with the dead but she works for the living.

"Down time" is not a phrase in Tempe Brennan's vocabulary. A string of disturbing cases has put her vacation plans on hold; instead, she heads to the lab to analyze charred remains from a suspicious fire, and a mysterious black residue from a small plane crash. But most troubling of all are the bones....Tempe's daughter's new boyfriend invites them to a picnic -- a pig pickin' -- in the North Carolina countryside, where a cache of bones turns up. But are they animal or human? X-rays and DNA may link the crimes, but they can't reveal who is closing in on Tempe and her daughter -- and how far they will go to keep her from uncovering the truth.

Download Description

"It's a summer of sizzling heat in Charlotte where Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist for the North Carolina medical examiner, looks forward to her first vacation in years. A romantic vacation. She's almost out the door when the bones start appearing. A newborn's charred remains turn up in a woodstove. A small plane crashes in a North Carolina cornfield on a sunny afternoon. Both pilot and passenger are burned beyond recognition. And what is the mysterious black substance covering the bodies? Most puzzling of all are the bones discovered at a remote farm outside Charlotte. The remains seem to be of animal origin, but Tempe is shocked when she gets them to her lab. With help from a special detective friend, Tempe must investigate a poignant and terrifying case that comes at the worst possible moment. Daughter Katy has a new boyfriend who Tempe fears may have something to hide. And important personal decisions face Tempe. Is it time for emotional commitment? Will she have the chance to find out? Everything must wait on the bones. Why are the X rays and DNA so perplexing? Who is trying to keep Tempe from the answers? Someone is following her and Katy. That someone must be stopped before it's too late. "

Customer Reviews:

Bare Bones: A Novel.......2007-06-06

Book came in the time frame and in the condition specified.

Kept me awake.......2007-05-07

I couldn't put it down and go to sleep, just had to know what happened next.

Bare Bones review .......2007-01-17

Bare Bones By Kathy Reichs is the story of a forensic anthropologist named Tempe Brennan as she uncovers the Mysteries surrounding the murders of two federal agents, a baby, and many other people. Even though this book sounds exiting I found it to be very boring because of the way the author tells you about every person that Tempe runs into, whether important or not, describing everything about them from what Tempe notices about the bone structure to what they smell like. I also did not like this book because the entire ending is a flashback along with information she was filled in on afterwards. Even though this book has its down sides, it still has a good plot and has many turns in events that surprise the reader. In the book there is also a lot of action, even though most of the action is watered down by the constant rambling of the author. An example of this is when Tempe is in a car with a group of gangsters surrounding her and intimidating her. This makes for high action, but the author starts talking about the bone structure of the group of gangsters and about the group's height and age, which waters down the action of the moment. So overall I thought this book was a boring, but someone who likes books with lots of details would like it.

Too Much Information.......2007-01-16

Bare Bones, a non-fiction novel written by Kathy Reichs, describes the life of forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan. Brennan tries to solve cases involving a dead baby, a missing woman, a drug bust, and a group of uncovered mysterious animal and human bones. Every clue seems to lead to another as though they are all interconnected. The case begins with a plane crash that was said to have been a drug bust gone wrong. Doctor Brennan and her partner, Detective "Skinny" Slidell, are on the case trying to identify the passenger's bodies. In addition to the plane crash, the case of a baby that was burned to death by her former boyfriend has captured Brennan's attention. Along with all of her casework, Brennan is dealing with her daughter's new boyfriend and with her own personal relationship with Detective Andrew Ryan that is growing to be more than just a "business" relationship.
I had a hard time following the story line in this book because there is much information presented in this book that makes it difficult to understand. For example, the short and sarcastic conversations between Brennan and others were confusing because some of them were superfluous and technical. However, as the story progressed, the information began to tie together and when the story ended I had a clear idea of what was happening and I developed an appreciation for Reich's style. I would recommend this book for those who enjoy mysteries, like putting together pieces of a puzzle, and appreciate the surprises off personal relationships.

great book bad ending-Bare Bones.......2007-01-13

The book Bare Bones, written by Kathy Reichs introduces the reader to the world of forensic anthropology through her interesting main character, Temperance Brennan. In the book, Brennan has three cases to solve. As she gets more evidence and brings the clues together she starts to think that all the cases are connected in a very disturbing way. During the book, Brennan has conflicts with co-workers, and gets back into the dating game after a tough divorce. The book was very detailed and is interesting enough to keep the reader turning the page. The end of the book was very dissapointing, even though all the cases were figured out, it seemed as though Katy Reichs just finished the book without the great detail that she had put in the beginning of the book. Despite the quick ending, I thought the book was easy to read and was very interesting. If you are interested in science and lot's of adventure, then Bare Bones is the book for you.

Flesh and Bone: A Body Farm Novel (Body Farm Novels)

Average customer rating:

One very good book.
Wonderful !!!
Dr. Death
The Dynamic Duo is delving deeper into the realms of imagination
Flesd and Bone

Flesh and Bone: A Body Farm Novel (Body Farm Novels)
Jefferson Bass
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060759836
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Book Description

Dr. Bill Brockton, the founder of the world-famous Body Farm, is hard at work on a troubling new case. A young man's battered body has been found in nearby Chattanooga, and it's up to the talented Dr. Brockton to assemble the pieces of the forensic puzzle. Brockton is brought into the case by the rising star of the state's mechanical examiners, Jess Carter.

Just as they're on the verge of breaking the case open, events take a terrifying turn. Brockton has re-created the Chattanooga death scene at the Body Farm, but a killer tampers with it in a shocking way: placing another corpse at the setting, confusing authorities and putting Brockton's career and life in jeopardy. Soon Brockton himself is accused of the horrific new crime, and the once-beloved professor becomes an outcast. As the net around him tightens, Brockton must use all of his forensic skills to prove his own innocence . . . before he ends up behind bars with some of the very killers he's helped to convict.

Flesh and Bone is another roller-coaster ride into the world of forensic anthropology, its twists and turns marked by drama and pathos, humor and grief, families and friends and enemies. With captivatingly real characters, plus fascinating scientific insights drawn from the case files of a living forensic legend, this astonishing novel confirms Jefferson Bass as one of our most talented authors of suspense.

Customer Reviews:

One very good book........2007-08-09

First Sentence: The chain-link gate yowled like an angry tomcat in the watery light of dawn.

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton is helping state medical examiner, and his burgeoning love, Jess Carter with the case of a man's body found sexually mutilated, tied to a tree, and dressed in drag. He is also dealing with the suspension of this job after a lecture on evolution upsets a student who believes in creationism. When Brockton thinks things can't get worse, he is accused and arrested for murder.

There was a lot happening in this book and Jefferson Bass tied it all together into a gripping, interesting story. There was so much I liked about this book. Brockton isn't the classic macho protagonist; he's a bit unsure of himself, hesitant about a new relationship and able to cry. That he has been given interesting supporting characters adds balance and dimension to the story. Some may not care for the character's lecture on evolution, but I found it interesting and it is relevant to the story. The description of the protagonist's experience as a murder suspect provides a different aspect than one normally gets. Add to all this great dialogue, a strong sense of place and emotional tension, and the result is one very good book.

Wonderful !!!.......2007-08-09

Jefferson Bass has done it again. He's got me hooked and I can't wait for his next book to appear. Keep'em coming Mr. Bass.
Wonderful...Wonderful...Wonderful

Dr. Death.......2007-03-26

In their second effort, Jefferson Bass has put forth a fast paced novel again featuring Dr. Bill Brockton, forensic anthroplogist, college instructor and founder of the Body Farm. When Dr. Brockton begins to investigate the murder of an unknown male, the plot starts rolling. Assisted by Dr. Jess Carter, M.E. From Chattanooga, Brockton uncovers the victim's identity. As they dig deeper into the case, the stakes are raised and it is obvious that someone does not want the truth known. Somewhat predictable plot twist awaits the reader half way through the book, but all-in-all, a fast read.

The Dynamic Duo is delving deeper into the realms of imagination.......2007-03-22

"Flesh and Blood" is the sequel to the writing team Jefferson Bass' first fictional work, "Carved in Bone." 'Jefferson Bass' is a pseudonym from Dr. William Bass, the famed forensic anthropologist and writer of "Death's Acre" (a non-fiction autobiography and excellent treatise on forensic anthropology) and Jon Jefferson, who worked with Dr. Bass producing "Death's Acre" and two National Geographic documentaries on the Body Farm.

"Flesh and Bone" takes up close to where its predecessor, "Carved in Bone" leaves off. Dr. Bill Brockton and his faithful GA assistant, Miranda, are setting up an experiment on the Body Farm. Their goal is to reproduce a gory murder of a young may they believe to be a hate crime against homosexuals. By reproducing the crime using a donated cadaver, they are hoping to clearly establish the time of death of a young man left hanging in a tree dressed in drag paraphenalia and brutally mutilated.

As the story goes on, Dr. Brockton and Dr. Jess Carter, the Chattanooga, TN Medical Examiner, are getting much closer. It looks like Dr. Brockton may stand a chance at love after 2 years missing his deceased wife.

Of course, not all things are going smoothly. A classroom lecture gone somewhat awry, ends up with Dr. Brockton having to defend himself against creationists, mirroring the infamous 'Scopes Monkey Trial' which happened only a few miles from Knoxville in Dayton, TN. Some would call this plotline 'unnecessary' but I think it's very timely and interesting--considering this week an East Coast teacher was fired under accusations of witchcraft--for teaching counter to the views of her principal.

But the situation decomposes much faster than the bodies--when the crime scene mockup is tampered with, Dr. Brockton is the prime suspect for murder. As the stories hurdles on, Brockton's job, family, even his life are all at stake.

"Flesh and Bone" is a fast-paced and very real look at the life of a forensic anthropologist. The only fault I can find with the book is that it's perhaps 'too real.' The commonalities between Dr. Brockton and Dr. William Bass are just too similar to be missed and in this reviewer's opinion, show some lack of imagination. Art Bohannon, the Knoxville Police Department fingerprint expert and childrens' advocate, is really Art Bohannon and names of people credited with helping the team in some way were only changed slightly--if at all.

"Carved in Bone" depicted a situation in an East TN county that was very similar to reality. "Flesh and Bone" did go a step further--taking real situations and bending them to work in the book.

In "Flesh and Bone" we look at the judicial system from the point of view of the Defense, which definitely is a twist from the noted criminalist's usual position. That showed imagination and a whole lot of research. Well done, gentlemen--I hope to see book three very soon.

Flesd and Bone.......2007-03-11

This book was GREAT!!!!!! Jefferson Bass did a wonderful job in developing the story line and characters......I could not put the book down until I finished it.

Bone Volume 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border

Average customer rating:

more fun adventures
Good Series -- Too Slow to Release
My son loves these books
Amazing
Once Again, Great Color with a Hitch

Bone Volume 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border
Jeff Smith
Manufacturer: GRAPHIX
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 043970636X

Book Description

In this fifth volume of the BONE saga, Fone and Smiley Bone strike out into the wilderness to return a lost rat creature cub to the mountains. It doesn't take long before they run smack into Rock Jaw, "Master of the Eastern Border," an enormous mountain lion with a none-too-friendly disposition. Life gets even more complicated when they befriend a group of baby animals who are being orphaned by rat creature attacks. Everything comes to a head in an earth-shattering clash between Rock Jaw and Kingdok, the leader of the rat creatures.

Customer Reviews:

more fun adventures.......2007-08-17

The Bone series just gets better with every volume. This volume follows the adventures of Fone and Smiley as they travel to the eastern end of the valley and the difficulties they encounter along the way. As in the previous volumes, the characters are wonderful and fun, and the plot takes many twists and turns, making for great reading. I love Bone!

Good Series -- Too Slow to Release.......2007-05-07

This is an alright series, somewhat enjoyable, but not as exciting as say Harry Potter. But, I have found that it has been a great way to get my kids interested in reading a bedtime story. I want the whole set, but Scholastic really needs to re-evaluate this release schedule of only one every six months. I bet they wind up losing a lot of their early audience that drops off after the first one or two.

My son loves these books.......2007-04-03

My seven-year old literally jumped for joy when we received book 5. He loves these books, and I had great difficulty not reading the entire book to him in one sitting. As it was, he looked at every page of the rest of the book. At bedtime, he went to sleep with the book beside him.

Amazing.......2007-03-11

I go to the bookstore and find a book that looks good by the cover. I enver read it. I am very picky about finding the "perfect" book. And i just found it back in early March of 2007. I was on a band trip [took 3 hours] and my friend pulled out the 3rd Bone series book. I was curious and started to read it. I got a little bit confused because I didnt read the 1st or 2nd one. The coloring is amazing! It must of took forever to make it! It has alot of adventure, and keeps you wondering. I finished the 3rd book [175 paages] before we even got to our destination. I couldnt put it down! It is such an AWSOME book! on March 9th I bought book 4 and 5... I read both of the books in 3 strait hours! I cant wait untill the 6th book comes out so I can start to read it!!! If your kid wants a exciting book.. This is the book for you!

Once Again, Great Color with a Hitch.......2007-02-04

The fifth and middle installment of the Bone series returns to the epic's beginnings, temporarily putting aside the Valley's violent political upheavals for a fast-paced and funny story of Fone Bone and Smiley Bone encountering an assortment of cute talking animals as they try to return a baby rat creature to its home in the mountains. On the way, they run into the opportunistic Rock Jaw, a giant mountain lion, and the two stupid rat creatures, who are still bent on baking Fone Bone into a quiche.

Probably the weakest of the Bone series, Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border is nonetheless exciting and entertaining, and does contribute further development to the story's unfolding mysteries.

Steve Hamaker's coloration is again bright and pleasing, but once again he mixes up the two stupid rat creatures. Physically identical but with distinct personalities, the rats are color-coded (brown and purple) in the color version, but at one point Hamaker switches them, causing some puzzlement.

Debt of Bones (Sword of Truth Prequel Novel)

Average customer rating:

Back Story
Great Short Story
Still worth reading
Debt of Bones
Great prequel!

Debt of Bones (Sword of Truth Prequel Novel)
Terry Goodkind
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0765351544
Release Date: 2004-11-02

Book Description

A milestone of storytelling set in the world of The Sword of Truth, Debt of Bones is the storyof young Abby's struggle to win the aid of the wizard Zedd Zorander, the most important man alive.Abby is trapped, not only between both sides of the war, but in a mortal conflict between two powerful men. For Zedd, who commands power most men can only imagine, granting Abby's request would mean forsaking his sacred duty. With the storm of the final battle about to break, both Abby and Zedd are caught in a desperate fight to save the life of a child....but neither can escape the shadow of an ancient betrayal.With time running out, their only choice may be a debt of bones. The world-for Zedd, for Abby,for everyone-will never again be the same.

Customer Reviews:

Back Story.......2007-09-26

this book kinda was a let down...at the same time it was great...its the back story of zedd and the boundry walls...not a must for the begining Terry Goodkind fan...but a must for people who've read the sword of truth series

Great Short Story.......2007-09-25

Unfortunately, many reviewers have not given Debt of Bones it's due. As this was originally released as a short story to sideline the Sword of Truth series, this is not as long as a novel.

Debt of bones is about a woman who has a bone debt with First Wizard, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorandor. She uses this debt to attempt to get Zedd to save her daughter from the forced from Dhara, but in doing so, helps to start events that we've read in the Sword of Truth series' past.

It is wonderful to be able to have a small segment of Zedd's past plus the opportunity to see the events that happened when the boundaries were put up. While short, it is, all in all, a fun read.

Still worth reading.......2007-09-17

Written a bit out of phase, this book does add depth to the whole series. I would have enjoyed reading it sooner, than later!

Debt of Bones.......2007-08-23

This side story provides wonderful insight into the world that Goodkind has created. If you are not familiar with the Sword of Truth Series this novella would be a wonderful place to start the adventure. Debt of Bones (Sword of Truth Prequel Novel)

Great prequel!.......2007-08-10

Anyone who gives this a bad review is clueless... Who cares how short it is... hello? It's a prequel. It's not a novel. lol.

It's a great read and I loved it just like the Sword of Truth Series!

Dragon Bones: A Red Princess Mystery (Red Princess Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

Dragon Bones by Lisa See
Another great contemporary mystery by Lisa See
mystery at the three gorges
Not the same calibre as Snow Flower
Another good book by Ms See

Dragon Bones: A Red Princess Mystery (Red Princess Mysteries)
Lisa See
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0345440315
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Book Description

In a magnificent land where myth mixes treacherously with truth, one woman is in charge of telling them apart. Liu Hulan is the Inspector in China’s Ministry of Public Security whose tough style rousts wrongdoers and rubs her superiors the wrong way. Now her latest case finds her trapped between her country’s distant past and her own recent history.

The case starts at a rally for a controversial cult that ends suddenly in bloodshed, and leads to the apparent murder of an American archaeologist, which officials want to keep quiet. And haunting Hulan’s investigation is the possible theft of ancient dragon bones that might alter the history of civilization itself.

Getting to the bottom of ever-spiraling events, Hulan unearths more scandals, confronts more murderers, and revives tragic memories that shake her tormented marriage to its core. In the end, she solves a mystery as big, unruly, and complex as China itself.

Customer Reviews:

Dragon Bones by Lisa See.......2007-07-27

What a writer ! Lisa See educates without being pedantic. In Dragon Bones, she has created a complex mystery while including enormous amounts of information on Chinese culture and environmental effects of the Three Gorges Dam. I learned much and was entertained as well.

Another great contemporary mystery by Lisa See.......2007-07-20

Dragon Bones is Lisa See's third contemporary Chinese mystery featuring Inspector Liu Hulan. I read the first one, Flower Net, and somehow the second passed me by. Like Flower Net, Dragon Bones is both a great detective story and a window into modern Chinese culture. Lisa See manages to show us a lot about a rapidly modernizing China without bogging down the story. Liu Hulan is the kind of character I'd like to have a meal with: smart, interesting, with pain in her past but not consumed by it. Lisa See has a gift at making the character seem completely Chinese to the Western reader yet sympathetic at the same time.

Having recently read, and loved, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel, , I understand more about Lisa See's strengths as a writer. Depiction of foreign culture: fantastic. Male characters: not so much. This wasn't as apparent in Snow Flower because the men lived in a different world from the women characters that were the focus of the story. In Dragon Bones, Hulan is married to an American man, David Stark. David's character never comes to life like Hulan's. Although he and I (and the writer) have more in common than Liu Hulan and I do, never the less, Hulan is fully three-dimensional and believable where David falls flat.

If you like mysteries that are different without being gimmicky, you will enjoy this book. There's no need to read them in order although I'm sure there are some benefits from doing so. There are some graphic crime scenes, as a warning to the squeamish.

mystery at the three gorges.......2007-07-16

Ms. See does it again! This is a story in which you can find out about the effects of long-time water immersion on a human body, the largest mushrooms in the world, the result of the three gorges dam project, and the corruption of public officials. A page-turner for sure!!

Not the same calibre as Snow Flower.......2007-04-10

This isn't a bad book but it isn't in the same league with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Another good book by Ms See.......2006-10-26

What I like best about Lisa See is usually not the novel in itself, but the detailed, and genuine aspects of China and its culture. I really enjoy learning chinese words and the traditions of this unique country.
The story is a mistery/thriller that revolves around the construction of the biggest Dam in the world, the impact that this will have on China's culture and the discovery of a very important artefact that could also change China's history, forever. In between there are gruesome murders and religious cults, and the rekindling of love between american lawyer Stark and his chinese wife Liu Hulan. Together they'll try to solve the murders and the mistery and, hopefully, save their love.

Average customer rating:

One of the greatest
I'VE MET JEFF SMITH TWICE! ^_^
Bone: An Heroic Epic in Comic Form
Check it out
It's amazing to think how many people won't read this...

Bone: One Volume Edition
Jeff Smith
Manufacturer: Cartoon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 188896314X

Book Description

An American graphic novel first! The complete 1300-page epic adventure from start to finish in one deluxe trade paperback. Three modern cartoon cousins get lost in a pre-technological valley, speanding a year there making new friends and out-running dangerous enemies. Their many adventures include crossing the local people in The Great Cow Race, and meeting a giant mountain lion called RockJaw: Master of the Eastern Border. They learn about sacrifice and hardship in The Ghost Circles and finally discover their own true natures in the climatic journey to The Crown of Horns.

Customer Reviews:

One of the greatest.......2007-10-10

I've been reading a lot of comics and graphic novels lately. None of the others has compared to Bone. This is a seminal work in comics. The illustrations are beautiful, the writing is heartfelt and well done. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves art or prose, or anyone who doesn't think comics are a serious medium for art.

I'VE MET JEFF SMITH TWICE! ^_^.......2007-10-05

I first started reading bone when I was 8 years old; this was also the first comic I really started reading. My brother bought me a copy, even though it wasn't the first issue I still loved it. From the unigue artwork and the epic storytelling, I was hooked. I collected every single issue, along with various specials and spinoffs. Even with the single volume edition out I'm getting the new colored versions of the 9 books. I first met Jeff Smith when I was 14, and again when I was 16, so I've had a good deal of things autographed. If you're wondering, the answer is yes, he's a real nice guy. It took me a good while to read this massive book, 1300 pages isn't a cake walk, not to mention carrying it around. Any chance I got I'd read it, even at school. Took me almost a month maybe to finish, but it was worth it. This is a great series for people of all ages. I'd love to see more done with it. There was once supposed to be an animated movie, now that would be awesome.

Bone: An Heroic Epic in Comic Form.......2007-10-01

Bone is a comic for any who love style similar to Walt Kelly or want Tolkien's Lord of the Rings with irreverent wit and humor strewn throughout. A work of great comic book art (the pictures tell a thousand words) with snappy jokes and an amazingly well-crafted tale of epic proportions, this one-volume collection delivers time and time again. I found myself reading this (instead of my homework readings) in between classes, the moment I got home from school, and every free chance I got. Well worth purchasing if you like an intriguing tale of good vs. evil, humor, or comics in general.

Check it out.......2007-09-09

I dig this series. Comparing this to Lord of the Rings is an accurate portrayal. There is more humor to this than the Tolkien series. All the other reviews making these comments are accurate.

What I didn't see was a recommendation for children. I don't think this story is just for kids, but I think it would be something a parent could read with a child. Boys and girls can relate to the story; there are strong female characters, action, animals and cartoons interacting with people.Parents will like this story as well. Its good, clean fun.

I got the feeling this series would have worked out well in the comic section of the Sunday paper. It has a classic feel to it. The humor is almost on par with Calvin and Hobbes. In summation, check it out. It's worth your time and you'll be happy you did.

It's amazing to think how many people won't read this..........2007-09-04

Simply because it is a "comic book." I had seen parts of this book years ago when it was in monthly issues of Disney Adventures. I remember it being funny, and also a little freaky. So I grew up knowing what Bone was, but I never saw how the story ended.

So zip ahead years later. I'm at Borders looking at some graphic novels when I saw this huge book, and saw it was the Bone one Volume Graphic Novel. I looked at it, and I put it on the top of my list.

So I bought this book with my birthday money, and started reading it once I got it in the mail.

This is by far one of the best books I have ever read. I was surprised at how dark it got in the middle, but still engaged in the story.
Anyone watching me reading this book would either see me laughing, or wide eyed staring at the pages anticipating what will happen next. I told my brother he should read it, and he's going through it a second time.
Be warned though, the book takes a dark turn in the middle, and it keeps that tone for a great portion of the book. But nevertheless, it is amazing.

I hope some people will look past the fact that this is a comic, and pick it up. The story both broke and warmed my heart. BUY THIS BOOK!

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