Cold Cold Bones

Usually, I'm the kind of reader who reads book series in order, but when I read the blurb from Kathy Reichs' new book Cold Cold Bones, the 21st book in her popular Temperance Brennan series, I threw caution to the wind and jumped in despite only reading the first book in this series several years ago.

I'm ca-razy like that.

What tempted me? Well, Tempe finding an eyeball on her doorstep is a good way to get my attention. When you add in the connections to many of Tempe's previous cases as a forensic anthropologist, bits of humour and her complicated personal life, this was a compelling and enjoyable read. The tension was good, and I felt intrigued and invested in Tempe's struggle to find the links between several gruesome crimes and the identity of the person who has a grudge against her. 

This avid suspense reader guessed the culprit midway, but I enjoyed the journey, particularly due to its short chapters (always a fan!), fast pace and Reich's delightful teasers at the end of many chapters which kept me reading 'just a bit more'. 

If you're looking for a series that is police procedural, medical mystery with some action and humour thrown in for good measure, then I'd recommend this series. I think you can easily read this book as a standalone, but long-time fans may get a bit more out of it. I enjoyed Tempe and the secondary characters so much that I plan to read the backlist of this popular series which is also the inspiration for the long-running TV show Bones. 

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for my complimentary copy of this book which was given in exchange for my honest review.

NOTE: There is an in-person author event for Kathy Reichs and Cold Cold Bones at the Kitchener Public Library on Thursday July 14th at 7pm. Tickets are free but you must register. The event will also be live streamed - register with the online ticket option. Click HERE for the link to Eventbrite to get your tickets.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Kathy Reichs

Genre: Suspense

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from publisher

Series: #21 in the Temperance Brennan series

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada

First Published: July 5, 2022

Book Description from GoodReads: #1 New York Times bestselling thriller writer Kathy Reichs returns with her twenty-first novel of suspense featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan who, after receiving a box containing a human eyeball, uncovers a series of gruesome killings eerily reenacting the most shocking of her prior cases.

Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. Freed from a heavy work schedule, Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe’s place one night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball.

GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. Soon after, Tempe examines a mummified corpse in a state park, and her anxiety deepens.

There seems to be no pattern to the subsequent killings uncovered, except that each mimics in some way a homicide that a younger Tempe had been called in to analyze. Who or what is targeting her, and why?

Helping Tempe search for answers is detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit—and still displaying his gallows humor. Also pulled into the mystery: Andrew Ryan, Tempe’s Montreal-based beau, now working as a private detective.

Could this elaborately staged skein of mayhem be the prelude to a twist that is even more shocking? Tempe is at a loss to establish the motive for what is going on…and then her daughter disappears.

At its core, Cold, Cold Bones is a novel of revenge—one in which revisiting the past may prove the only way to unravel the present.