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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Tempe is back!
Part of what makes these book so engaging is the fact that the author really knows her stuff. Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist. She knows what she is talking about. She also has a way of presenting the reader with all the facts and science without us feeling stupid. I lot of information may be thrown at me (as the reader) but I am so engrossed in the story/mystery that I don't mind. I need to know what happens next.
I am always a sucker for an unreliable narrator and this book clings to this. Tempe suffered a brain aneurysm and has since been doubting herself. She is no longer sure of what is reality and what is just in her head. As someone who has always relied on her brain and the facts this is quite the struggle for her. I personally think it makes her that much more endearing. She is human and she has flaws. It is learning to love and embrace those flaws that makes us who we are.
While I always love the snarky Skinny this book suffered from a serious lack of Ryan. There can never be enough Andrew Ryan in my opinion.
Part of what makes these book so engaging is the fact that the author really knows her stuff. Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist. She knows what she is talking about. She also has a way of presenting the reader with all the facts and science without us feeling stupid. I lot of information may be thrown at me (as the reader) but I am so engrossed in the story/mystery that I don't mind. I need to know what happens next.
I am always a sucker for an unreliable narrator and this book clings to this. Tempe suffered a brain aneurysm and has since been doubting herself. She is no longer sure of what is reality and what is just in her head. As someone who has always relied on her brain and the facts this is quite the struggle for her. I personally think it makes her that much more endearing. She is human and she has flaws. It is learning to love and embrace those flaws that makes us who we are.
While I always love the snarky Skinny this book suffered from a serious lack of Ryan. There can never be enough Andrew Ryan in my opinion.
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Firstly Thanks to Netgalley for early access to this book.
So I never finished this book I had to DNF it, when I originally requested this I didn’t realise this was the 19th book in a series and it couldn’t be read as a stand alone so I literally had no idea what was going on but I tried to keep going.
I got 29% of the way through before I realised I had to give up on this book! I loved the tv show Bones and as the show was based off these books I thought Temperance would be like she is in the show but boy was I wrong.
Temperance isn’t as dense as she is in the show and her language, using words like selfie, I just didn’t think is something she would do. The plot was hard to keep track off as it was a lot of back and fourth and as others have said there was a lot of thick info dumping based off research Temperance was doing to find links.
As I said though I DNF this book as it wasn’t for me.
So I never finished this book I had to DNF it, when I originally requested this I didn’t realise this was the 19th book in a series and it couldn’t be read as a stand alone so I literally had no idea what was going on but I tried to keep going.
I got 29% of the way through before I realised I had to give up on this book! I loved the tv show Bones and as the show was based off these books I thought Temperance would be like she is in the show but boy was I wrong.
Temperance isn’t as dense as she is in the show and her language, using words like selfie, I just didn’t think is something she would do. The plot was hard to keep track off as it was a lot of back and fourth and as others have said there was a lot of thick info dumping based off research Temperance was doing to find links.
As I said though I DNF this book as it wasn’t for me.
My thoughts -
I have enjoyed this series over a number of years and, after a bit of a break, Dr Temperance Brennan is back with us in this the 19th book.
There is a new Chief in charge, an old adversary, and Tempe has been sidelined. She is in Charlotte, N.C. somewhat at a loss. Tempe has come through neurosurgery and is suffering migraines and possible hallucinations. So when she receives some photos of a body, working under the radar, she begins to investigate but things may not always be as they seem for Tempe.
Written from Tempe’s point of view we get quite an insight into her thoughts and reactions regarding what is happening as a result of the neurosurgery. That she sometimes cannot tell if something is true or imagined (hallucinations) leaves you, the reader, also wondering what is real or unreal. So we have to rely more on other factors.
Still Tempe believes that the body that has been found was of a man who she may have seen (or was it an hallucination?) near her home one night. As she continues to looks into the case it also transpires that he may have tried contacting her too! Who is this man found partially eaten by wild pigs?
Tempe doesn’t go completely rogue in as much as she gets Detective Slidell involved. She has friends who are willing to help even if it means losing a lot if they are found out. And her, now ‘live-in’, beau (as the blurb describes him) Andrew Ryan comes back to Charlotte for a bit from the case he is working in Montreal.
The case is quite complicated and has it’s dangers. Tempe doesn’t always, much to Slidell’s annoyance, do as she is asked which leads her into some perilous encounters. Like the fire at her home where luckily a neighbour acted before it consumed the whole house still much of the evidence she had collected is lost -was it really an accidental fire? Slidell isn’t too sure.
Tempe believes that her investigation is connected to an old case of Slidell’s a missing child case that remains unsolved. It’s a bit of a bug bear for Slidell. As she unearths what has been and perhaps still is happening Tempe goes missing. When she returns she has little recollection of what happened but is even more determined to solve the mystery of how as well as why this man lost his life and what the connection is to missing children.
Tempe and Slidell, with the help of friends and some amazing technology, work tirelessly to resolve the case. What we find out in the end is both appalling and tragic.
It was good to have Tempe back. She’s a little different now but given what she’s been through – her old boss murdered, her mothers cancer diagnosis and her own cerebral aneurysm – that’s not too much of a surprise. We now have another, more vulnerable Tempe to crusade for the dead and, perhaps, that’s not a bad thing. Things happen in life that can deliver a massive curve ball to our expectations, our hopes and dreams. So seeing our treasured fictional characters going through something similar makes them feel all the more real allowing us to empathise more with them and their situation.
This is a twisty, engaging and compelling read which I certainly enjoyed.
I have read all the Temperance Brennan series but A Conspiracy of Bones is the first of them I have reviewed. I did review Two Nights by Kathy Reichs.
Thanks
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster via NetGalley for eBook to read at review. No payment has been received, all thoughts are my own.
I have enjoyed this series over a number of years and, after a bit of a break, Dr Temperance Brennan is back with us in this the 19th book.
There is a new Chief in charge, an old adversary, and Tempe has been sidelined. She is in Charlotte, N.C. somewhat at a loss. Tempe has come through neurosurgery and is suffering migraines and possible hallucinations. So when she receives some photos of a body, working under the radar, she begins to investigate but things may not always be as they seem for Tempe.
Written from Tempe’s point of view we get quite an insight into her thoughts and reactions regarding what is happening as a result of the neurosurgery. That she sometimes cannot tell if something is true or imagined (hallucinations) leaves you, the reader, also wondering what is real or unreal. So we have to rely more on other factors.
Still Tempe believes that the body that has been found was of a man who she may have seen (or was it an hallucination?) near her home one night. As she continues to looks into the case it also transpires that he may have tried contacting her too! Who is this man found partially eaten by wild pigs?
Tempe doesn’t go completely rogue in as much as she gets Detective Slidell involved. She has friends who are willing to help even if it means losing a lot if they are found out. And her, now ‘live-in’, beau (as the blurb describes him) Andrew Ryan comes back to Charlotte for a bit from the case he is working in Montreal.
The case is quite complicated and has it’s dangers. Tempe doesn’t always, much to Slidell’s annoyance, do as she is asked which leads her into some perilous encounters. Like the fire at her home where luckily a neighbour acted before it consumed the whole house still much of the evidence she had collected is lost -was it really an accidental fire? Slidell isn’t too sure.
Tempe believes that her investigation is connected to an old case of Slidell’s a missing child case that remains unsolved. It’s a bit of a bug bear for Slidell. As she unearths what has been and perhaps still is happening Tempe goes missing. When she returns she has little recollection of what happened but is even more determined to solve the mystery of how as well as why this man lost his life and what the connection is to missing children.
Tempe and Slidell, with the help of friends and some amazing technology, work tirelessly to resolve the case. What we find out in the end is both appalling and tragic.
It was good to have Tempe back. She’s a little different now but given what she’s been through – her old boss murdered, her mothers cancer diagnosis and her own cerebral aneurysm – that’s not too much of a surprise. We now have another, more vulnerable Tempe to crusade for the dead and, perhaps, that’s not a bad thing. Things happen in life that can deliver a massive curve ball to our expectations, our hopes and dreams. So seeing our treasured fictional characters going through something similar makes them feel all the more real allowing us to empathise more with them and their situation.
This is a twisty, engaging and compelling read which I certainly enjoyed.
I have read all the Temperance Brennan series but A Conspiracy of Bones is the first of them I have reviewed. I did review Two Nights by Kathy Reichs.
Thanks
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster via NetGalley for eBook to read at review. No payment has been received, all thoughts are my own.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Blood
Missing child
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Medical content, Kidnapping
The best Kathy Reichs book I have read . So many things and plot twists going on that it was hard to put this book down !
I've been a Temperance Brennan fan since the first book was published. In fact, if I'm working in forensics nowadays is in part because of her books, so it pains me to say that "A conspiracy of bones" didn't grabbed me as her previous stories. I still think it's a good book, but the main plotline didn't catch my attention as I would have like. Besides, I've always prefered Brennan's cases in Quebec.
It's been a while since I read the last installment in the series, so I didn't remember much about Tempe's actual situation. After the death of her boss and a health scare, now she's at odds with her new boss. When a faceless corpse is found she's not ask to consult on, but that doesn't stop her. One of the things I liked the least was that she doesn't do much forensic work at all, but police one. Also, Ryan is a pretty secondary character this time, so that was a bit disappointing.
The plot was a pretty convoluted one, mixing conspiracy theories, child kidnappings...and, in my opinion, was a bit far fetched at points, although at the end most of it ties altogether.
Good follow up to the series but not the best one by far, so I hope to see Tempe truly back to form pretty soon.
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
It's been a while since I read the last installment in the series, so I didn't remember much about Tempe's actual situation. After the death of her boss and a health scare, now she's at odds with her new boss. When a faceless corpse is found she's not ask to consult on, but that doesn't stop her. One of the things I liked the least was that she doesn't do much forensic work at all, but police one. Also, Ryan is a pretty secondary character this time, so that was a bit disappointing.
The plot was a pretty convoluted one, mixing conspiracy theories, child kidnappings...and, in my opinion, was a bit far fetched at points, although at the end most of it ties altogether.
Good follow up to the series but not the best one by far, so I hope to see Tempe truly back to form pretty soon.
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been following Kathy Reichs’ gripping forensic anthropologist novels featuring Temperance (Tempe) Brennan for many years now and always found her stories to be intelligent, clever and highly entertaining. “A Conspiracy of Bones” is the nineteenth in the series and sees Tempe returning with some physical and mental changes in her life, that have left her with some emotional and paranoia issues. This doesn’t stop her still being at the top of her game and is determined to find out who the faceless corpse is, that has been brought into the morgue and photos of him forwarded to her anonymously.
Although the subject matter of missing and murdered children is at times distressing, I did find the story very addictive and as is normal with Kathy’s books the attention to detail is second to none. I do have to admit to a lot of the technological detail going over my head but that’s just me, the author always ensures readers have the full details to her plots and premises and thus makes for very informative and interesting thrillers. I was particularly interested in all the conspiracy theories mentioned on the dark web, a lot of which I can say for myself, that I’ve considered to be questionable.
Personally, I would say you do need to have followed Tempe in some of the earlier novels to connect properly with this wonderful character, though you probably could easily read this book as a stand-alone too. Tempe Brennan is an outstanding character, sharp, witty, intelligent and a pleasure to read about and hope she’s still helping to catch criminals for many more years to come.
Thank you to Love Reading for my copy of the book in return for my honest opinion.
4 stars
Although the subject matter of missing and murdered children is at times distressing, I did find the story very addictive and as is normal with Kathy’s books the attention to detail is second to none. I do have to admit to a lot of the technological detail going over my head but that’s just me, the author always ensures readers have the full details to her plots and premises and thus makes for very informative and interesting thrillers. I was particularly interested in all the conspiracy theories mentioned on the dark web, a lot of which I can say for myself, that I’ve considered to be questionable.
Personally, I would say you do need to have followed Tempe in some of the earlier novels to connect properly with this wonderful character, though you probably could easily read this book as a stand-alone too. Tempe Brennan is an outstanding character, sharp, witty, intelligent and a pleasure to read about and hope she’s still helping to catch criminals for many more years to come.
Thank you to Love Reading for my copy of the book in return for my honest opinion.
4 stars