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alidottie's review
3.0
This was a little harder to follow than most Temperance Brenner books because it felt like there were too many moving parts--scenes of Tempe trying to escape a trap (obviously in the future) interspersed in between chapters which dealt with murders of elderly women, a grandson found in a quarry, bones of four found in the bottom in the lake, while trying to figure out why someone is trying to undermine Tempe's work. Just a little too much--and not enough interesting story.
mbfeeney's review against another edition
3.0
As with nearly all Temperance Brennan books, it starts with her in some sort of mortal peril, which is fine, but after a while (this is book 12 I believe)it gets a bit repetitive.
What I did enjoy about this book was the annoyance and mystery surrounding Briel and why she wanted to be involved in so many of the cases in Quebec. I guessed that it was her who had altered things to make it look like Tempe was failing at her job. (wouldn't have happened if La Manche was there).
As much as I love the character of Ryan and the sexual chemistry between he and Brennan, I was starting to get a bit bored of Tempe being all "what if" about him and if they should get back together. I understand things are different between them now, but it's obvious that they should be together, so they should just pull on their big girl/boy panties and get back together.
The whole Sparky thing was just annoying and felt a bit disjointed as it never really seemed to go anywhere other than him making threats about getting her evicted because he doesn't like Birdie. It just seemed to cut off, but no doubt, that wll pick up again in the next book.
Usually, I fly through Kathy Reichs' books, but I struggled a bit through this one as it didn't seem to hold my attention throughout. I thought it could have been better, but I will read more of her books as I do enjoy her easy writing style. Even though there is a lot of jargon, she makes it fairly easy for readers to understand with her simplistic yet informative explanations.
Not her best, but I've read worse.
What I did enjoy about this book was the annoyance and mystery surrounding Briel and why she wanted to be involved in so many of the cases in Quebec. I guessed that it was her who had altered things to make it look like Tempe was failing at her job. (wouldn't have happened if La Manche was there).
As much as I love the character of Ryan and the sexual chemistry between he and Brennan, I was starting to get a bit bored of Tempe being all "what if" about him and if they should get back together. I understand things are different between them now, but it's obvious that they should be together, so they should just pull on their big girl/boy panties and get back together.
The whole Sparky thing was just annoying and felt a bit disjointed as it never really seemed to go anywhere other than him making threats about getting her evicted because he doesn't like Birdie. It just seemed to cut off, but no doubt, that wll pick up again in the next book.
Usually, I fly through Kathy Reichs' books, but I struggled a bit through this one as it didn't seem to hold my attention throughout. I thought it could have been better, but I will read more of her books as I do enjoy her easy writing style. Even though there is a lot of jargon, she makes it fairly easy for readers to understand with her simplistic yet informative explanations.
Not her best, but I've read worse.
andrew65's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
greggbaconroll's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
danne789's review
4.0
This was a fun Brennan book. This was pry one of my favorites in a long time. I thought I knew what was going on. I was partly right, but I didn't guess the whole thing.
duparker's review
4.0
Eh. It might have been better to to check out an earlier story in this series, instead of jumping in at book 12. That said, it was fine. Nothing jumped out to me as inspiring me to read the rest of the series, which is fine. The plot was good and I liked the interplay between the past actions and current case.
hmgelo02's review
3.0
I've been reading Kathy Reich's books for about seven years now, ever since I discovered the first three or four in our library. Every year since then I've kept an eye out for the next book in her Temperance Brennan series, because I enjoy reading them so much. Although I'm a serial reader - once I begin a series I generally want to read every one in order, without reading anything else in between - I like that these books can each stand on their own. Although they incorporate many of the same characters and she makes references to previous cases in her subsequent books, one does not need knowledge of the previous books to get invested in each new one. I love when an author can do that for his/her readers.
This book seemed much more straightforward to me than most of her previous books. There was much more science and investigating, and far fewer personal details. A new reader to Reich's books might not understand that her working relationship with the lead male is far deeper and much more convoluted than she lets on in this book. A new reader might not understand her work situation, which is a combination of living and working between her homes in Charlotte, NC and Quebec. I'm not sure if her choice to pull back from these aspects of Tempe's life are in response to reader feedback (more science, less personal drama?) or because she had a specific agenda in writing this novel.
In the epilogue, Reichs quotes her characters' final statements in response to the situation detailed within this novel. Mainly, that being trained within one aspect of forensics does not make one an expert in all areas. Or (in my own words) that watching every episode of CSI, NCIS, and the other acronymed TV shows does not make one any more of a crime scene expert than the actors playing them. I very much felt that with the writing of this book, Reichs was trying to make a point to that end... and I think she succeeded.
But for me, this novel fell short of her other others. Though it took Tempe almost the entirety of the book to "realize" the situation at hand, I picked up on it and predicted its outcome very early on. I missed the deeper interaction between the characters I've gotten to know, and I missed feeling her inner turmoil along with her. Although I very much enjoyed reading this book, I hope that in future ones she'll return to the more deeply layered and multifaceted aspects of Tempe.
This book seemed much more straightforward to me than most of her previous books. There was much more science and investigating, and far fewer personal details. A new reader to Reich's books might not understand that her working relationship with the lead male is far deeper and much more convoluted than she lets on in this book. A new reader might not understand her work situation, which is a combination of living and working between her homes in Charlotte, NC and Quebec. I'm not sure if her choice to pull back from these aspects of Tempe's life are in response to reader feedback (more science, less personal drama?) or because she had a specific agenda in writing this novel.
In the epilogue, Reichs quotes her characters' final statements in response to the situation detailed within this novel. Mainly, that being trained within one aspect of forensics does not make one an expert in all areas. Or (in my own words) that watching every episode of CSI, NCIS, and the other acronymed TV shows does not make one any more of a crime scene expert than the actors playing them. I very much felt that with the writing of this book, Reichs was trying to make a point to that end... and I think she succeeded.
But for me, this novel fell short of her other others. Though it took Tempe almost the entirety of the book to "realize" the situation at hand, I picked up on it and predicted its outcome very early on. I missed the deeper interaction between the characters I've gotten to know, and I missed feeling her inner turmoil along with her. Although I very much enjoyed reading this book, I hope that in future ones she'll return to the more deeply layered and multifaceted aspects of Tempe.
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
A bit predictable, I'm sure someone has tried to sabotage Tempe's career a few times already. It didn't feel over simplified like the last book did but the series is starting to lose its sparkle.