Bones to Ashes

by Recorded Books

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• ASIN: B001EE0CIG
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)

Product Description

A Temperance Brennan novel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tempe in the footsteps of Longfellow..., September 16, 2007

By 

S. Hodge - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) (Hardcover)

Tempe Brennan's back in her tenth mystery. For those not in the know, Dr. Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who divides her time between Québec and North Carolina. No stranger to personal trouble, she's an ex-alcoholic and single mother assigned to gruesome, personally dangerous cold cases. This time, Tempe's on the trail of her vanished childhood friend Évangéline Landry, a young Acadian who summered at Pawleys Island back when Tempe was a child. Tempe and Évangéline would spend the summers creating poetry and staging dramas as Évangéline shared her love of Longfellow's epic namesake poem (his Évangéline included a romanticized account of the Acadian deportation and its aftermath). One day, Évangéline Landry vanished without a trace, and for thirty years Tempe has longed to know what happened to her.

One of Tempe's coworkers in Québec wants her to look at a skeleton uncovered in New Brunswick, and Tempe starts to put together pieces that point to Évangéline. She is consumed with uncovering the truth behind her friend's disappearance at her own personal risk. As with previous novels, Reichs does her homework well. Acadia was an area of Eastern Canada originally settled by the French, who were later forcefully evicted by the British. Many exiled Acadians fled to Louisiana, where the name "Acadian" shortened to "Cajun." Next to Québec, New Brunswick has the largest percentage of Francophones in Canada (35% of the province is French-speaking).

Tempe's quest takes her to the small town of Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick. I admit, I was curious in Reichs' choice of town, because one of my favorite Francophone pop artists, Jean-François Breau, (Expose) is from Tracadie-Sheila, as is Star Académie winner Wilfred Bouthillier. One reason I love Reichs' books is because I lived in Québec and majored in Québec Studies, and she effortlessly manages to work in in-the-know elements of modern Quebecois culture. No mention of Breau or Wilfred, but Garou's Seul makes an appearance (in the first Temperance Brennan novel Déjà Dead, it was Roch Voisine's Helene).

Tempe's on-again, off-again romance with Detective Ryan is definitely off-again here. Ryan has his hands full with cold cases and personal problems, and although the two consult each other, there's precious little romantic involvement this time around. However, the vibrant cast of supporting characters fills the void.

As usual, there are dark subject matters here that may offend some, including post mortems and torture, exploitation and rape of minors, so consider yourself warned. The dialogue is witty and balanced, the pacing generally impeccable, although the ending seemed a tad rushed. Unlike some of the past few Tempe novels, I felt that this was an excellent effort that was truer in spirit to some of the first few Reichs novels. It generally doesn't stray from the realm of believability, and Reichs' expertise as a forensic anthropologist and her experiences living in Québec lend Tempe an unshakable credibility.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "LINGUISTIC FINGERPRINTS DON'T LIE", September 23, 2007

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) (Hardcover)

It's interesting how memories of our childhoods can sometimes remain with us throughout our lives or suddenly return to us as vividly as yesterday's events. Recollections may gladden or sadden. For forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan memories of summer days spent with her best friend, Evangeline Landry, confounded and distressed.

Some 30 years ago when Tempe was eight she met Evangeline and thought her to be "the smartest and most exotic being I would ever know. She was beautiful in a dark gypsy way, spoke a foreign language, knew songs and poems I never heard. But, even then, despite the sharing of secrets, I sensed a reserve in my new friend, a mystery."

Nonetheless, those summers spent together were halcyon days as Evangeline introduced Tempe to poetry, told her about Acadian history, and of a longing to be a poet. Tempe dreamed of becoming a veterinarian so together they kept notebooks, recording the wild life they encountered. Then, quite suddenly, it all ended. That was the day they had planned to go crabbing but Evangeline along with her mother and sister had disappeared. When Tempe went to her house she was told to go away and not return, plus given an ominous warning - they were dangerous.

Of course, Tempe wrote numerous letters and searched but all to no avail. Now, three decades later she is confronted with the skeleton of an adolescent girl found in Acadia. She cannot help but wonder if these are the remains of her friend.

Tempe's partner and on-again, off-again lover Detective Lieutenant Andrew Ryan is working on cold cases all involving missing teenage girls. Is there any connection between the Acadian skeleton and the missing girls?

Eventually, Tempe is able to trace Evangeline's sister, Obeline, who claimed that Evangeline had been murdered long ago. However, linguistic fingerprints don't lie.

With unflagging attention to detail and punchy dialogue Reichs has penned the tenth in her Temperance Brennan series - may there be as many more.

- Gail Cooke

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written Tempe Brennan mystery, November 11, 2007

By 

Louise (Copenhagen V, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) (Hardcover)

The latest Tempe Brennan mystery is well written and moderately exciting. The last Tempe mystery, Break No Bones, was set in USA, so in this one, we are back in Canada. Before going there, we head down memory lane, because the story begins with Tempe looking back at her childhood summers, where she met the two year older French girl Evangeline. For the next years, each summer Tempe and Evangeline spent their summers together, until the summer where Evangeline and her sister Obeline disappears without a trace. Tempe and her sister Harry tries finding out what happened, but no one are willing to talk, and soon their Nacy Drew-investigations stop, and they forget all about it.

That is, Tempe hasn't forgotten. From time to time she remembers and speculates. Memories float to the surface again when an old skeleton lands on her desk. She is asked to find out about it from cold case investigator Hippo, and pretty soon she suspects that the skeleton could be the skeleton of her long lost friend Evangeline. The skeleton comes from the same area as Evangeline, and Tempe gets more and more convinced, that it is the skeleton of her friend.

But Tempe, Hippo and on again/off again boyfriend Ryan has other, more pressing matters at hand, even though some of these cases are cold cases. In between speculating about Evangeline,the skeleton, the cold cases and her relationship with Ryan, Tempe's sister, the flamboyant Harry, announces her arrival. She is soon entangled in the mystery of the old skeleton, and soon some of the cold cases can be linked with Evangeline's disapperance.

Bones to Ashes is good, easy reading and a must for Tempe Brennan-fans, but this one was not as exciting as the last one. Still lightyears better than Cross Bones, which has to be Kathy Reich's worst Tempe Brennan book to date.