Customer Reviews

Spider Bones

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I'm a firm believer, when reviewing a book, in comparing a book to its predecessors. In this case, it's possible, because Kathy Reichs has written 12 previous Tempe Brennan novels.

The story she writes here, which takes place in locations from Montreal to North Carolina to Hawaii, involves a whole lot of different issues. Auto-erotic deaths, MIA/KIA's from Vietnam, shark-bitten bodies, Samoan gangs, daughters-with-problems, and an inactive love life are only a few of the diverse things Reichs touches on in "Spider Bones". The thing is, that as disconcerting as all this in-coming might be to a casual Reichs' reader, her fans come to expect it from her novels. I can't exactly compare Reichs' work with, say, Leo Tolstoy's, because she doesn't write as well. No one expects her to produce "War and Peace". She writes with workman-like prose and very odd plot lines. And does so fairly well.

It would be difficult to easily describe the plot of "Spider Bones". As I wrote above, there's a whole lot of "in-coming" and the reader never knows what's coming next. Reichs has the interesting/irritating habit of ending her chapters in cliff-hanging language. It's Reichs trademark and is present in every one of her books I've read.

"Spider Bones" is a good read for the Kathy Reichs fan. It might not appeal to more casual readers, but it is a good addition to her book list.

In the usual Tempe Brennan novel, we have a crime that Tempe is called in to help solve through her skills in forensic anthropology, either by clearing up an identification of an old corpse, helping determine a cause of death, or something similar.

This novel is very different. Here we have what seems to be a parade of misidentified bodies, and Brennan's trying to clear up that confusion as pretty much just a routine procedural matter. There's no "crime" involved - at least at first - and in all honesty I felt I needed a scorecard to try to keep things straight. In fact, I had to keep going back and re-reading portions of the book, because I'd lose track of who was who on the slabs. It was like a weird version of the Abbot and Costello "Who's on First" routine.

Further, I kept trying to figure out why I should really care. After all... nothing was really happening here!

This story is 302 pages long (hardback version), and it was page 191 before there was anything at all that could be called "action". Even after that, it promptly fizzled back away.

There's way too much information about the military's efforts to identify war dead; some background on the Vietnam War (more on that in a moment); a whole lot of touristy travelogue-type stuff about Hawaii - WAY too much! - and the usual "do I love him, or don't I?" stuff about her boyfriends (Make up her mind for her, Kathy. It's getting old).

As a Vietnam veteran, I can safely say that some of the passages dealing with the war lack accuracy. Kathy, there wasn't any such rank in the Army as Sp2. Specialist ratings started at Sp4, and went up from there. A "Sp2" would have been an E-2, and that rank was actually a "Private".

Well, I didn't hate it, and I do like the series, so two stars.

It has occured to me that Kathy Reich's books would have lots of potential to be 4 stars if only she would get off a few kicks - starting with describing, in minute and painful detail everything you can possibly want to know (and don't care about) very specific subject matters. IN this book, it is Vietnam and a huge, huge amount of geographical information about Hawaii - not to mention info on the army and their procedures. Frankly, the entire thing was one huge bore and I found myself skipping entire pages just to get to the "main storyline".

The other thing that was wrong with this book is that I got completely confused by all the dead people who may not be dead or then again may be. The amount of names being thrown around - was astounding, especially when you factor in that one person may have beem "posing" as the other one.

Finally, thanks to all of the above, the actual "thriller" and "suspense" part of the book was seriously toned down - leaving us with a huge number of pages of blah, blah - intermingled with one tiny little piece of the puzzle - it was extremely slow going.

Having said all that, Reichs has been known to write a fairly exciting whodunnit - and I could see some tiny bits of it in this book - but it is, for the most part, completely hidden in all the other stuff and frankly, I don' have the energy to dig through it all.

I also found myself wanting to pretty well smack both Tempe's and Ryan's children at some point in the storyline - both being completely annoying, not to mention ungrateful young adults who somehow ended up in beautiful Hawaii but choose to complain throughout the entire novel.

Really, the only thing I liked about this one was the humor surrounding Tempe's cat and bird - which, unfortunately, only occured at the beginning of this book.

I have been a fan of Kathy Reichs since before she was known to most people as the creative force behind the TV series, Bones. Way before, in fact.

I actually don't watch the show, because I experienced the books first and my idea of Temperance Brennan does not match what they have on the show. Yes, I know that they are using a "younger" version of Tempe on the show, but it's just not what I am looking for when I already know the character one way.

I always look forward to new offerings from Reichs. But this book is one huge disappointment.

1. I didn't care about the cases at all. Not one bit. There was no reason for us to care about the unidentified victims at all.

2. I was happy to have more Katy (Tempe's daughter) in the book, but again,we are thrown into trying to care about a character that only Katy knew and who doesn't seem to belong in the story at all.

3. I'm really tired of the dance with Andrew Ryan. Either commit or don't.

4. I think every chapter ended with about 20 questions written out. And the chapters were mostly short and meaningless.

5. Tempe solves the case - but that's not really what she does, is it? I mean she helps, but this time she was able to figure out something over 4 seasoned cops? Yes, she had medical knowledge that they didn't, but still.

I hope that Reichs can focus back on her books and realize that great storytelling was what drew her fans to her to begin with. And to keep it simple. This one involved so many different parties that it was hard to keep track of who was who.

Still better than Twilight.

I have read every book Kathy Reichs has written and have enjoyed all of them until this one. The story line was way too confusing and there were far too many coincidences used to advance the investigation. Also, do we really need a lecture on every topic that comes up along the way? I agree with the other reviewers who are getting annoyed at the to love or not to love story line however I can't fathom why people are basically trashing the book and then giving it three stars. The reviews are supposed to be about this book not about Reichs' body of work.

In "Spider Bones," by Kathy Reichs, forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan ("I do the decomposed, mummified, mutilated, dismembered and skeletal") is up to her ears in dead bodies. Unfortunately, there is some confusion as to the identity of the deceased men. The first corpse is found in a pond forty-five miles south of Montreal wrapped in plastic with a rock tied to his foot. After he is identified as John Charles Lowry, nicknamed Spider, the records show that he was killed in a helicopter crash in Vietnam in 1968. Lieutenant Detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe's former lover, is on the case. Other cadavers pop up, taking Tempe and Ryan to North Carolina and Hawaii in search of elusive answers.

Reichs never passes up an opportunity to show off her encyclopedic knowledge of everything from the fate of American soldiers missing in action during the Vietnam War to the minutiae of sequencing DNA. It is too bad that the author gets carried away with so many long-winded explanations. In addition, Reichs is fond of staccato sentences, cutesy dialogue, and heavy-handed similes ("the world was sparkling like a nine-carat rock.") The plot is so convoluted and confusing that some readers may end up zoning out well before the book's conclusion. None of the victims comes to life and too many peripheral characters flit in and out of the narrative, leaving us bewildered by the number of people we are expected to remember and the reams of information we are expected to absorb. There is a subplot involving Ryan's and Tempe's daughters, who are awkwardly shoehorned into the narrative. Meanwhile, although Tempe still has feelings for Ryan, she is reluctant to act on them because of the way he has treated her in the past. Instead of enjoying romantic bliss, the two engage in light-hearted banter and exchange silly quips.

"Spider Bones" touches on auto-eroticism, gangs, drug dealers, murder, attempted murder, parental angst, shark attacks, the horrors of war, and of course, old bones and putrefaction. Although one cannot help but respect Kathy Reichs for her expertise and her willingness to use her considerable skills to help the families of soldiers left behind, the one-dimensional characters and bewildering plot prevent this novel from catching fire.

There are many puzzles to solve as Dr. "Tempe" Brennan, forensic anthropologist, works on her latest challenging endeaver.

Tempe arrives at the scene of a drowning near Montreal, Canada. She finds the victim is wrapped in a manner that suggests an auto erotic sexual fetish.

After taking fingerprints, the victim is identified as John Lowery. What is remarkable is that the United States authorities list Lowery as being killed in a helicopter crash in Vietnam, forty years earlier.

When Canadian officials notify Lowery's family about finding the body, Lowery's father wants to know who is buried in his son's grave and why is Canada claiming that Lowrey must be a deserter.

The author's writing style is very descriptive and makes the reader slow down while reading, just to experience the fine literary style. When Tempe travels to North Carolina to examine the body in Lowery's grave, she meets Lowery's father. She tells us that his "...eyes were what grabbed you, black as wormholes in space. His gaze seemed to laser straight into your soul."

Brennan takes the body to Hawaii, to the U.S. military command that tries to recover Americans who are missing from military actions.

In an interesting subplot that adds another part to the puzzle, in Hawaii, Tempe assists in identifying human bones found by divers. She finds that the bones are from a missing teen and now authorities must discover if the teen's death was from a shark attack or was he murdered. This interesting tidbit demonstrates how interesting Brennan's field of science can be.

Another complication arises when one more body is found with Lowery's dog tags. Who are the other two people whose remains are found? Which set of remains is actually Lowery's? These questions must be answered.

The author deals with important issues in this novel. We explore the continuing effort by the government to identify the remains of servicemen who have been missing from U.S. conflicts. There is also a discussion about how people who served in the Vietnam war feel about their participation in the conflict so many years after hostilities have ended.

I enjoyed the story and the manner in which Brennan is able to solve a problem and find a murderer by using her intelligence rather than the violence in many thrillers. I moved my rating of this book up to a four star due to the literary style and the issues that the author presents.

This is the thirteenth novel in Kathy Reics' series and fans of the author will be happy with this a good accompaniment to the popular TV show, "Bones."

I'm starting to come to an important conclusion. Any potential for me to be a big fan of Kathy Reichs has been slowly but surely waning. There have been several bright spots in the Tempe Brennan series but I'm just realizing that I don't like these books and maybe it's time I should stop reading them.

I won't get too much into plot because it's been done to death here, so I'll get on to what I didn't like.

there's Ryan and Tempe. Um, was I the only one that thought they were back or at least, getting back, together as of the end of the last book? In this novel they're most obviously not together, despite Ryan's constant reminders that he wishes otherwise. Tempe may be great at her job and a good mother, but she handles her love life like a confused teenager and that's annoying.

Then we have the history and geography lessons. She goes into painstaking detail about Hawaii and other places/subjects in this novel that don't serve the story at all and just ruin what little flow there is.

In addition there's the dialogue. I understand that she's trying to go for witty lightning quick banter between familiar characters. You know the type I mean. Quick one liners, line after line of one and two word sentences between characters in rapid succession. It doesn't work. She tries for humor, tries for the quick exchanges but they fall flat. Usually because the jokes aren't funny and mostly because people don't speak the way she writes. I read some review excerpts on the back of the novel explaining how she injects humor into the series. I don't find the humor funny at all, more like it's just painful to read.

The confusion. Who's dead? Who's not? Who are these half dozen Hawaiian characters that came out of nowhwere two thirds through the book? Who's the 'villain' that's not even in the book in any capacity until there's only four or so (short) chapters left? I used to enjoy that these novels would start in one place and would take the reader into territory that wasn't even hinted at in the beginning, but that's when it used to work and make sense. Now it's almost like reading a book that's really the melding of two different novels but shoved into one to meet a time constraint.

I think in my mind that while she may have good ideas, Reichs can't seem to write it in a way that's entertaining. I really used to like the series till most of the characters became so bland and one dimensional, spouting off repetitive dialog and becoming caricatures rather than people you could get into. I think this is the final straw.

Source: Received from publicist. Many thanks goes to Loretta from Simon & Schuster for sending me this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
My Rating: 5/5

Temperance Brennan returns in this, the thirteenth and latest, installment by renowned author Kathy Reichs. She needs to unravel the mystery surrounding three bodies, all having been identified as the same man. The cases have her starting out in Quebec, then heading out to North Carolina, and finally ending up in Hawaii. She is joined by her daughter, and by her colleague, Detective Andrew Ryan in Hawaii. The mystery deepens further while there, but Temperance will have to get to the bottom of things if she is going to find out the identities of these three men.
I love the show Bones, but I have to say that Reichs' books are absolutely my favourite of the two. I impatiently wait each year for Reichs' newest book, and this one does not disappoint. Tempe is thrown into the mix immediately. What seems to be an easy open and shut case ends up turning into an intricately woven web of deceit. Just when she thinks she's got things figured out, another layer presents itself. Reichs has done it again, she has created a masterful, and spellbinding book that you'll be hesitant to put down.
The relationship between Brennan and Detective Ryan plays well throughout the novel, and certainly adds dimension to the book. The secondary characters also add some familiarity and intense interaction which makes the read move along at a faster pace. The plot was intricate in detail and design. It was a true thriller and "whodunit". I'm almost sad that I finished the book as quickly as I did, but I eagerly await Reichs' next novel just the same.
All in all, an excellent addition to the Temperance Brennan collection. Fans of Reichs' novels will love this installment, and those who love the show Bones should give this one a read as it'll add to the whole Brennan experience. It'll take you on an exhilarating ride, and leave you breathless wanting more. I also have to say that this cover is absolutely stunning. I love it; almost as much as I love the book.

I have read all of the "bones" books and also enjoy the tv series. I keep them compartmentalized in my mind because they are both so different, but both enjoyable. I look forward to a new bones book each year, but this one was just plain disappointing. The story itself was barely understandable. I had to keep rereading to figure out which dead body was being referred to. There was no suspense whatsoever. I didn't care for any of the characters at all. I love the idea of a story set in Hawaii. Just think of the possibilities! But the location was completely wasted in this one.

One of the things that got me hooked on the Bones books was the Tempe/Ryan relationship. I enjoyed their banter and really felt invested in them. I have a hard time understanding why Reichs has completely given up on them. Ryan was there, but it certainly was not the same as it used to be! Hawaii would have been a perfect spot for Tempe to get it figured out about him. At the very least, there could have been some sexual tension going on... some longing glances, a middle of the night almost- tryst. A romantic stroll along the beach. Maybe a dangerous situation for one or the other that makes them confront their feelings for one another! Instead we get annoying daughters and a few blandly suggestive comments. It seems both the books and the show are afraid to let Tempe find love and hold onto it. I think an eternal will they/won't they theme is annoying and unrealistic. You can keep it up for a book or two or a season or two, but beyond that it loses my interest, fast.

I won't be buying next year's edition of a bones book until I read a bunch of reviews and see if things are improved, both storyline and relationship-wise. I could maybe have dealt with a bad plotline if the Tempe/Ryan stuff made up for it, or vice versa, but this book has nothing. Just a lot lot lot of words.