Bare Bones : A Novel (Hardcover)

by Kathy Reichs (Author) "AS I WAS PACKAGING WHAT REMAINED OF THE DEAD BABY, THE man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte..." (more)
Key Phrases: wrestling cop, bear poaching, headless skeleton, Ricky Don, Darryl Tyree, North Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"As I was packaging what remained of the dead baby, the man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte."

With this opening sentence, Kathy Reichs serves notice that her heroine, Temperance Brennan, is in for one of her scariest, most gruesome adventures yet. As fans of this popular series already know, Tempe is a forensic anthropologist: an expert in the human form (especially bones) who helps solve crimes. The abovementioned infant is only the first in a series of grisly remains, both human and animal, that Tempe must sort through and decode. Meanwhile, as several seemingly unrelated cases begin to intertwine, her sleuthing puts her in the crosshairs of a very nasty stalker who hides behind an e-mail alias.

Reichs knows how to keep the narrative ball rolling with a canny mix of plot developments, character delineation, and scientific detail, all relayed in Tempe's smart, breezy, sarcastic voice. In fact, Bare Bones has a few too many characters and plot lines for Reichs--or most readers--to keep perfect track of. But it's a fun ride anyway, enlivened by some steamy romantic scenes and some fascinating, appalling information about the illicit trade in endangered wildlife (did you know that bears' gall bladders fetch more money per ounce than cocaine?). Bare Bones is a crisp, enjoyable read that cements Kathy Reichs's standing as the best forensic-thriller writer at work today. --Nicholas H. Allison

From Publishers Weekly
Feisty forensic anthropologist Temperance (Tempe) Brennan is supposed to be on vacation, but body parts keep turning up. At the start of her sixth adventure, she's awaiting the arrival of her current flame, Quebecois sleuth Andrew Ryan, so she can head for the beach near her hometown of Charlotte, N.C. Before he shows up, she's called in to use her world-class forensics skills when a local janitor's infant granddaughter is found dead and charred in an oven. Then some strange, decomposing remains (" `Human?' `I'm not sure' ") are discovered by Brennan's dog during a barbecue at a local lakeside resort. Ryan finally arrives, but Brennan's vacation is indefinitely put on hold when a small plane crashes nearby. Two people are dead, and her expertise is required yet again ("The skull had suffered massive communitive fracturing on impact. The fire had done the rest"). Brennan eventually realizes that all three cases are linked to a drug-smuggling ring that also dabbles in poaching exotic animals. As she pursues her investigations, she is forced to work with "Skinny" Slidell, a redneck cop who rubs her the wrong way, but tension is defused by the presence of Ryan, who gamely gives up his vacation to pitch in. He matches Brennan quip for quip, and Tempe's dog, Boyd, provides extra comic relief. Reichs has built a reputation on cut-to-the-chase writing and swift plotting, and this latest effort delivers everything her fans have come to expect.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743233468
• ISBN-13: 978-0743233460
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #179,128 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 6 in The Temperance Brennan Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hands Accross the Grave, February 27, 2004

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This is another of Kathy Reichs painstakingly plotted stories about Dr. Temperance Brennan, who like the author, manages to be a forensic anthropologist practicing in both Montreal and Charlotte, North Carolina. This time Brennan is in Charlotte, coping with a burnt newborn infant, an unusual plane crash, bones in the privy, and a whole host of other misadventures that spell trouble no matter how you arrange them. To make things more complicated, Brennan is spending time with Andrew Ryan, a detective with the Montreal police. And lest I forget, Katy, her daughter is in love, and Temperance isn't sure if it's her intuition or mother hen instincts, but she is not completely sure of the suitor.

Typical of Reichs, she gradually weaves these disparate threads together into a tightly linked whole, climaxing in an ending which isn't completely surprising, but which takes the reader through a bit of a rollercoaster rider on the way to the conclusion. Also typical of the writer, there are countless tiny forensic details to distract, baffle, and, eventually, illuminate the reader. Of course, people who read forensic mystery stories dote on details, and Temperance Brennan seems to have a library full of unusual information

This story has a bit more action in it than is the norm for Reichs. It is so complicated that Brennan is perpetually changing scenes and crimes. The effect is to make the story interesting, although just a mite too hard to follow. The advancing love interest gives the tale an interesting spin. Her feelings for Ryan have never been particularly secret, but they come pretty much out of the closet in this story. I can't say that I personally enjoy all of Tempe's admiration for her handsome lover, but the relationship never becomes the driving force behind the story, as it has with other authors..

Reichs has always been compared to Pat Cornwell, and, despite obvious differences, appeals equally to the same audiences. Cornwell's fault was that she fell into the trap of making her character into the plot to the exclusion of the real plot. So far, Reichs has managed to avoid that pitfall while still managing to make Temperance Brennan into a real person. Hopefully she will keep this up, and we won't have to cope with the litany of woes that followed Kay Scarpetta.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Suspenseful Mystery, July 21, 2003

By	Sheri Melnick (Enola, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In her sixth Temperance Brennan novel, art once again imitates life as Kathy Reichs writes about forensic anthropologist Brennan, who, like Reichs, is employed in North Carolina and Quebec. When Tempe goes to a picnic near Charlotte, North Carolina with her college-aged daughter Katy, Boyd, Tempe's estranged husband's dog, digs up skeletal remains. With the discovery of human bones amidst bear remains, Tempe's anticipated vacation with Montreal detective Andrew Ryan, comes to a sudden halt.

With the beach trip on the back burner, Ryan joins Tempe, as she investigates the burned remains of the baby belonging to a drug dealer's girlfriend, a fiery plane crash, and more bear and human remains in a latrine pit near Boyd's initial skeletal discovery. While the various investigative sites seem unrelated, Tempe's intuition tells her that they are all somehow connected, as she comes across a complex weave of drug trafficking and illegal exporting of animal parts.

Ms. Reichs' technical knowledge of forensic anthropology adds fascinating information to this novel chock full of murder, mystery, and a dash of romance. With so many twist and turns and death threats against Tempe, this novel is a sure winner with fans who want a no-holds barred suspenseful mystery.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as her first, July 5, 2003

By A Customer

Bare bones gets bogged down with too many characters and subplots. After a while, it was difficult to focus on who was doing what and why. Deja Dead, her first novel, was so intense and focused, that it is difficult to comprehend how the author has come to "lose the scent." She is a good and craftful writer,who just needs to reel her story in.