Spider Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels)

×

Spider Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels)

Close

A perplexing death in Quebec occupies Dr. Temperance Brennan in Reichs's fine 13th novel featuring the forensic anthropologist (after 206 Bones). The fingerprints of a man who died during autoerotic asphyxiation indicate that the deceased is John Charles Lowery of North Carolina, but Lowery supposedly died in Vietnam in 1968. Unsurprisingly, Lowery's father is reluctant to allow Brennan to reopen old family wounds, but she's determined to find out who's buried in Lowery's grave if Lowery died in Quebec.
Brennan heads to Hawaii to seek the help of an old friend at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), whose mission is to find the remains of American war dead and bring them home. But instead of clarifying matters, Brennan's investigation only raises more questions, including parallel inquiries into a series of shark attacks and escalating island gang violence. Reichs, who once again uses her own scientific knowledge to enhance a complex plot and continually developing characters, delivers a whopper of a final twist.

From Booklist
Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan has a puzzle on her hands. A man has drowned under suspicious circumstances. His fingerprints identify him immediately, but here's the thing: the man apparently died more than 40 years ago. And if this is really him, then who is buried in his grave? The thirteenth Brennan novel is fairly typical of the series: a tightly plotted tale with engaging characters whose personal lives can be at least as interesting as the cases they're investigating. Reading a new Brennan novel is like hooking up with old friends: you know what to expect, but that's OK, because you also know you'll have a good time. Reichs, a former forensic anthropologist herself, whose early books were occasionally a bit clunky (it's not a smooth transition, apparently, from deconstructing bones to constructing sentences), has developed into a solid writer. Fans of the television series Bones, based on Reich's life and career, will note plenty of differences between the show and the novels, but they will find that Brennan on the page still offers much to enjoy. Fans of the books, of course, will soon be stampeding to the library to secure their copies. So stock up. –David Pitt