Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan’s life has been turned upside down. She’s still recovering from a brain aneurysm and isn’t quite sure she isn’t going crazy, the new chief medical examiner hates her and won’t hire her for cases she’s eminently qualified to work on, her long-distance relationship is complicated, and she’s been sent photographs of a faceless corpse. And, adding insult to injury, Charlotte, NC is sweltering.

Much of the book focuses on Brennan’s internal life and her efforts to prove the new CME incompetent. There’s not much on the real work of a forensic anthropologist since the CME won’t let her near her labs or the dead man.

Fans of the Brennan series are sure to like this much-delayed latest book, but if this is the first book in the series you’ve picked up, be prepared for lots of internal dialogue, angst, and reckless behavior of a character who is usually methodical, meticulous, and not stupid.

This is a well-written book but it has a slower pace than most of the other books in the series. However, it does pick up once Brennan engages a few of her colleagues to help her search for answers to the questions about the dead man. However, if you’re a fan of the author, you’ll be sure to want to put this at the top of your to-be-read list.

My thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for an eARC.

This was my first Temperance Brennan book. It was very cleverly plotted, and I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure I’ll be in any rush to read another. I felt it could have done with some serious editing – I kept finding myself reading a paragraph and suddenly wondering “was that really needed?” “what did that add?” Other reviewers said they thought it would have been better if they had read other books in the series, but I thought it worked very well as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

serial-killer, series, forensics, suspense, thriller

I think that everyone is somewhat familiar with Dr Temperance Brennan after over 20 years of books and the spinoff TV series of a number of years. Obviously I've missed a few of the books, because the murder of her boss and the stenting of a cerebral aneurysm in her own brain were total news to me!
About reviewing the book. Hard for me to do because it has a lot about serial killer and child abduction/torture/murder. The story is well written and always has a spate of snarkiness just when the awfulness is getting to me. Lots of interesting learning opportunities as well: the darkweb/tor, conspiracy obsessives, and changes in DNA recovery. The secondary thread is the unwise behaviors and animosity from the new boss as well as backstory regarding Temperance's mother and some other characters from earlier books. Bottom line is that the material is something that I find distressing but the writing remains on target.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Scribner via NetGalley. Thank you!

Nothing like starting a series with #19! Despite lacking the background of the previous 18 books, I found it easy to jump in and figure out who's who. This is really a grab you kind of read with some slow sections where the main character recaps what has happened in this story so far. I enjoyed the characters and the plot line that really reflects the state of our country/world these days (conspiracy theories, fake news, etc.). The author also has a wonderful way of using words in descriptions and dialogue.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

Kathy Reichs newest book, A Conspiracy of Bones is the 19th book in the Temperance Brennan series, and it is a fantastic read! Temperance Brennan is currently staying in Charlotte, North Carolina and recovering from her neurosurgery to address an aneurysm. She is having nightmares and terrible migraines, and sometimes she doesn't understand if what she is experiencing is truth or a possible hallucination. To add to things, her boss Larabee was recently murdered and she isn't dealing well with that either.

So when she sees a stranger walking the grounds, wearing a trench coat despite the unbearable heat of a Charlotte summer, she has to see what is going on. However she if off her game and she didn't remember to even bring her phone with her as she goes to investigate.

Next she receives texts that are pictures of a horribly mutilated corpse. The face is barely a face anymore, arms that didn't really have hands anymore and the last picture of the midsection of the body where nothing is positioned where it ought to be. Then a new case comes in, and Dr Margot Heavner is doing everything to make sure that Brennan isn't going to work on this case...at all! Dr Heavner and Brennan have a history and that six year feud is going to end up having ties into this current case.

Brennan works closely with ex-homicide investigator Skinny Slidell and of course she has time to work with her beau Andrew Ryan on certain sections of the case. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the book is when Ryan encourages her to start her own case file when she is completely lost when she looses all of her research in an incident in her home. She has a brand new computer and he tells her to enter everything that is in her head.  She resists at first, but then the facts start coming and she types everything out. Why I love this part, is because if you are a fan of the Temperance Brennan series you know that the clues come at you FAST. Brennan builds a timeline that lays out all the evidence presented so far in a series of days. It was a great refresh of so much information that was critical to solving the case. Or I should say cases. One of Slidell's past cases is making a come back in this investigation, and he is taking it personally.

There is little sleep for the characters in this story, and I think the readers will be glued to this book as well.  A Conspiracy of Bones is a fast paced mystery that will have your thoughts jutting off into different directions as new info comes in to play. A must read for Kethy Reichs fans. And if you aren't a fan yet, grab this book and you will be a fan soon!

Temperance Brennan is back after being in the hospital with an aneurysm. Being her usual self, she's ready to get back to work. But after having words with the new director, she's in exile. Shockingly someone has sent her classified pictures of a corpse! She insists on finding out who this corpse is and goes rogue.

Staying true to form Kathy Reichs has written another awesome novel. You feel every emotional moment. At one point I was screaming for them to get the guy, and realized I said it out loud (so embarrassing). I loved that her novel drew me in and even with the technical terms, I was interested and learned quite a bit. As always, if you loved Bones, you'll absolutely love this!

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Kathy Reichs, and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

I first started reading her books in 2010 when I was semi-retired. I retired fully and now do a lot more reading. This story has Tempe receiving an unidentified email which included pictures of a corpse that the medical examiner office was looking into, Tempe was being kept out of doing anywork for this office. Because of how the medical examiner was handling this case, Tempe took it upon herself to determine who the headless corpse was. With assistant from Joe, a friend in the ME office, and another of her friends who worked with DNA, Tempe began her task of finding out exactly who this ws and what happened. She did not believe that the information the the ME put out was correct.

She also enlisted the help of a former detective in the Charlotte Police Department who worked as a volunteer on Cold Cases. In following the clues that pooped up, this reopened a missing child case that had occurred years earlier. As Tempe followed the clues, she also wound up putting herself in danger and wound up having an arsonist touch her attic office. Failing to be put off, and with assistance from several parties including her mother she was able to ultimately bring the case to a conclusion.

All of the action and eposides which lead up to the ending need to be read to really get a grasp on what all was invo;ved.

The ending was excellent and the cast of characters were well done. If you involve stories that have you doing and lot of guessing as too what is going on, then you will reaaly enjoy this book.

Don't miss it.

although I love Kathy Reichs' books, this wasn't her best unfortunately, although it was very interesting. In this novel, Tempe has experienced an aneurysm and she is having some lingering problems with memory, focus, migraines, and fear that she has a ticking time bomb in her head. There are a couple of instances when she doesn't know what happened to her, which disrupts the flow of the book. The mystery itself concerns pictures of a damaged corpse emailed to her by a person unknown, and her attempts to identify the body. However, there is very little about forensic anthropology; instead it's more like a book by Kellerman or Harlan Coben (not a bad thing - but the forensic stuff makes Reichs stand out). Overall, I did really enjoy the book but felt that it wasn't her strongest book.

Tempe Brennan is back--kind of.
I couldn't wait for this book when i saw it was coming out. Then Reichs delayed publication due to health issues, and i hope she is doing well.
This book, though, was a disappointment. Choppy narrative style, weak character development, questionable storyline. This is the 19th Tempe book. Sad as it makes me to say, maybe the story well has run dry, and it's time for Tempe to retire.
I recieved an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Temperance Brennan is a strong character, no doubt about it. When she is on the trail of an inquiry, no matter the consequences, she follows through to the end. Kathy Reichs has allowed Tempe to mature and become the investigative force she is today. Along the way Tempe has picked up many unusual friends and enemies.

In A Conspiracy of Bones, Tempe must work her usual detailed investigation outside the normal channels. She is on medical leave and her boss, who holds no love for Tempe, gives the case to someone else. The tension stays at peak levels as she gets closer to solving who, what, where, when and why this man had to die. Another great story in an unbroken string of hits!

I really wanted to like this book. I've read the entire series, & I've become more disappointed with each volume. This book was no exception. The author makes reference to so many previous incidents without explanation that a reader new to the series would wonder if they were lost. I've read the previous books & I was still lost. The storyline was very fantastical & only tangentially came together at the end, in a hurried way. Tempe Brennan used to be a lot smarter than to do just about everything she did in this book. In many cases, the foreshadowing was much too obvious. While I'm sure I'll read any future books in the series, I am unlikely to be as excited as I was early on.

I was eagerly awaiting this, since it's been awhile since the previous book in the series was published. (And yikes to that story, glad that the author is okay).

The mysteries were interesting. Tempe is on the outs with the new ME in North Carolina. And then when she doesn't get called in on a case (where the dead guy is a John Doe) she finds herself on the case anyway when someone sends her some photos of the deceased anyway.

So, she enlists the help of the Detective Slidell (Skinny), as well as Ryan just a little bit. And, is on the case. Although, sometimes it seems as though maybe the whole case is just in her head.

I was of two minds about this book. IT was much more character driven than some of Reichs' plot/mystery driven ones. Tempe is in her head a lot, not to mention she really goes outside of the usual legal system that she works in during the other books (and that's saying something).

It was a fun read, but, it was also a really slow read and I wish I'd been able to like it more.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Scribner.

Another great Temperance Brennan tale! this time, Brennan investigates the identity of a faceless corpse. But Brennan's investigation has to stay on the down-low, because the new medical examiner strongly dislikes her and forbids her from working the matter. Like anything could ever stopped Tempe.... this might be the twistiest Reichs novel yet.

I've read some of the books in this series, and I love the show. However, this installment in the series wasn't one of my favorites. I found it to be repetitive (regarding Tempe's health issues) and the ending wrapped up too quickly, seeming like an afterthought, almost. Based on the afterward, the reader is able to understand why there's such a focus on Tempe's health, and I appreciate how/why it was worked into the story. However, it seemed to a bit too much of a focus of this book that it stalled out the rest of the plot. Characters weren't as easy to connect to this time. This book was a bit of a struggle, but I'm interested in seeing what happens with Tempe in the future.

This is the 19th book in the series. While it's not required to read them in order, reading at least some of the other books will give the reader a bit more insight into the overall story.

This is the 19th Temperance Brennan book in the series, and while I haven't read every single one, I've read a great many. This one is really good.

Tempe Brennan is recovering from Neurosurgery and fighting headaches and possible hallucinations. The new Chief Medical Examiner is very self-promoting and doesn't like Temperance, so she isn't consulting with her as the old Chief did before he died. In fact, she doesn't want her help or advice at all. A faceless man shows up at the morgue and Tempe received some photos by a mysterious text. The identity of the corpse is unknown and Tempe's curiosity is piqued, but she has to find roundabout ways to get information about the body and what the autopsy shows. Tempe enlists help from Erskine 'Skinny' Slidell as well as from her boyfriend in Montreal, Andrew Ryan. Then there's a link to a 10-year-old cold case involving a child. Lots of investigating to do and Tempe's in the thick of it.

I enjoy reading this series and I also enjoyed the television series 'Bones' that was based on Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan books. The characters are memorable and the investigations are always interesting. I hope to see even more books in this series in the future.

Thanks to Kathy Reichs and Scribner through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book!

The Tempe Brennan series has been one of my favorites since the first novel. Unfortunately, this book is, by far, the weakest of the series. It opens with Tempe struggling with having discovered an aneurysm in her brain and dealing with the resulting migraines. While she loathes the overprotectiveness of her mother and her lover, Ryan's, concern, she is obsessed with checking her own physical and mental state.

Tempe receives several gruesome picture of a mauled body, and she quickly discovers that he is the newest case at the morgue. That body, of a man partially eaten by wild hogs, becomes Tempe's obsession as her new boss in the US, whom Tempe has bad history with, shoves her aside and takes over the investigation. Tempe then proceeds to make numerous ill-advised and even outrageous decisions to try and find answers, putting herself in unnecessary peril. "Skinny"" Slidell, retired from the police force but still very much involved, reluctantly helps her follow the trail of obscure clues that lead to a possible cult, child exploitation, some very sophisticated tech, and a virulent podcaster who hides from the public eye.

Ryan makes a few small and unremarkable appearances, and this is to the detriment of the book. Tempe and Ryan work best together with him balancing Tempe's impulsivity and tendency to put herself in danger. Tempe's continued reluctance to completely entwine her life with his has grown old. As the saying goes, it's time to fish or cut bait. I hope that Tempe decides to fish.

A common theme throughout the book is whether or not Tempe's brain has been hijacked by this aneurysm and if she can trust anything she sees or experiences. Her frantic, repetitive thought process is so prevalent that it causes the same agitation in the reader, to point of ruining the story. We get it; Tempe's on edge wondering if her brain is going to explode. That's completely understandable and realistic. However, this isn't a memoir; it's a novel, and this paranoia and obsession undercuts the story to the point that the novel is a chore to read.

The ending wraps up a bit too quick with an ending tacked on to a preliminary ending; one last 'twist' that didn't add anything to the book. Tempe's obsession with her mental acuity doubles down in the last chapter to the point where she is practically ranting about the definition of reality and the reliability of perception. Not surprisingly, the afterward reveals that Reichs was diagnosed with the same condition that Tempe has, and explains all that she has been through in the past year. Kudos to Reichs for talking honestly about her very big medical scare. However, this is an example of when art should not imitate life. Reichs' focus on her health is understandable, but it should not have dominated this book.

Nevertheless, I look forward to the next book where I hope Tempe has moved on from her paranoia and is back to focusing on her passion for finding the bad guys, and is settling into a happy relationship with Ryan.

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for possibly writing a review.

This is the 19th book in the Temperance Brennan series that was the inspiration for the TV show, Bones. You could start here. There are some references to the previous books but not enough to keep you from understanding what is going on.

It's been awhile since the last book. If you read all the way through to the very end, you will find out why. It explains why the book feels different from its predecessors. Things have changed. Temperance has changed. I felt more of a personal connection with the "new" Temperance. There is less forensic anthropology explanation (which I missed) and more mystery. For me, the trips into the dark web and down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories made up for it.

I have enjoyed many of the Temperance Brennan novels, mostly in audio format. This most recent addition was a worthwhile read, though it didn’t feel as engaging as some of the earlier titles in the series.

This was a fast-paced, action-packed thriller with a twisting plotline. Standard fare for this author and this series, and elements I’ve been known to enjoy in a good book. I was not thrilled with the apparent turn toward international espionage, so I was glad the story didn’t linger too long down that road.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel much connection to the characters this time around. They all seemed pretty two-dimensional, even the long-standing main characters like Tempe, Skinny and Ryan. Some of this likely stems from Tempe’s first-person narrative voice, which is very straightforward, staccato-style, stream-of-consciousness that doesn’t allow for a lot of emotional introspection or nostalgic meanderings. But the fact that the characters do feel familiar means that at some point in the series, the author has done a decent job of letting us get to know them as people.

I just wish there had been more character development/progress other than Tempe’s medical issues and continued emotional hesitancy in her relationship with Ryan. I’m also growing a bit frustrated with how many times this highly intelligent woman makes poor judgment calls, whether with regard to her own safety, navigating professional politics, or contracting workers for home repair. She seemed a little “off the rails” this time around, which could be purposeful due to the medical issues, but which definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the story.

I do love Tempe’s mother, though, and wish we got more of her. Maybe in the next book?

Temperance Brennan is a Forensic Anthropologist. A very busy one at that! Splitting her time between Charlotte South Carolina and Quebec. This latest read takes her to S. Carolina where her current position with the medical examiner is in peril. There’s a new head of the department Dr. Heavner- someone Tempe is quite familiar with. She and her new boss previously had a very public falling out. Now Dr. Heavner is holding a grudge, excluding Tempe from any cases that come across her desk (or should I say stainless-steel table.)

But Tempe can’t stay away! When the latest body comes across the coroners’ cold slab for identification, Tempe leaps in to solve the mystery. Who is this man...as well as all the circumstances behind this horrific death? She can’t possibly know it will lead her into some of the deepest- darkest corners of the Web.

Tempes’ long time interest Ryan makes only a small appearance in this book. Hopefully, if her next book returns over the border, Ryan can take a larger role once again. I do enjoy the installments that take place in Quebec a bit more. Just an added dose of flavor!

I have been reading this series for years, and Kathy Reichs hasn't lost a step. This latest installment is as good as ever! While this is book nineteen of the series and could stand on its own, I suggest starting at the beginning! You will really grow to love Tempe!

Thank you to Scribner via both NetGalley and Edelweiss for an ARC to read and review.

Kathy Reichs is back with one of her best Temperance Brennan novels yet. This is Tempe as you’ve never seen her - vulnerable and uncertain but with the same fierce determination to bring closure to families and loved ones. Sidelined by her new boss, she works behind the scenes and under the radar to solve multiple interconnecting cases. The snappy repartee between the main characters will keep a smile on your face while you navigate the twists and turns in this fast paced thriller. Highly recommended