I loved it! I have read every book in this series and I highly recommend it. The science involving genetics was extremely interesting and explained well. I especially enjoyed traveling with Temperance as she followed leads - it was just like a fun road trip! I laugh so much as she interacts with Ryan and Birdie and everyone involved in her work. This is one of my favorite authors!

I was very happy to see this book come up on netgalley. I have been a fan of these stories ever since I stumbled across the first one. This book included two of my favorite subjects, DNA and crime solving. This was a very good story with a somewhat unexpected ending. My only complaint and it is the case with all of these books. To much French and to many acronyms. Despite those two things I can highly recommend this book.

While a fan of the show, I had never really actually read any of the novels til this one. I was absolutely enthralled. My only complaints were there was a little too much French language at times making it hard to understand and the secondary storyline wasn't finished I felt.
The story surrounds Tempe becoming involved in a case that spans both the US and Canada. As she delves deeper into what happened to the bodies that were washed ashore both in Quebec and the Carolinas, she puts herself and partner Ryan in grave danger, with Ryan nearly losing his life. The story winds through a roller coaster or twists and turns and often throws the reader for a loop. Some of the characters are a little tough to fully understand (seems like cold one min hot the next sort). I just didn't get why it seemed like Polly's story just faded into the woodwork where Marie and the girls story took center stage when they both had the capability of being really good stories.

Temperance, a Medical Examiner, is the authority on bones. She splits her time between Charlotte, NC, and Montreal. This episode in her life encompasses cold murders from both areas. She and her friends and partner work together to uncover the evil shenanigans of a genius gene-splicer who conspires to make millions by compromising people’s immunity and then offering to be the savior. You’ll learn about DNA and vaccines, and this author always surprises with a few extra fun facts. This is a great story I couldn’t put down, but wanted to make it last…. sorry to end my time with the friends/characters I’d come to know.

I liked this better than the previous book in the series, but I still didn't really enjoy it. I don't know if Reichs got a ghostwriter or if I just have gotten more picky or what, but I feel like there has been a huge dip in quality recently in this series. I had a few main issues with this book that kept it from being a low 3-star read. First, it just felt SO "ripped from the headlines!", opening with the story of the European adopted child lying about her age a la Natalia Grace and "Orphan", the main plot revolving around a post-COVID pandemic... it just felt like this book will be completely outdated in a year or 2. There were also handful of micro-aggressions throughout that made me uncomfortable - a few comments about "exotic" accents and assumptions about non-white people, and then a comment calling being a lesbian "a lifestyle". I also rolled my eyes so hard when the characters mentioned watching "Bones" oof.

Another great Temperance Brennan novel and case to be solved. I have missed reading this series as its one of my scientific favorites. I've always said it helps to have knowledge of what they're talking about because these books are so terminology based and I still believe that. I'm glad this series is back!

368 pages

4 stars

This is the first book in the Tempe Brennan series that dragged for me. While I find the science behind genetics interesting, I look forward to this series for the investigations into causes of death and the lives of the people who died, or were murdered, or committed suicide.

So, while the book started out well, all the running around from city to city and talking to various individuals was a little off-putting. I think my eyes may have crossed a couple of times in places.

Tempe is working on two separate cases in Charleston and Montreal. Women and girls are found in coolers in water. But years apart. In cities wide apart. What is the connection? But they turn out to be tied together.

There is also an unrelated subplot about two sets of identical twins separated by generations. One went missing. What happened to her?

Of course the book was very well written and plotted as are all of Ms. Reichs books. I really like that Tempe and Ryan are still partners and that Tempe is still traveling to Montreal to solve cases there as well as in Charleston. I'm glad Katy was mentioned, however briefly. The other returning characters were true to form. I absolutely welcomed the addition of Detective Tonia Vislosky. She was wonderful!

I want to thank NetGalley and Scribner for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

So thrilled to have Tempe, back. Another thrilling installment, and I love the fact that she uses vaccines as a major plot point, with Covid and all these days. I’m happy to chat up the title and see that the series is still at the top of the genre

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs is the 20th outing for Temperance Brennan! I've read a bunch of these, but not all of them. Reichs usually has scientific or forensic medical information that is currently of interest in the news which I find as interesting as the case itself.

CRISPR has been in the news for the last couple of years, and gene altering is one of those scientific achievements that has as much possibility for evil as for good.

A medical waste container tossed ashore during a hurricane has two bodies inside. Tempe, called in by the Charleston coroner, is stunned to see that the details are exactly the same as a case she investigated in Canada fifteen years earlier.

To say her interest is piqued--is an understatement. Tempe feels compelled to identify the bodies in the current case and those of the old case as well. Identical situations in two different countries, fifteen years apart presents a puzzle that both Tempe and Ryan need resolved.

In a secondary thread, there is some background of ResuciAnnie, the mannequin used to teach CPR.

Read in February; review scheduled for June 24, 2021.

NetGalley/Scribner

Mystery/Forensics. July 6, 2021. Print length: 368 pages.

I've watched the television show Bones many times but surprisingly this was the first Temperance Brennan novel I've read. I did not enjoy how many of the chapters end on these little cliffhangers that turn out to not be that shocking or revealing. I was excited initially but they got to be old news quickly. The plot was interesting but admittedly there were a few times where I felt like I couldn't keep track of who all the characters were (though this might be due to me not reading the other nineteen novels). Overall, it was okay. It didn't really drag out but I also wasn't riveted either.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this series! So surprised we are already on number twenty but this one hits so close to home. I live in Aiken County which is where part of this story takes place in South Carolina. I also grew up off the St. Lawrence River in New York and love Montreal and Quebec equally. I also love to see the Canadian references and it brings me a ton of nostalgia.

What did I like? All I have to hear is the author’s name and I want to read it. I was a fan of the author before I knew the tv series Bones. This involves a cold case and a new case brought to shore by a hurricane. Temperance connects the cases because she caught the first case years ago. I loved how everything tied together in the end.

Would I recommend or buy? I’d recommend the whole series. Tempe has been through so many horrors given her job but the stories are puzzling and love how they’re solved. I’ve bought quite a few of this authors books! If you like medical thrillers then this is one of the best! Five huge stars. I will definitely read more by this author!

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review. One of my favorite series!

Another terrific read in this series.This one full of intrigue and science I read late into the night enjoyed reading about the characters again and the new intrigue.#netgalley #scribner

A storm uncovers 2 bodies with very similar details to a crime years ago in Canada. Tempe could not solve that one and when a child's body is involved it is a case that stays with her. All her senses are on high alert when the bodies of a woman and child are washed ashore after a hurricane off the Carolina coast. Coincidence? Tempe doesn't think so.

I love these books but I tend to get bogged down in the scientific jargon. The woman knows her stuff and I try to understand, but sometimes it's just over my head. It does not take away from the story at all, and I won't let it.


Did I tell you about the ending? Talk about tense!

This is a book sent to me free from Netgalley on Kindle for review. I have enjoyed this series for years...another story of mystery and intrigue with a great protagonist...try this one...enjoy...

So, a quick starting note on this one: If you’re tired of all things COVID and are just looking for an escape, there are COVID references in this book. The book takes place post-pandemic and it’s used primarily as an explanation for people’s reactions to the bacterium mentioned in the book description.

To be honest, the bacterium in question and the resounding ‘panic’…isn’t very interesting.

What is interesting is our crime. I wanted to know about our victims – why they were killed and who they were – and thoroughly enjoyed Tempe’s investigation. This book brings us a new character who is interesting, but who doesn’t get any real character development until close to the end of the book.

The pace of the book is fair. I never lost interest, but it wasn’t a book that I simply couldn’t put down.

Enjoyed the book, didn’t love it, but it won’t sway me away from the series. Will definitely read the next one.

*ARC provided via Net Galley

have read all the Temperance Brennan books, can't believe this is number 20!

It was a little interesting to read this one as it's set in the post Covid world so there are definitely references to current events and one of the key plots very much aligns with some of what we see today but it's not overpowering.

I really liked the two different plots and how they came together; the mystery jumping time and locations was handled very well and it all made sense. The sub plot was a little easier to predict than I expected but how the main victims and characters came together really worked. I also found the "c' story to be very compelling and I enjoyed it very much. The wrap up of that one was great.

All in all, another great outing for Tempe, Ryan and crew.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

Science, mystery and murder collide in The Bone Code, another satisfying Temperance Brennan thriller by Kathy Reichs.

Three women and a child have been executed, their teeth and fingertips removed, wrapped in plastic, stuffed into waste containers and then dropped into water. The difference is that the first two were found near Montreal fifteen years earlier. A recent hurricane washed the next container ashore near Charleston. Frustrated that she was not able to identify the victims in the earlier case, Temperance desperately wants to solve the second. Working with her longtime partner Andrew Ryan in Montreal and with Detective Tonia Vislofsky in Charleston, Temperance looks for links between the two cases. As she begins to understand the horrific reasons for the killings, she puts her life and Ryan’s at risk.

All of Kathy Reichs’ superb mysteries can be read as standalones but, since I’ve read them all, I see The Bone Code as different. Darker and more nuanced than the previous thrillers, The Bone Code, set after Covid, has a more scientific theme. Temperance herself is more introspective, perhaps because of her brain surgery, and is haunted by the first murders, those of the woman and child. There is a subplot about death masks which is fascinating and informative. Kathy Reichs has done it again! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner and Kathy Reichs for this ARC.

Another amazing Tempe book by Kathy Reichs! I have read all of the books in the series and jumped at the chance to read the latest. Once I started, I could not put it down,. It was like spending time with old friends Tempe, Ryan, Birdie. One downside for me was this latest book was full of complicated science jargon (more so than in other novels by Reichs). While that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the book, it was over my head. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.