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Spider Bones by Kathy Reich

Temperance Brennan, #13

Pages: 306
First Published: Aug. 24, 2010
Publisher: Scribner

Rating: 4.5/5

First sentence:

The air smelled of sun-warmed bark and apple buds raring to blossom and get on with life.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

Kathy Reichs is in top form with this latest entry in the Tempe Brennan series. The first chapter starts out with an obscure and uncomfortable crime scene and continues on from there with an intricate mystery. One case leads to another, a fresh body leads to skeletal remains and soon Tempe and Ryan are trying to identify and determine the deaths of several bodies which send them to Hawaii. Tempe then finds herself called in by the local ME to help identify some odds & ends of human remains found from shark attacks. The addition of both daughters for the first time, making a foursome, adds some new dynamics to the personal relationships.

A fast paced case, with many trails to follow, and plenty of bodies. What first starts off as a weird death turns into identifying remains of soldiers from Vietnam and takes a turn toward organized drug crime and gangs in Hawaii. A very intricate and detailed case that gets bigger in scope as it goes along leaving the reader hard pressed to figure out. I did have a correct suspect in mind, but just where to place them, whether as a victim or villain of which case I couldn’t quite put it all together myself. I found the solution very entertaining and the story more on par with her earlier work than some of the other more recent volumes (excepting 206 Bones, that is) . This was a quick, page turning read for me and for once I wasn’t annoyed with Tempe and Ryan’s relationship and it feels like the next book will be pivotal for them, and honestly Ms. Reichs I think the next book needs to settle their relationship once and for all. It has gone on long enough, already. Can’t wait for the next book!