CROSS BONES by KATHY REICHS

CROSS BONES

BY KATHY REICHS

THE BLURB:-

An orthodox Jew is found shot dead in Montreal, the mutilated body barely recognizable.

Extreme heat has accelerated decomposition, and made it virtually impossible to determine the bullet trajectory.

But just as forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is attempting to make sense of the fracture patterning, a mysterious stranger slips her a photograph of a skeleton, assuring her it holds the key to the victim's death.

The trail of clues leads all the way to the Holy Land where, together with detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe makes a startling discovery- but the further Tempe probes into the identity of the ancient skeleton, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger...

THE REALITY:-

This was The-One-That-Got-Away... It was the only Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan novel that I hadn't read the whole way through and that's because when I first gave it a go, about eleven years ago, I had to put it down as it started to drag and, although the hardback remained in my collection for some time, I could never bring myself to pick it up again. It actually put me off the Temperance Brennan series- after being given Deja Dead, the first of its ilk, I then couldn't wait to read the novels and bought them in hardback fresh after their release. But it was some four years before I resumed reading the paperback versions of the series. I wanted to give this one another try, though, so when I saw it sitting in a charity shop...

I'm glad I did! I remembered the jist of the story but not the finer points and found this gripping and easy to read, if a bit heavy with technical details- at times you do have to concentrate on the text. I found the part where I had previously given up and it's around chapter 34, 388 pages in. The talk of the occupants of the Jesus tomb just got too damn confusing and a bit dreary. But this time I ploughed through and it led to a cracker of an end. Inconclusive? A bit, but not disappointing. It was possibly the only way this novel could have ended.

The characters were a good mix and well described and I loved the locations of Montreal and the Holy Land. Reichs really made the culture, customs and everyday lives of the latters' occupants come to life.

I'm very glad that Tempe's relationship with Andrew Ryan is in full swing in this book. I love the details surrounding her private life and think that she and Ryan are meant for each other. This book has been likened to The Da Vinci Code and called a “lukewarm” version.  Now there's another book I put down and gave away. My ex-partner found it on a skip (lots of good things can be found in skips!) and gave it to me, but I read about half a dozen pages then left it alone, despite its absolutely fantastic reviews. It's another novel I will look out for on my charity shop trawls...