Book Review: The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs

 The Bone Code

by

Kathy Reichs

 

A Temperance Brennan Novel

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia

 

Publication date: 21st April 2021

 

Series: Temperance Brennan #20

 

Genre: Crime / Mystery

 

Pages: 368

 

RRP: $ 32.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

When a hurricane hits the Carolinas it uncovers two bodies, sharing uncanny similarities with a cold case in Quebec that has haunted Temperance Brennan for fifteen years.

 At the same time, a rare bacterium that can eat human flesh is discovered in Charleston. Panic erupts and people test themselves for a genetic mutation that leaves them vulnerable.

 

With support from her long time partner Andrew Ryan, Temperance discovers the startling connection between the victims of both murder cases - and how both the nurders and the disease outbreak have a common cause.

 

My review

 

The Bone Code is book #20 in Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan series. Even though the book follows one case that Tempe is working on, and the book in theory works as a stand alone, I still felt like I was late to the party. Not knowing any of Temperance's backstory made it hard to connect with her as a person.

 

Temperance is called to do a forensic analysis of bones of two people found washed ashore in a hazardous waste container. The more she worked on the bones the more a similar case fifteen years ago came to mind. Tempe is convinced they are linked and what ensues is a details and lengthy investigation.

 

I liked Tempe's empathy for the victims, this was more than just a job to her. The story is set post Covid and people are in a panic over a new disease that is coming from family pets.

 

Reichs gives her readers a complex plot with detailed forensics and a large cast of characters. Small pieces of information are pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle to finally reveal the bigger picture.

 

Advances in DNA collection, forensics and pathology are shown between the present case the the cold case of fifteen years prior. Societies penchant for having their DNA anylised and stored is also a major factor in this mystery.

 

The Bone Code is narrated in a relaxed style and is well paced with each chapter ended on a little cliff hanger. Reichs delivers a very compelling mystery that builds as the story progresses.

I found the technical explanations of forensics and genetics and the constant use of initialism and acronyms quite confusing and caused me to lose focus.

 

The Bone Code would be a great read for those interested in forensics and science and followers of the TV series, Bones.

 

My rating 3 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐

 

 About the author 

 

Photo credit: Goodreads

Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A professor of anthropology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.

 

 

Challenges entered: Cloak and Dagger Challenge