[.uk] Bones to Ashes (Temperance Brennan Novels) (ISBN 0743566157)

Intriguing Setting:
Bones to Ashes is the tenth novel in the Temperance Brennan series but it is my first experience with the character and its creator, Kathy Reichs. As usual, when I jump into a series for the first time somewhere after its midpoint I have to wonder if my reading experience would have been different, maybe even a better one, if I had started the series at the beginning. At the least, I would have a better feel for whether or not the series is holding up nicely or is on the decline, something I still wonder about after having finished Bones to Ashes. For those as uninitiated in the Reichs books as I was, Tempe Brennan is an American forensic anthropologist who splits her working days between North Carolina and Montreal, where she works for the province of Quebec to identify bodies, bones, causes of death, and those responsible for the murders she helps investigate. Along the way she has had a romance with Canadian Detective Andrew Ryan although, by this tenth book, that relationship has largely been replaced by the professional one they need to maintain as they continue to work cases together. Tempe also has an eccentric sister, Harry, whom she loves dearly but prefers to take in small doses (I agree with her). Not long after receiving a skeleton from New Brunswick, Tempe manages to convince herself that the bones may very well belong to a childhood friend of hers, Evangeline Landry, a young girl who, with no explanation, was suddenly whisked back to Canada and out of Tempe's life when the two were teenagers. At the same time that she is trying to unlock the skeleton's secrets, Tempe is working with Ryan and others to identify the killers of several young women who have been abducted over a period of years. Tempe's desire to learn what happened to her long lost friend turns her investigation into something personal and, when she and Harry decide to visit Evangeline's sister, they attract enough attention to place their own lives in danger. For American readers, the fact that Bones to Ashes is set in Canada is both strength and weakness. On the one hand, Reichs portrays life in a part of Canada that few readers will have been much exposed to beforehand and her Acadian settings, characters and atmosphere are intriguing. On the other, the multitude of dead bodies and missing girls all have unusual French names, making it difficult to keep their individual stories clear from chapter to chapter. This inherent confusion makes it difficult for the reader to get emotionally involved in what has happened to any of these young women and they become almost indistinguishable from one another in the reader's mind, something not helped by the sparse prose that Reichs often uses. But Reichs does something that many series writers do not do for their main characters; she takes time to delve into their past histories so that new readers have at least a basic understanding of the characters and how they got to be the people they are. And, of course, the forensic science on display is probably the book's strong suit since Kathy Reichs is herself a one of the better known forensic anthropologists in the world. Bones to Ashes is an interesting book, especially for those drawn to the series because of the science that it features, but it is not an especially strong novel, suffering from a poor juggling of its multiple plotlines and its failure to make the crime victims into real and sympathetic characters. I am not sure that I want to read book eleven in the series, but I am curious enough now to go back and read the first one because I suspect it is better than Bone to Ashes.

A Nearly Perfect Story Line That's a Bit Too Coincidental:
The only thing that kept "Bones to Ashes" from being a perfect 10 on my 10-point scale was the incredible (as in unbelievable) number of coincidences that had to occur for the final plot resolution to be realized. To be fair, the outcome is clearly foreshadowed near the beginning of this superbly written and tightly plotted story. Still, I kept hoping there would be an unexpected twist that would cause the predictable outcome not to happen. Alas. Beyond that single flaw, this is Reichs' best work to date. Particularly intriguing is a very clever technique called forensic linguistics, a fascinating field of science with which I was completely unfamiliar until I read this book. I've since done some research and Reichs' portrayal of the science and its proper use in this book is impeccably accurate. The ability to confirm from two different pieces of writing the likelihood of a single author was quite satisfying. Heroine Temperance Brennan continues to battle her demons, her loves, her personal alienation and her uncertainties, which make her a richer character than many of her fictional counterparts in other novelists' works. The story unfolds a bit slowly for my taste, but it does take on the pace and flavor of the region in which it is set. Like so many novels set in the American South, it moves along at the pace of life. I often found myself wanting to peer a few pages ahead to see when this current long (but somewhat interesting) diversion would end so we could get back to the storyline. All in all, a really solid and enjoyable work. Highly recommended.

Reichs knows what she is doing:
I'm amazed how she can weave the plot in her books. Her details of forensics is fascinating.

A new mystery excellently solved!:
Oh, do I ever adore Reichs's novels. Her novels show proof that there are no limits to one's imagination - especially when the author knows what she/he is talking about. Reichs sucks you in with the first sentence and doesn't let go until the very last word. The mystery and forensic descriptions keep you just as glued to the pages as the characters do. Again, Tempe lands herself in trouble when she does something someone asked her not to do. But she can't let go of the possibility that the remains could be those of a friend that disappeared. Twists and turns and a surprising ending make the entire book worth every single one of its 406 pages. A new twist with her ex-husband Pete could have come at a better time, and a twist with Ryan has you feeling heartbroken for Tempe - I cried right along with her, felt her heartache deeply. But her sister comes to somewhat of a rescue, even if she, yet again, manages to freak Tempe out with yet another disappearing act. Absolutely perfect - except for something unresolved between her and Ryan. I refuse to get into more detail than that - I don't like writing reviews with spoilers. Suffice it to say that her MMP of her next novel, Devil Bones, can't come fast enough! If you're a forensics/csi nut as much as I am, then this series is an absolute must read! I can't get enough! LOL, but thanks to Reichs, I can fill in the time watching Bones!

A meaty 'Bones' adventure! (3.5 stars):
Although I watch the 'Bones' TV series, I was unfamiliar with Kathy Reichs' books until reading 'Bones to Ashes'. Just going by the book jacket description, I was intrigued at how the original character differs from her TV counterpart. If only the TV writers had gone with this more complex 'Tempe' instead of the one-note geek 'Bones'. I found this story fairly easy to get into, and felt I had a handle on Tempe, Ryan, Hippo, Harry, etc., within a short time. This is something any halfway decent 'series' author should be able to do for readers who are jumping on in midstream, but not everyone can do it as seamlessly as Reichs did here. The diversity of settings hinted at here-Chicago-born, Carolina-raised, and now working in Montreal-make for some fascinating possibilities. Reichs certainly made good use of both Quebec and Acadian settings here, and put the cultural history into perspective without bogging down the story. Some of the 'textbook science' segments, however, did read a bit too much as though Reichs was copying from a textbook. This is an increasingly common technique used by crime/police procedural novelists, trying to cram every last shred of research or background info into a story, regardless of how awkwardly it might fit. The emphasis on linguistics at the story's conclusion at least led to a breakthrough in the case, yet it still read as if Reichs was 'showing off' for the audience. At times, the scientific jargon from those 'experts' Tempe consulted came off like the long-winded side-effects disclaimers spoken by fake doctors on those TV ads for prescription drugs. As for the rest of the characters, as I wasn't familiar with the Tempe-Ryan romance prior to this, I can't comment on what this means for their relationship. It didn't spoil anything for me,anyway. I think some of the reviewers who are dumping on this book, and vowing never to read Reichs again, might want to lighten up. If 'Will they or won't they?' is the only reason they're reading this series, then let them move on to romance novels. Regarding Harry...I thought she was OK at first, despite the too-cute name, but she really didn't add much to the story. I kind of like her as a long-distance background character, but if she's going to take an active part in the story, she needs a better plan! Overall, an exciting story, with a few pacing problems(too many 'recaps' of stuff that hadn't been mentioned in several chapters,indicating that, with so many cases to investiate at once, perhaps Reichs had too much on her plate). I'd definitely read more of this series, more for the character development than for the painstakingly accurate descriptions of forensic science.