Pg. 69: Kathy Reichs' "Bones to Ashes"

The current feature at the Page 69 Test: Kathy Reichs' Bones to Ashes.

About the book, from the author's website:

Temperance Brennan, like her creator Kathy Reichs, is a brilliant, sexy forensic anthropologist called on to solve the toughest cases. But for Tempe, the discovery of a young girl's skeleton in Acadia, Canada, is more than just another assignment. Évangéline, Tempe's childhood best friend, was also from Acadia. Named for the character in the Longfellow poem, Évangéline was the most exotic person in Tempe's eight-year-old world. When Évangéline disappeared, Tempe was warned not to search for her, that the girl was "dangerous."

Thirty years later, flooded with memories, Tempe cannot help wondering if this skeleton could be the friend she lost so many years ago. And what is the meaning of the strange skeletal lesions found on the bones of the young girl?

Meanwhile, Tempe's beau, Ryan, investigates a series of cold cases. Three girls dead. Four missing. Could the New Brunswick skeleton be part of the pattern? As Tempe draws on the latest advances in forensic anthropology to penetrate the past, Ryan hunts down a serial predator.

Among the early praise for the novel:

"Reichs keeps her superb suspense piece on track, leaving the reader totally wrung out by the time the ultimate villains are tracked down and confronted."
--Library Journal

"With crisp prose, well-drawn characters, unflagging attention to detail, and a resonant emotional angle, Reichs’s tenth Temperance Brennan mystery … finds the forensic anthropologist in top form…. Reichs deftly provides enough background to make this a successful stand-alone, at the same time advancing relationships between characters for her increasing legion of fans, who won’t want to miss this one."
--Booklist

"Tempe is both deeper and funnier than she’s ever been, making this her best outing to date."
--Kirkus Reviews

"In bestseller Reichs's entertaining 10th Temperance Brennan forensic thriller (after Break No Bones), Brennan, her relationship with Det. Andrew Ryan on the rocks, welcomes the distraction of an unidentified New Brunswick skeleton from Québec's cold case unit. But when the bones are determined to be that of an adolescent girl, Brennan is convinced they belong to her childhood friend, Évangéline Landry, who disappeared at age 15. Now Brennan must come to terms with Évangéline's possible death, while trying to ignore her feelings for Ryan as they investigate a series of teenage abduction murders that could be tied to the mysterious bones. With her usual blend of cutting-edge forensic science, nail-biting suspense and characters that pop off the page, Reichs, who's vice president of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists and the producer of Fox's Bones, has produced another winner in one of the genre's most satisfying series."
--Publishers Weekly

Read an excerpt from Bones to Ashes and learn more about the author and her books.

Bones to Ashes is the 10th book by Reichs in the best-selling series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. The character is the inspiration for the TV show Bones on FOX.

The Page 69 Test: Bones to Ashes.

--Marshal Zeringue