Review: Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs has been one of my favorite authors for many years. I don't remember when I started reading her books, but her first book, Deja Dead, was published in 1997. I am sure it wasn't long after that when I started reading her books. They are great mysteries with a flawed but wonderful main character in Temperance Brennan.

Tempe is a forensic anthropologist who works with two medical examiner's offices - one in Charlotte, North Carolina and one in Montreal, Quebec.

Devil Bones is the 11th in this series of mysteries. In this book, Tempe has to deal with bones found in a cauldron of an abandoned home; a headless boy found next to a river; an extremist councilman creating hate and fear of the unknown; her daughter playing matchmaker; a disgusting yet effective detective; and missing her non-boyfriend. And that's not all! Kathy Reichs does an excellent job of weaving all these together in a believable story that sucks you in and hold tight until the end.

If some of my description sounds familiar but you haven't read any of Kathy Reichs books, it's because the FOX tv show BONES is based on this series of books. I have not ever watched the series (which my mother finds amazing). I've resisted watching for multiple reasons. One is that I already have enough shows that I watch!

But more because I was afraid that it wouldn't be as good as the books are for me. You know when you have created this whole set of people in your head, there's just no way someone else can imagine it as well. (Thus also why I tend to not see books-to-movies.) However, at the end of Devil Bones, there's a Q&A with author Kathy Reichs, including questions about BONES. She described the show as occuring before the book series starts. That this younger Tempe is not yet working with the dual offices and has not yet met the future non-boyfriend. Her comments have got me re-thinking my avoidance of the show and I may start watching it. I'd love to know if there are folks out there that enjoy both the books and the tv show.

I highly recommend this series and this latest book, Devil Bones. If you are a mystery series lover and haven't read any Kathy Reichs, I suggest you start with Deja Dead and go forward. All are great and work wonderful together. If you just want to read a good mystery, pick up any of the books in the series. They are all written, in my opinion, with minimal need for the previous books. Obviously there will be some character references that are missing if you haven't read the earlier books, but the mystery will not be diminished by them.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars