Forensic Science

(2006)In this ninth in the popular series, forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is spending two weeks in May on Dewees, a barrier island north of Charleston, South Carolina, where she is leading a student excavation of a prehistoric site when one of the bodies they find isn't so ancient. After reporting her find to her friend Emma Rousseau, coroner at the Charleston County Coroner's Office, Tempe learns that Emma is ill and unable to investigate; so Tempe fills in for her as a consultant. When another body is found in a different location, the forensic examination of the bones shows a similarity in the manner of death. As Tempe investigates further, another body turns up, leading her to a horrifying conclusion about the motive for these deaths. Complicating matters, Tempe's estranged husband moves into the house she has borrowed, and her boyfriend arrives unexpectedly from Montreal. Tempe must work through her ambivalence about divorcing her unfaithful husband, for whom she still has feelings, but she also cares for her boyfriend. Readers who enjoy Patricia Cornwell's mysteries will appreciate the forensic detail here, and more character-oriented readers will respond to Reichs' likable and well-developed cast, from the local sheriff to Tempe herself, a dedicated woman who feels compelled to provide justice for those who can no longer speak for themselves.(Publishers Weekly)

I've got my calamity.

The theme of this book is roots. The one that other people grow in you with time and connection. The ones that probably you grow in them. Or not. You'd never know. It's a difficult question to ask – is it better to let someone grow on you with all ensured shit down the line or is it better to close, mask and hide in personal castle? How much time do you need to connect with someone? How much to separate? There is no denying that time can not be reversed that easily (that's why we despair and hate to hasten the process). Even when people move on they live something behind. Probably not something that holds them back but something that are still there. We move on. But we can not outrun our past. Is it possible to accept it? In another person?

P.S. Although I must say that this series turns out to be too predictable for people who watch too much CSI and other shows like that. People like that will probably understand everything long before characters. ( )

Kathy Reichs did it again! She made a fantastic forensic novel, but this time with a splash of romance!

What will Tempe do when Ryan and Pete are in the same room? What will happen when the adrenaline and testosterone get pumping? And what happens when bodies are found in areas they were definitely not killed at?

This novel had an amazing twist at the end, that I will not spoil, that had me hooked. I did find the beginning of the book to be boring, and the storyline with Pete and Ryan rather stale. Ryan was gone for half the book and Pete just seemed to be around to make the plot interesting. Yet Pete didn't spice up the novel, and the lack of Ryan made me quite bored. Those two pieces of the plot kept me rather bored, and it took longer to read.

It was a good novel though, once the twist is introduced. I didn't expect it, and I often see endings coming in these kinds of novels.

Overall, amazing! Another forensic masterpiece by Queen Kathy Reichs!

Five out of five stars! ( )

La investigadora Tempe Brennan tiene que viajar a Carolina del Sur para sustituir a un colega y coordinar a un grupo de estudiantes de arqueología que trabajan en un cementerio de indios americanos. El tranquilo y rutinario trabajo de campo pronto se ve alterado al descubrirse en el antiguo yacimiento indio un esqueleto reciente. Emma Rousseau, la forense local y vieja amiga de Tempe, la convence para que se encargue de investigar un caso que, poco a poco, se va complicando, al igual que su vida personal, en la que repentinamente compiten por sus atenciones su novio Ryan y su ex marido Pete, que investiga la desaparición de una mujer. El rastro de pistas encontradas al ir apareciendo nuevos cadáveres conducirá a Tempe a una clínica gratuita donde el ambiente es hostil y parecen existir secretos que pueden llegar a ser peligrosos.