Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs

Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs

2012, Scribner

Series: Book 15 of Temperance Brennan

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Rating

Synopsis: A woman calling herself Amy Roberts checks into a Montreal hospital complaining of uncontrolled bleeding. Doctors see evidence of a recent birth, but before they can act, Roberts disappears. Dispatched to the address she gave at the hospital, police discover bloody towels outside in a Dumpster. Fearing the worst, they call Temperance Brennan to investigate.

In a run-down apartment Tempe makes a ghastly discovery: the decomposing bodies of three infants. According to the landlord, a woman named Alma Rogers lives there. Then a man shows up looking for Alva Rodriguez. Are Amy Roberts, Alma Rogers, and Alva Rodriguez the same person? Did she kill her own babies? And where is she now?

Heading up the investigation is Tempe’s old flame, homicide detective Andrew Ryan. His counterpart from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is sergeant Ollie Hasty, who happens to have a little history with Tempe himself, which she regrets. This unlikely trio follows the woman’s trail, first to Edmonton and then to Yellowknife, a remote diamond-mining city deep in the Northwest Territories. What they find in Yellowknife is more sinister than they ever could have imagined.

The Good: Dead newborn babies are always a attention-getter. But so many infants, to a woman with so many aliases? That makes for a compelling mystery. While I'm not usually a fan of these books when they're set in Quebec, I really enjoyed Tempe and Ryan traversing Canada as a whole.

The Bad: The addition of Ollie was sort of disastrous. I think he was meant as a foil for Ryan, but instead of pushing Ryan into action where Tempe is concerned, it just made both Ollie and Ryan act like 6th grade boys kicking dirt at each other trying to impress the girl. And in that scenario, everyone loses.