Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs

Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs

2013, Scribner

Series: Book 16 of Temperance Brennan

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Rating

Synopsis: When Charlotte police discover the body of a teenage girl along a desolate stretch of two-lane highway, Temperance Brennan fears the worst. The girl’s body shows signs of foul play. Inside her purse police find the ID card of a prominent local businessman, John-Henry Story, who died in a horrific flea market fire months earlier. Was the girl an illegal immigrant turning tricks? Was she murdered?

The medical examiner has also asked Tempe to examine a bundle of Peruvian dog mummies confiscated by U.S. Customs. A Desert Storm veteran named Dominick Rockett stands accused of smuggling the objects into the country. Could there be some connection between the trafficking of antiquities and the trafficking of humans?

As the case deepens, Tempe must also grapple with personal turmoil. Her daughter Katy, grieving the death of her boyfriend in Afghanistan, impulsively enlists in the Army. Meanwhile, Katy’s father Pete is frustrated by Tempe’s reluctance to finalize their divorce. As pressure mounts from all corners, Tempe soon finds herself at the center of a conspiracy that extends all the way from South America, to Afghanistan, and right to the center of Charlotte.

The Good: Full on honest emotion. A turning point, perhaps? While this installation of the Temperance Brennan mysteries did little to impress me investigation-wise, the human aspect of the book carried me through and kept me fully invested in Tempe's personal life.

The Bad: This mystery was sort of ridiculous. I'm sorry. I love Kathy Reichs, but the way the story resolved itself was just beyond improbable. The killer was just ludicrous, seeming like a poor attempt to pull all aspects of the story together in the end. Everything in this book, from the killer to Tempe going to Katy's site all felt just way too coincidental.