Fans of the wonderful crime and forensics televion series Bones know the name “Temperance Brennan” very well, but how about Kathy Reichs?
Kathy Reichs is the real-life forensic anthropologist and author upon whom the character of Temperance Brennan is based, and she’s written many crime novels based on her professional experiences. There’s even a whole series of Temperance Brennan novels!
Among the best-reviewed in the series, you’ll find (note: all prices were set by the publisher):
Death Du Jour (avg review rating 4/5 stars, $7.99) – In the bitter cold of a Montreal winter, Tempe Brennan is digging for a corpse buried more than a century ago. Although Tempe thrives on such enigmas from the past, it’s a chain of contemporary deaths and disappearances that has seized her attention — and she alone is ideally placed to make a chilling connection among the seemingly unrelated events. At the crime scene, at the morgue, and in the lab, Tempe probes a mystery that sweeps from a deadly Quebec fire to startling discoveries in the Carolinas, and culminates in Montreal with a terrifying showdown — a nerve-shattering test of both her forensic expertise and her skills for survival.
Even more puzzling for Tempe is a disembodied foot found near the debris field. Tempe’s microscopic analysis suggests it could not have belonged to any passenger. Whose foot is it, and where is the rest of the body? And what about the disturbing evidence Tempe discovers in the soil outside a remote mountain enclave? What secrets lie hidden there, and why are certain people eager to stop Tempe’s investigation? Is she learning too much? Coming too close? With help from Montreal detective Andrew Ryan, who has his own sad reason for being at the crash, and from a very special dog named Boyd, Tempe calls upon deep reserves of courage and upon her forensic skill to uncover a shocking, multilayered tale of deceit and depravity.
In Montreal to testify as an expert witness in a murder trial, forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan is called to the basement of a pizza parlor where three bodies have been found buried in shallow graves. Her examination reveals that the victims, young women, were recently killed, and she convinces police to investigate the deaths as murders. Puzzled when the bodies don’t physically match any of the missing-person reports from past years, Temperance delves deeper and uncovers a horrifying secret. Meanwhile, boyfriend troubles and a friend’s marital woes add to Temperance’s problems. Fans of Patricia Cornwell will relish the forensic detail– determining the physical characteristics of the women from their skeletons, dating the remains, and performing tests to discover where the victims grew up and then spent the last years of their lives. A fast-paced and suspenseful mystery in a deservedly popular series. Sue O’Brien Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
The TV series based on the career and books of Kathy Reichs, Bones, is going into its eighth season this fall and shows no signs of losing its popularity any time soon. Seasons 1 – 7 are available as Amazon Instant Videos, at a purchase price of $1.99 per episode in standard definition and $2.99 per HD episode. Prices to purchase full seasons vary.
Season 2 – avg review rating 5/5 stars
Season 3 – avg review rating 4.5/5 stars
Season 4 – avg review rating 5/5 stars
Season 5 – avg review rating 5/5 stars
Season 6 – avg review rating 4/5 stars
Season 7 – avg review rating 5/5 stars