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Though the context is not pleasant, this word is a fun word to know and use on occasion. I was reminded of it while reading Speaking in Bones.
Odoriferous – having or giving off a smell, especially an unpleasant or distinctive one
Usage: “I reached up, slid the box free, and carried it to the “stinky room”, a small autopsy suite with special ventilation to accommodate the more odoriferous dead.”
I found this word a few times in Speaking in Bones, and I had to look it up. Though I could guess the meaning by the context, it’s not a word I see often so I wanted to be sure.
Truncating – to shorten the duration or extent of
Usage: “A door opened, releasing the whine of an autopsy saw cutting through bone. Closed abruptly, truncating the sound.”
Update: Truncate is also used in this quote from The Dictionary of Lost Words.
Along with starting another Kathy Reichs book today, I decided to add a new tag to the blog. “New Book” will lead you to the first post I write about each book that I’m reading. My goal is to give you a brief introduction to the book. Then when I finish the book, I’ll write my summary. This tag will give you, my readers, just a quick glimpse at when (and sometimes why) I start a new book as well as the Title and Author so you can look it up too.
So, as I said, I am starting a new Kathy Reichs book, Speaking in Bones. I’m only one chapter in, but it was a chilling introduction. Dr Brennan is listening to what sounds like a kidnapped girl’s thoughts and torments. I wonder if Dr Brennan will be able to find the girl before it’s too late. Well, back to reading!
I finished another novel by Kathy Reichs this week called Break No Bones. I am enjoying these books about Dr Temperance Brennan. They offer a glimpse into the work of real forensic anthropologists.
At the end of each book, Dr Reichs offers some insight into the challenges faced by her fictional characters. In 206 Bones, she discussed the importance of ethics in forensic science, especially how important board certification is. In Break No Bones, Dr Reichs gives a glimpse into history, not only her own, but also the history of forensic anthropology as a whole. She also tells her readers about the teams of people needed to solve each crime. In real life, forensics relies on a multiple scientists: Pathologists who work with soft tissue – Anthropologists who work with skeletons – Entomologists who analyze insects – Odontologists who compare teeth and dental records – Molecular Biologists who study DNA – Ballistics Experts who examine bullets and bullet casings.
Not only does solving crime take multiple people, it also takes time. I think that is one of the special areas of experience that Dr Reichs writes into her books. There are times when Dr Brennan has to step away from the bones and wait for results from other specialists. For example, in Break No Bones, there were a few chapters spent waiting for results from the dentist to verify identification and another was spent in the waiting room of a veterinarian.
So what was Break No Bones about besides forensic anthropology and bones?
During a student project dig that she was overseeing, Dr Brennan unearthed human remains that were not centuries old. Those remains would turn out to be the first of several dead bodies that would turn up on the outer shores of Charleston, SC. There seemed to be no connection between the bodies until Dr Brennan looks harder and finds one similarity. Coincidence? Suicide? Murder? Can Dr Brennan and her friend the coroner figure it out?
Then a tempest blows over Dr Brennan’s personal life while she stays in a friend’s beach house in Charleston. This friend had also invited Dr Brennan’s almost ex-husband to stay at the house as well while he was investigating the finances of a local charity. While she knows why they separated, Dr Brennan still feels an attraction toward Pete. However, she is currently in a relationship with Detective Andrew Ryan of Montreal. And Detective Ryan chooses the same week that Pete is at the beach house to pay a surprise visit to Dr Brennan. Though civil, each man verbally jabs at the other, winning reprimands and eye squints from Dr Brennan. (Don’t worry, it’s tasteful and there are no graphic scenes.)
Then tragedy strikes. Is Dr Brennan really in danger? Can she identify the bodies, bring closure to the families, and help law enforcement arrest the right person?
One last word: Dr Reichs is a remarkable storyteller. She brings her plots and plot twists together in a surprising way. She offers just enough information to keep the reader guessing until she is ready to reveal the next clue. I was only a few pages ahead of Dr Brennan’s findings, mostly because of literary devices and dialogue. If I was standing right next to Dr Brennan, we may have discovered the answer at the same time. And I think that’s what I liked about Break No Bones the most.
Another word from “The Dancing Men” in The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is “Nettled”. The context made me believe the word must mean something like perturbed, and I was not wrong.
Nettled – irritated or annoyed
Usage: After stating that he would not call Holmes’ methods simple once explained, Dr Watson still cried, “How absurdly simple!”
“Quite so!” said [Holmes], a little nettled. “Every problem becomes very childish when once it is explained to you.”
Here is a fun word used to describe Holmes’ chemical experiment in “The Dancing Men” in The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Poor Dr Watson had to put up with many such experiments during his time with Holmes in the Baker Street rooms.
Malodorous – smelling very unpleasant
Usage: “Holmes had been seated for some hours in silence with his long, thin back curved over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing a particularly malodorous product.”
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all. And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me. (from Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson, printed 2016)
Abash – to make someone feel embarrassed, disconcerted, or ashamed
Extremity – the extreme degree or nature of something, as extreme difficulty or adversit
In a book about a forensic anthropologist, you are sure to come across scientific words that are not part of your everyday vocabulary. This word, from Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs, is just such a word.
Edentulous – lacking teeth
Usage: “The unknown [skeleton] was edentulous.”
This word should be self explanatory. I found it in Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs.
Southernism – an attitude or trait characteristic of the South or Southerners especially in the US
Usage: “Another Southernism. Hitch the phrase “bless her heart” to its bumper, and any slur becomes mannerly.”
“I’m a detective,” Ryan said.
“I know.” [Dr. Brennan’s reply]
“I detect things.”
“A special skill.”
Break No Bones, Kathy Reichs, 2006
Hi! I'm Cadie. Welcome to my Collection of Bookish Thoughts where I will share with you everything I love about books.
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