I know it’s been a week since I wrote that small blurb about 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs. I took just a few minutes to stop reading that day and tell you I had found the book and was thoroughly enjoying it. But what I haven’t had a chance to tell you was that I read the whole book in a day. Yes, one day. Of course, I was off work and didn’t have any housework to do, so I had time to devour the novel. I now highly recommend not only 206 Bones, but all of Kathy Reichs’ books. I even went to a library book sale and bought two more novels that I can’t wait to read!
206 Bones is one of many novels that Kathy Reichs has written about Dr Temperance Brennan. Like her protagonist, Reichs is a forensic anthropologist, and she uses her vast knowledge of the field in her books. And yes, this is the series that inspired the TV show Bones (which I also highly recommend!).
So, what happens in 206 Bones? Sabotage, kidnapping, and murder among other things. The first chapter draws you immediately into the story. Dr Brennan is in serious danger. She must recall the cases she was working on and try to figure out if they were related at all. It may even save her life. What was she working on recently? She was aiding in the identification and investigation of several elderly women who had been brutally murdered in Montreal. Was there any connection between the women? Also, she was trying to identify the remains of two adults and two children that had been found in a local lake. In the meantime, her professional integrity was being called into question, and she had to defend her actions and conclusions to lawyers, coworkers, and superiors. Was she so distracted by her personal life that her work was suffering? Shoddy work could result in unforgivable mistakes in identifying not only who bones belonged to but also how they died. Was Dr Temperance Brennan becoming paranoid?
Did I mention this story was gripping? If you enjoy a good who-done-it mystery with a sprinkle of romance, I think you would like 206 Bones. And I do mean a sprinkle. There are no graphic romance scenes in 206 Bones, although there is some fun tension between Dr Brennan and Detective Ryan. Since this is book twelve of the series, I’m not sure what the other books are like, but for this one, Brennan and Ryan are not dating anymore, but they still have feelings for each other. In fact, feelings for Ryan are one of those things in Brennan’s personal life that she worries may be distracting her at work.
The knowledge that Kathy Reichs brought into her story was awesome. She wasn’t so technical that the I couldn’t understand what was going on, but she didn’t dumb down the science either. There were a few times I googled terms to make sure I understood what was going on, but that didn’t detract from the story at all. And even though it was fiction, the story itself wasn’t so over-the-top that it felt like fantasy either. The characters were normal, everyday people with normal, everyday jobs. The cases were solved with good detective and forensic work. Overall, this book felt real. And that’s what made it so fun.
I don’t want to give the whole story away, but I do want to say the conclusion took me by surprise. Also, I was glad that once the danger was past and the cases solved, Dr Brennan and Detective Ryan were able to enjoy a cozy, firelit evening together.