snark-fest, South Carolina, Montreal, law-enforcement, family-dynamics, forensics, friendship, anthropologist, murder, murder-investigation, egoist, greed, relationships, wry-humor, private-investigators, learning-opportunity***** Identical twins eighty years apart, too similar double murders involving medical waste containers fifteen years and two countries apart (Montreal and later South Carolina) perhaps tied together by a couple of pharmaceutical companies, covid essentially over but new virus causing fear. Add in the friend with benefits in the Canadian investigation, a cranky South Carolinian Homicide detective, a lot of wry humor and a ton of snarkiness, a potted history of Resusci Annie, and enough technical info to give paramedicals and bioscience geeks an orgasm. Another great read from one does more than talk the talk. This is not an unbiased review because I have adored reading Ms Reichs' books since book one. I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Scribner via NetGalley. Thank you!

The Bone Code is the twentieth book in the Temperance Brennan series by American author, Kathy Reichs. When a hurricane washes up a plastic biohazard barrel on the shore in Charleston, Temperance Brennan is called on to examine the remains of two bodies contained within. Naked, killed by a bullet through the head, teeth and fingers removed, wrapped in blue plastic sheeting and secured with red electrical wire, all elements that resonate with Tempe: she can’t forget a virtually identical case in Quebec, fifteen years earlier, never solved. Tempe has also been asked to research the case of a missing nineteenth-century twin: when Polly Beecroft’s twin sister passed on, she left behind a mystery in the form of a death mask. The image of the woman in the mask is identical to the Beecroft twins, and to their grandmother, Susanne Bouvier and her missing twin, Sybil. Could the mask offer a clue to Sybil’s fate? While Tempe heads to Montreal to re-examine that unsolved case, her best friend Anne Turnip delves into death masks. This instalment sees Tempe (and the Birdcat) frequently commuting between Quebec and south Carolina, being frustrated at the slow pace of DNA processing, learning more than she wants to about genetic testing, involved in a targeted hit-and-run with Ryan, and researching popular acronyms in order to decipher a teen diary. As well as death masks, their modern equivalent, facial approximation imaging, features, and a nasty zoonotic virus outbreak brings out the worst in the South Carolina population. The delicious Andrew Ryan makes plenty of appearances to be a sounding board and to offer encouragement, ideas, clever banter and neck rubs. His police contacts prove a major advantage as they revisit a cold case with new technology, and gradually uncover a great deal more about these murders, the motive for which turns out to be truly diabolical. Reichs does make an art form of ending many chapters with a short teaser/cliff-hanger sentence, which can be a little irritating, but is probably forgivable for a plot that keeps the reader enthralled. This is another excellent procedural that features autopsies and exhumations and all the fascinating tidbits that go with them, demonstrating the wealth of information that bones yield to the right interrogator. An engrossing and highly topical read. This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Simon & Schuster Australia.

I love reading Kathy Reichs novels. She creates imaginative whodunnits and keeps you guessing right up to the last chapter where it all comes together. This episode is so up-to-date with the current times it’s scary. You’ll get a crash course in how vaccines are made and stuff about DNA. I’ll be honest I did get lost a few times but Kathy slips in little reminders and cheat notes to remind you. I’ve long been a fan of Bones the TV series but also of the Tempe books. This instalment will drag you by the seat of your pants across Borders, through various States, and through different historical timelines. I absolutely loved it. Oh and don’t miss the introduction by Ian Rankin. Bring on the next book!

I think I have to hold my hands up from the off and state that I am a massive fan of Kathy Reichs. A copy of every Temperance Brennan novel sits on my bookshelves and I am always eagerly awaiting the next in the series. Whether that makes me predisposed to enjoy one of her books or have higher expectations of her writing that someone who hasn’t been invested in Temperance’s story since the beginning, I don’t know, but I’ve tried my hardest to be as dispassionate in this review as possible. As with every Kathy Reichs novel, we are thrown straight into the action with Tempe in Carolina, facing the imminent arrival of Hurricane Inara, when she is sought out by a woman wanting help establishing if a death mask features the face of her long-missing great aunt. Soon after, the storm washes up a medical waste container on the Carolina shore containing two decomposed bodies. When Tempe is asked to examine them, the details of the case ring alarming bells with bodies discovered in Canada years before. On top of all this, a flesh-eating virus has broken out… If this all sounds like a lot to contend with, remember that we also have to factor in the fact that Tempe’s time and career is divided between South Carolina and Montreal, and there is her ever-complicated relationship with Andrew Ryan to contend with to. This book has the potential to become extremely complicated, but the genius of Kathy Reichs writing is that she manages to convey a lot of detailed plots and information in a way that is vey easy to follow and pull together complex and diverse storylines to form a coherent and nail-biting plot without seemingly breaking a sweat. This is why die-hard fans such as myself keep returning to her books and these characters after two decades, and why I have never yet been disappointed. I couldn’t wait to get started on The Bone Code and, as soon as I dove in, I was back in Tempe’s world like I had never left, greeting all the characters like old friends (How have you been, Birdcat? I’ve missed you and your foibles) and desperate to catch up on what they have all been doing. How is the shift in dynamics between Ryan and Tempe working out since the last book? How is his new career going? Where is Katy now? These are all things I want to know, as well as what is going on in the latest cases. I love the fact that Tempe’s personal life is so inextricably wound into the narrative of these stories, as well as her work, since both make her fundamentally who she is and why we love her so much. As for the plot, I keep waiting for one of these books to fall short – Kathy must be running out of ideas by now surely? – but I am delighted to say this doesn’t happen in this book. Quite how she manages to join together such diverse topics into a seamless, related narrative always amazes me, and I was hooked from start to finish. I was a little dubious about reading about a flesh-eating virus whilst we are still dealing with the Covid pandemic but Kathy’s writing is so engrossing that I soon forgot all about what was happening in the real world and was completely immersed in this one. I was on the edge of my seat all the way through, the pacy narrative and excellent writing carrying me along, even the complex medical and legal jargon causing a stumble, reading it in record time, and I was sad when it was over and I have to wait another whole year for the next one. Kathy has knocked it out of the park again with The Bone Code. Fans of her books will de delighted with the latest instalment. If you have never read a Temperance Brennan book, be warned, this book will get you hooked.

When Hurricane Inara hits the Carolinas it unearths two bodies that bear a striking similarity to a cold case from her past that has haunted Temperance Brennan for fifteen years. Could they be connected? Meanwhile, there is a new pandemic in Charleston; a rare, flesh-eating bacteria that is passed from animals to humans is spreading through the population at an alarming rate and causing panic among its residents. As Temperance and her partner investigate, they find surprising links between not only the two murder cases, but also to the outbreak. And as they get closer to the truth, it becomes clear that someone will do anything to stop them… The Bone Code is the twentieth installment in the infamous Temperance Brennan series. I haven’t read this series in probably close to a decade and I was excited to get back into it, but apprehensive about how easy it would be to do so. I needn't have worried. Reichs catches up the reader with finesse, making those who’ve not read for years feel like you’ve never been away and making it easy for others to pick this up as a first foray into the series. You’re guaranteed a fascinating case when you pick up one of Reichs’ books and this one was no exception. Granted, some of the talk about vaccines went over my head, but she does a great job of explaining complex medical and scientific jargon to those of us with no experience in the field. Unlike many books out at the moment, Reichs opts to mention Covid-19 in this book. But she takes a positive approach, consigning it to history and setting the book at a time when the virus has been conquered, mentioning it in the past tense. Obviously this is fiction, but it gave me a sense of comfort all the same to imagine myself in a world where the threat is overcome and we are living normal lives again. Twisty, taut and tense, reading this was a great reminder of just how good Reichs is. I loved being back with Tempe. She is a fantastic character and I’d forgotten just how much I enjoy her and how fascinating I find the work she does. Intelligently and sharply written, I love how she expertly weaves together all of the intricate threads slowly in striking and unexpected ways. Addictive and consuming, I inhaled this book in under a day, unable to put it down once I’d started reading. It has definitely made me want to go back and read more of the books I’ve missed. A darkly atmospheric thriller with a kick, this is one not to be missed. Even if you’ve never read Ms. Reichs before, I suggest you pick this up and find out for yourself why she, and Tempe, are some of the biggest names in crime fiction.