FLASH AND BONES by Kathy Reichs, Book Review
Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs (Book 14, Temperance Brennan Novel) in enjoyable light listen/read for existing fans of this long-running crime series. Read my full review.
Flash and Bones Synopsis
Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan’s office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble’s sister, Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi’s? Or Cale’s?
At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, only to terminate it weeks later. Was there a cover-up? As Tempe juggles multiple theories, the discovery of a strange, deadly substance in the barrel alongside the body throws everything into question. Then an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes missing during Race Week. Tempe can’t overlook the coincidence. Was this man using his lab chemicals for murder? Or is the explanation even more sinister? What other secrets lurk behind the festive veneer of Race Week?
Genre: Action-Adventure, Mystery, Thriller, Crime-Detective, Audio
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BOOK REVIEW
I am a huge fan of the Bones TV series inspired by the Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan series. So I thought the audiobook version of the 14th novel in the series, would be a fun listen.
In Flash and Bones, Kathy Reichs has good old Tempe Brennan doing her usual thing, sticking her forensic nose in where it is not wanted in the pursuit of the truth.
Narrator Linda Emond provides clear characterisation and a dry delivery that suites Tempe to a tee. The mystery is intriguing and complex and true to her previous form Reichs is not afraid to keep the momentum going by killing off a character or two along the way.
Although a solid crime thriller, I did not enjoy Flash and Bones as much as the previous Kathy Reichs novel I read, Cross Bones. Andrew Ryan, Tempe’s on-again-off-again love interest is one of my favourite characters and he does not play a large part in this storyline. Also, Tempe recounted the details of the investigation just one too many times for my liking and was a little slow to put the pieces together for someone so bright.
Flash and Bones is an enjoyable light listen for fans of Tempe Brennan, but for those not already acquainted with Kathy Reichs, I recommend starting with one of her earlier novels.
BOOK RATING: The Story 3 / 5 ; The Writing 3.5 /5 – Overall 3.25
Get your copy of Flash and Bones from:
Amazon | Book Depository | Bookshop.org US
Note, I have since very much enjoyed Book 20, The Bone Code.
About the Author, Kathy Reichs
Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead, published in 1997, won the Ellis Award for Best First Novel and was an international bestseller. Flash and Bones is Kathy’s fourteenth entry in her series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Kathy was also a producer of Fox Television’s longest-running scripted drama, Bones, which is based on her work and her novels. One of very few forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, Kathy divides her time between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Montreal, Québec. Visit her at KathyReichs.com or follow her on Twitter @KathyReichs.
Other Reviews of Flash and Bones: CSI Librarian ; Book Him Danno! ; Murder by Type
