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I read my first Kathy Reichs book because it was in a box of books a friend gave me. I became a fan and started watching the TV show "Bones" because I liked her books so much. She never disappoints. I love her stuff.
Kathy Reichs takes her reader on an adventure where we learn of devil worship, meet a Wiccan and learn how this different from a witch and read of superstitions in the black community and their practice of Voodoo medicine.Reichs provides plenty of action in the story. They are also investigating the circumstances around the headless body of a teenage boy found by a man walking his dog.
When a plumber is remodeling a home and uncovers a secret room, he finds signs of what might be devil worship. This is the 11th book featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.
While working the case she is working with Detective Erskine "Skinny" Slidel, an investigator in the mode of Sam Spade with few words and hard as nails. The skull of what turns out to be a teenage girl is placed at the center of the shrine.
Where did this skull come from and where is the remainder of the body, are questions that take much of Temp's attention.She is analyzing the bones to determine if the skull is from a murder victim. This body is marked with satanic symbols.
It is fast paced and Temperance continues to be an interesting character as we learn more of her love life and the politics of her job.Very entertaining.
While "Devil Bones" has a few flaws - the most annoying being the final sentence in each chapter, which provides a foreshadowing spoiler of what is to come - they are not enough to destroy the overall effect of this book. Why'd she have to go and do THAT." - very suspenseful, well written - you care about the characters, even the ones you don't know very well. Well. When a reporter manages to get enough information to run an article about the discovery, a right-wing fundamentalist commissioner takes the opportunity to start stirring up a frenzy about "Satanic cults" and "Devil worship." Tempe, in the meantime, does the research to discover the differences between Santeria, voodoo, and Palo Mayombe, their rituals and belief systems and the fact that they very much do NOT have anything to do with devil worship. Go buy this book already. Later in the book she runs across a group of Wiccans and learns about Wicca, which is also shown to be a positive belief system and to have nothing to do with Satanism. The first discovery Tempe is called to investigate is what appears to be a Santeria altar in a hidden sub-cellar - it includes a couple cauldrons, and a human skull. Definitely fans of the series shouldn't miss this one - if you aren't a fan of the series, you could read this one and enjoy it, but your enjoyment would be more complete if you had read the previous books in the series.
Personally, I can only hope that this text educates some people, because there are still too many people out there who automatically equate anything outside their own belief system as being devil worship. But I digress.When they later find a body with apparent Satanic symbols carved into it - but missing its head - the heat gets turned up for Tempe - and the police - to find out who is doing this and bring them to justice.As usually happens, Tempe's love life is a shambles and she is frozen in indecision as to what to do.There is a lot of good stuff going on in this book, and a lot of stuff that made me go "oh, MAAAAAN. What are you waiting for. Sheesh.
I have enjoyed most of Kathy Reichs book and this one was no exception. I look forward every year to Temperance Brennan getting into more disastrous situations and with the help of her buddies, getting herself out of them.
This was the best book yet in the Temperance Brennan series. I loved Devil Bones. And when I say loved, I mean really loved. I have no clue who the killer was until the very moment they were revealed. This novel was funny, unsettling and tragic all wrapped up in a highly entertaining package.
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