What do You think about Cross Bones (2006)?
An Orthodox Jewish man is found shot to death in Montreal. The condition of the body leaves more questions than answers for the investigators so Temperance Brennan is called in to examine the body. As she is leaving the ME office, a stranger gives her a photograph of a skeleton and tells her it is the reason for the victim's death. Its obvious that the skeleton is very old so she takes it back to her office to examine it. When she tracks down the actual skeleton, Tempe calls her friend Jake Drum, a biblical archaeologist, who thinks it was stolen from a museum in Israel and insists she bring the skeleton to Israel herself. Soon, Tempe is involved in an international mystery that could cause the need to re-write religious history. During the investigation, Tempe learns that the stranger's picture shows bones uncovered during an archaeological dig and the Montreal shooting victim ran an import business was a front for the trading of black market antiquities. Along with Detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe travels to Israel. As a forensic scientist, Tempe finds herself involved in the most controversial case of her career. The more she learns, the greater the danger the finds herself in. This tale has more than its fair share of twists and turns. At times it becomes confusing and tends to drag in places. The most interesting aspect of the book is the detail of the forensics involved in the investigation. Fewer chase scenes would have been appreciated.
—Genie
I would actually give this book 2.5 stars if that was a possibility. Since it's not, I rounded down.I'm a huge fan of the TV show "Bones." So when I encountered this book by "Bones" creator Kathy Reichs at a second-hand bookstore, I grabbed it, thinking that of course I would like the book too.I was kind of wrong. I didn't hate the book, but it took me some time to get through it. Reichs's writing style is somewhat staccato - her descriptive prose is written in half-thoughts, like she's checking off items on a list, sort of the way her brain probably works while she's examining skeletal remains at her day job. Unfortunately, we're not all forensic anthropologists, so as a layperson, I'd appreciate a little more insight into the subject matter she's writing about. And even though it was published only two months later, the book feels like a "Me too!" companion to "The DaVinci Code." That said, I just picked up another of her books at the same store. It cost a dollar, and I don't like to dismiss an author out of hand, having read only one of her books. So we'll see.
—Kristyn
At this point I believe I'm completely caught up on the Temperance Brennan novels. This one is probably one of my favorites, if not my favorite of all of them. Maybe because it's primarily set in Israel, rich in history, art, and culture. Maybe because I understand the humor, the religious references, among other things, without a guide-book that others WILL require when reading it if they are non-initiated as far as Judaism is concerned, but basically this one book just puts so many other crime-based fiction novels to shame. The story itself will have you on the edge of your seat, pulling you hair out of your head. It's chilling, it's deep, it's fascinating, yet it lacks nothing in terms of humor andthe crime-fighting factor we have all come to know from "Bones" as a TV show, which is what a lot of people expect to see in the books as well. This book has a fantastic balance of everything and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's very on-par, in some respects, with the Da Vinci Code, but the "shock value" is different.
—Lisa
