Product Description

Temperance Brennan, like her creator Kathy Reichs, is a brilliant, sexy forensic anthropologist, called on to solve the toughest cases. But for Tempe, the discovery of a young girl's skeleton in Acadia, Canada, is more than just another assignment. Evangeline, Tempe's childhood best friend, was also from Acadia. Named for the character in the Longfellow poem, Evangeline was the most exotic person in Tempe's eight-year old world. When Evangeline disappeared, Tempe was warned not to search for her, that the girl was "dangerous."

Thirty years later, flooded with memories, Tempe cannot help wondering if this skeleton could be the friend she lost so many years ago. Meanwhile, Tempe's beau, Ryan, investigates a series of cold cases. Two girls dead. Three missing. Could the New Brunswick skeleton be part of the pattern? As Tempe draws on the latest advances in forensic anthropology to penetrate the past, Ryan hunts down a serial predator.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #312408 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-28
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

From Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Reichs's entertaining 10th Temperance Brennan forensic thriller (after Break No Bones), Brennan, her relationship with Det. Andrew Ryan on the rocks, welcomes the distraction of an unidentified New Brunswick skeleton from Québec's cold case unit. But when the bones are determined to be that of an adolescent girl, Brennan is convinced they belong to her childhood friend, Évangéline Landry, who disappeared at age 15. Now Brennan must come to terms with Évangéline's possible death, while trying to ignore her feelings for Ryan as they investigate a series of teenage abduction murders that could be tied to the mysterious bones. With her usual blend of cutting-edge forensic science, nail-biting suspense and characters that pop off the page, Reichs, who's vice president of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists and the producer of Fox's Bones, has produced another winner in one of the genre's most satisfying series. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennans latest case brings her into contact with estranged beau Ryan. It seems she has old bones to analyze, and he has cold cases involving missing girls. Is one of her bodies Evangeline, an Acadian childhood friend who disappeared years ago? The French-Canadian setting with its bilingual characters provides narrator Linda Emond with challenges well met. She glides easily from impersonating Tempes interfering Southern sister to a conversation with a mentally handicapped child to flirty Tempe-Ryan banter. At the same time, she keeps control of multiple plot lines involving, among other things, leprosy and child pornography. Best of all, she is able to alternate between Tempes clinical and emotional sides. Other Tempe audios are available if you like this one. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
With crisp prose, well-drawn characters, unflagging attention to detail, and a resonant emotional angle, Reichs' tenth Temperance Brennan mystery (after Break No Bones, 2006) featuring the forensic anthropologist finds the forensic anthropologist in top form. This time it's personal, when the skeleton of a young girl evokes memories of a deep, decades-old friendship with10-year-old Evangeline Landry, who sustained 8-year-old Tempe at a time of great personal loss only to disappear several years later. As Tempe works to identify the skeletal remains and cause of death, Detective Andrew Ryan seeks her help with several cases involving missing girls and unidentified bodies, raising the possibility of a serial killer. With her workload overwhelming, Tempe's life starts falling apart: her visiting sister's impulsiveness puts both of them at risk; her long-estranged husband, Pete, announces unsettling plans; and Ryan—the man in her life—makes a difficult personal decision. Reichs deftly provides enough background to make this a successful stand-alone, at the same time advancing relationships between characters for her increasing legion of fans, who won't want to miss this one. Leber, Michele

Customer Reviews

Poetic Analysis and Forensic Anthropology Track Down the Fate of an Acadian Friend
Bones to Ashes reaches back to roots in Longfellow's poem, Evangeline, and Dr. Temperance Brennan's childhood to solve an old mystery, whatever happened to Tempe's missing Acadian friends, Evangeline and Obeline. To do so, literary analysis, forensic anthropology, breaking encryptions, and diatomic sampling will be required.

As the book opens, you are carried back to Tempe's youth and her friendship with Evangeline and Obeline. Quickly, the book returns to the present as Tempe returns to work in Montreal to find a backlog of bones to examine. At that, Hippolyte Gallant who works on cold cases persuades her to look at one more set: some bones sitting in a police station that don't interest the local coroner. That set fascinates Tempe because it seems to be from a girl about Evangeline's age when she disappeared. Could this be Evangeline? That concern leads Tempe to investigate with her sister Harry's help into what happened to Evangeline.

Meanwhile, Andrew Ryan, Tempe's estranged lover, is working on a floater who may be linked to three missing persons and two unidentified bodies. Could there be a serial killer involved? Bit by bit, Tempe and Ryan connect the dots in unexpected ways. Will they reconnect personally? Ryan is pretty busy taking care of his junkie daughter and is put off by having seen Tempe's husband put his arms around Tempe. But at least they still share a cockatiel, Charlie, who provides some of the humor in the story.

As usual, the science is wonderful and five star in this book. As occurred with Break No Bones, the story and the rest of the writing creak in several ways that are hard to discuss without giving away the plot. The main weaknesses show up in these areas:

1. The Tempe-Ryan relationship seemed artificial and didn't ring true to me.

2. Harry's behavior and language were way over the top for me. Once again, it didn't ring true in several places.

3. The solution to Evangeline's disappearance is tied in part to a way of thinking that seems more than a little unlikely. I didn't buy it.

4. Basic facts about the suspects are poorly investigated. It seemed uncharacteristically sloppy for these characters.

The ties to Acadia are poetic and appropriate. That part of the story worked well.

If you are a big fan of the series, you'll probably think this is not one of the strongest stories. But you'll be glad you read it. Learning more about Tempe's childhood makes the story memorable for fans of Dr. Reichs' writing.

Not top Notch
The discovery of a young skeleton in Acadia is for Temperance Brennan (forensic anthropologist) more to her than another assignment. Tempe believes the bones could be her childhood friend Evangeline Landry, who disappeared three decades ago without a trace. Looking back Tempe vaguely remembers being told to forget Evangeline ever lived. --------------Could this New Brunswick skeleton be part of a series of cold cases Temp and Andrew Ryan have been investigating? Flooded with memories and armed with the latest techniques in forensics, Temp penetrates the past while the hunt is on to find the serial killer.

Set in Canada, Ms Reichs gives us an insight into the Acadians living in New Brunswick and the "Chiac" dialect spoken there. The fast-paced story line is action-packed, as expected. The subplots are interesting; Ryan plays a big part in the book. Temp's totally irritating and over the top sister Harry shoes up playing Nancy Drew. There is a fair amount of mystery and suspense converging into an interesting conclusion. As usual with Reichs, the science is superb. The author details human decomposition, with specifics about the processes of putrefaction, mummification, and saponification. Great if you can stomach the details. This novel is not one I would describe as top notch but it is better than average.

Dem Bones
One of the things I like best about mystery series is how the character develops. To me that is even more important than the mystery. Of course, what I really like is when the character==because of her characteristics---solves the mystery.

Tempe is a great, complex character. Her character, along with her methods is what solves the mystery, but it is her relationships and family ties, and the moving back and forth between different locales, that sets this series apart.

After the last book, we saw her relationship with Ryan in trouble. This was in part due to a misunderstanding of Tempe's involvement with her ex husband and Ryan's involvement with his daughter. At the beginning of this book the two must work together but remain distant. Ryan is moving back in with his ex so he can be a father to his daughter.

But Ryan and Tempe still work well together. The story begins with a flashback to Tempe's youth in North Carolina where all of a sudden her friends leave. Of course, we know that these people will become important to the mystery confronting Tempe today.

The mystery is complex and involves not just bones of recently murdered young girls but a very old skeleton as well. And, of course, we know that old and new must be connected.

To say any more will away too much of the plot. But things do happen between Tempe and Ryan. But we must wait for the next installment to find out just what they will be.

Another satisfying read from Kathy Reichs.