Product Description

The discovery of a skeleton in Acadia, Canada, reawakens a traumatic episode for forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan: Could the young girl's remains be those of Évangéline Landry, Tempe's friend who disappeared when Tempe was twelve? Exotic, free-spirited, and slightly older, Évangéline enlivened Tempe's summer beach visits...then vanished amid whispers that she was "dangerous." Now, faced with bones scarred with inexplicable lesions, Tempe is consumed with solving a decades-old mystery -- while her lover, detective Andrew Ryan, urgently needs her attention on a wave of teenage abductions and murders. With both Ryan and her ex-husband making surprising future plans, Tempe may soon find that her world has painfully and irrevocably changed once again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107486 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Linda Emond brings the same high level of expertise to Reichs's 10th Temperance Brennan forensic thriller as its author does to the series. Both women understand instinctively that simply rattling off details of DNA matches and other scientific data isn't enough: it's making listeners believe in the people collecting that data. The cold case of a missing Quebec girl becomes a very personal quest for Brennan when she discovers that the bones in question probably belong to a childhood friend-a figure of fascination and sophistication who suddenly disappeared from Brennan's life at the age of 15. Emond brings both Tempe and her friend Évangéline Landry to vivid life. She's equally good in briefer scenes with Brennan's lover, Ryan, who investigates the dead girl's link to a predator who might still be active. Reichs, who might be the legitimate heiress to Patricia Cornwell's throne, has a winning partnership with Emond.
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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