Bones to Ashes (Temperance Brennan #10) by Kathy Reichs

For Temperance Brennan the discovery of a young girl’s skeleton in Acadia, Canada, is more than just another assignment. Évangéline, Tempe’s childhood best friend, was also from Acadia. Named for the character in the Longfellow poem, Évangéline was the most exotic person in Tempe’s eight-year-old world. When Évangéline 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. And what is the meaning of the strange skeletal lesions found on the bones of the young girl?

Meanwhile, Tempe’s beau, Ryan, investigates a series of cold cases. Three girls dead. Four 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.

Kathy Reichs is one of my favorite authors. I realize I am extremely far behind on her Temperance series, but I have most of them. Reading them all in order, Bones to Ashes was the next in line. The tempo of the story was fine for the story itself, but sometimes it felt too slow. This one was not as strong as the previous ones, but it held my interest.

Temperance Brennan is, once again, faced with a puzzle. This time, though, it is personal. In this story, I found Tempe a little annoying, tunnel visioned, and too much like the TV series (which I did like, but Bones got super annoying after a while). Things are changing in her life. Her ex has plans for his future and she is not sure where she and Andrew Ryan stand. Because of this, she becomes snappish towards those around her. I am defiantly interested in where Tempe’s character development heads.

One thing I did like in this story was more Harry (Harriet). She is a character I enjoy reading. Her craziness makes me laugh. In this story, it was the first time that I remember Harry playing sleuth. It was fun seeing her in this position and how proud she was of her sleuthing. I look forward to seeing more Harry in the series and her development. She is a fun pain in the butt character, a complete opposite of Tempe, and I love that balance.

What I am not sure if I liked was the awkwardness between Tempe and Ryan. I understood the reasoning behind the awkwardness and am aware this will probably continue in the next few books, but I missed the fun bantering between the two. In this book, you could see the change in Ryan. The tension, frustration, and stress are visible in multiple ways.

This series setting goes back and forth between the United States and Canada. In this book, we are in Canada. I have always enjoyed learning about different countries and this series gives me a glimpse. This time, though, it was a sad story, and you can tell the research that went into it.

Even though this story was not as strong as the previous ones, it was still interesting. The story gave us, the readers, a peek into Tempe’s childhood, which so far, we have not had. I recommend this story to those who like thrillers, mystery, medical thrillers, crime thrillers, the tv series Bones, and the other Temperance Brennan novels.

I give this book a 3/5