Cold, Cold Bones

A Temperance Brennan Novel, Book 21

By: Kathy Reichs

Narrated by: Linda Emond

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

“Reichs has written her masterpiece—smart, scary, complicated, and engrossing.” —Michael Connelly
“This page-turning series never lets the reader down.” —Harlan Coben
“The crowning achievement of a master storyteller.” —Nelson DeMille

#1 New York Times bestselling thriller writer Kathy Reichs’s twenty-first novel of suspense featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan who uncovers a series of gruesome killings eerily reenacting the most shocking of her prior cases.

Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. Freed from a heavy work schedule, Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe’s place one night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball.

GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. Soon after, Tempe examines a mummified corpse in a state park, and her anxiety deepens.

There seems to be no pattern to the subsequent killings uncovered, except that each mimics in some way a homicide that a younger Tempe had been called in to analyze. Who or what is targeting her, and why?

Helping Tempe search for answers is detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit—and still displaying his gallows humor. Also pulled into the mystery: Andrew Ryan, Tempe’s Montreal-based beau, now working as a private detective.

Could this elaborately staged skein of mayhem be the prelude to a twist that is even more shocking? Tempe is at a loss to establish the motive for what is going on…and then her daughter disappears.

At its core, Cold, Cold Bones is a novel of revenge—one in which revisiting the past may prove the only way to unravel the present.

©2022 Temperance Brennan, L.P. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Temperance at her best!

Good listen!!! Twists and turns the whole way thru. Ending sorta catches off guard, but would highly recommend for Tempe Fans

Loved this story!

Always engaging, cliffhangers that keep you moving to the next chapter. And satisfying wrap ups at the end.
Bravo.

Another Excellent Read!!

Another fantastic Tempe novel!! Couldn’t put it down! Love these books! Looking forward to the next one!!

Great story but rushed ending

Love all of her novels and was happy to finally have a new one…towards the end it became easy to figure out the culprit and the. The ending was just too rushed from the time of Brennan figuring it out to the conclusion. And I appreciate her formula but maybe there could be a different approach to the ending as this was pretty much like all the rest (won’t give spoilers but fans will know..). Also, why so little of Ryan? Last I recall they were hot and heavy in Canada..now..no mention really of their actual relationship..was looking forward to more depth there.

Always a Superb Choice

Tempe Brennan stories are always a winning read for me. It seems like she's been consistently on my TBR forever. This novel is a good representation of Ms. Reichs' work with plenty of moments I couldn't have foreseen, and an antagonist with a serious agenda.

I am mildly disappointed that Andrew Ryan didn't play much of a role in this story. He's always been a favorite part of these reads for me, and I genuinely missed his witticisms, sharp dialogue, and balance to Tempe. I was also surprised that I actually pinpointed the murderer early on in this story. That rarely happens with me since I'm not the sort that has to figure everything out beforehand. I like to let the story organically unfold. I suppose I'm proof that even a broken clock is right twice a day. Regardless, my deductions ferreted out the antagonist, but not the motive, and it did not distract from my enjoyment of the novel.

This book is recommended to those who enjoy good mysteries or thrillers with that forensic M.E. twist. Few do it as well as Kathy Reichs.

Good if you are a fan

Perhaps I know her formula too well. I find the story interesting enough despite mining previous tales and seems to indicate the end of the Brennan stories because little is new here. I would have liked more of Ryan because I like Ryan,!

Another wonderful book

I always like these Tempe books. The mystery killings were very unusual. I thought Linda Emond did a very good narration. I'm looking forward to the next book already.

want a nail biter this is a good one

could not stop listening to it I was hooked until the end great book. all the twists were massive

Decent

This was not the best in the series. Harder trying to get into this. Overall was good story with a weak ending.

Easier than usual to solve

I’m a huge fan of the Temperance Brennan books, and normally the reveals (of the killer) are a little more surprising. I was able to figure this one out at about 3/4th of the way through. I love this narrator because I think she does a phenomenal job with the individual voices, as well as the French dialect/accent. It’s a great book all around.