Flash and Bones

Temperance Brennan, Book 14

By: Kathy Reichs

Narrated by: Linda Emond

Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan’s office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble’s sister, Cindi, then a high-school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi’s? Or Cale’s?

At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, only to terminate it weeks later. Was there a cover-up? As Tempe juggles multiple theories, the discovery of a strange, deadly substance in the barrel alongside the body throws everything into question. Then an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes missing during Race Week. Tempe can’t overlook the coincidence. Was this man using his lab chemicals for murder? Or is the explanation even more sinister? What other secrets lurk behind the festive veneer of Race Week?

A turbocharged story of secrets and murder unfolds in this, the 14th thrilling novel in Reichs’s “cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series” (The New York Times Book Review). With the smash hit Bones about to enter its seventh season and in full syndication - and her most recent novel, Spider Bones, an instant New York Times best seller - Kathy Reichs is at the top of her game.

Body of evidence: investigate more of Temperance Brennan's forensic cases.

©2011 Kathy Reichs (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

One of my favs

Any additional comments?

This has to be one of my favoriates. I love this series and Linda Edmond is the best voice for Brennan.

Tempe/Bones....always a favorite.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tempe is always so relaxing to spend time with. I love her attitude to life and profession. She inspires me to be better in every area of my life, and she's not even trying to influence me!!!

Have you listened to any of Linda Emond’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This one is solid and easy to listen to. I always find her to be excellent as a story teller.

A little too simple

I don't usually figure out the ending until the end. I was surprised this one was so simple.

Don't start here if you're new to the series!

I am a hard-core Bones fan, and last summer started reading the books that the series is based on. Her writing style amuses me and I love the mysteries... That said, this was probably the worst book in the series. That doesn't mean it's bad, but there's much less science in the book than normal; I learned more about NASCAR than I did about forensics (Ms. Reichs is a real live forensic anthropologist much like her Temperance Brennan counterpart). I really look forward more to the books set in Canada than the Charlotte, NC settings--I like Detective Andrew Ryan better than "Skinny" Slidell.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't read it if you like a good mystery, but I'd highly recommend some of her earlier books before this one... 206 Bones is spectacular (her first), Cross Bones is a wild ride, and Grave Secrets is wonderful.

If you like the TV show and you haven't read any of her books, start with those, as this one might turn you off the series if you start here, it's totally not up to her normal level. :)

The narrator has voiced other books in the series and does a great job with the southern accents.

Well predictable ending but good story line

What did you love best about Flash and Bones?

That is one had a few twists and turns I couldn't as easily predict who did it as in other book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well Temperance of course would of loved for her to be more proactive instead of the damsel in distress again.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

a good book better one of the series.

Any additional comments?

If you are a first time reader to this series do not start here start from book 1 and don't worry the books get better as you go on. However if you are looking for a gripping edge of your seat novel that you can't put down and come back to these books are not for you. If you are into human science and some chemistry well these series do touch base with a lot of knowledge with in the story lines of factual science, that I find interesting.

A great listen - again

What made the experience of listening to Flash and Bones the most enjoyable?

I really like listening while I work on other things.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Always love Tempe Brennan the best!

Have you listened to any of Linda Emond’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoy her performance of the book. I always feel like I see the characters represented distinctly.

Oh for Old Tempie Back!

I wonder if there comes a time when a writer is so completely out of ideas for a reoccuring character? I do feel sorry for Kathy Reichs. I have no doubt that she has supplied us with enthralling tales over the years but it seems as if Tempie is changing somehow. There was hardly any of the "technical talk" I've read in the last two books but the writer felt the need to educate us on the vaious enroads "to" and "from" the NASCAR circut. I was hesitant to purchase because of the plot setting but rather thought that the "mystery" should outshine any ambiance from the NASCAR venue; I was wrong. There were many lengths of conversation lent to explaining a subject within the NASCAR arena so that the reader would be better equipped to understand proceeding information. It was as if you knew a lesson was about to begin when you sensed a change in the plot....every plot.
There were countless characters in the story and I found myself relistening to keep up. Had it not been for the brilliance of the narrator to "find" so many voices I may have lost altogether.
I keep coming back to Tempie because I hope for more of the old but, so far, it's not quite happened in the last couple of books. Sorry.

winner

As with the other books in this series Kathy Reichs has done it again. Great story line info on NASCAR I didn't know. plus love the Villeneuve touch!

Motor Speedways Beware!

Nascar will never be the same for me! I am not a fan of car racing, but this story by Kathy Reichs was enlightening on the whole world of racing cars. It reminded me of closely knit societies, sporting hierarchal politics and debuts! I like the Temperance Brennan in the book series much more than in the TV version. She is more like a real person and easier to connect with as in this book.

Not up to her usual standards

Like others who have reviewed this title, I was disappointed in Kathy Reichs' newest tale of Temperance Brennan. I think I was disappointed for different reasons than other listeners have been, however. I, too, miss having more interaction with Detective Ryan, daughter Katie, and other favorite characters. But I could have been pleased with more of a "straight mystery tale" if the mystery had been up to Reichs' usual standards. Sadly, I found this one to be a little obvious. I discerned the identity of the murderer quite early on, and thought that Brennan was being a little dense in not catching on herself. Brennan has previously been painted as a very bright and logical woman. In this book, she fails to ask obvious questions about opportunity to commit the crime, and winds up putting herself in a dangerous situation from which she must be rescued by a man. I don't like the "damsel in distress" role for Tempe, and I hope Kathy Reichs is not spreading herself too thin with the Brennan books, her teen series, and the tv show. Spend a little more time on Tempe next time, please!

Kudos, however, to the reader. The production of this audio is spot-on, as usual.