Break No Bones

By: Kathy Reichs

Narrated by: Dorothee Berryman

Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The inspiration for the hit Fox series Bones, Kathy Reichs explores another high-stakes crime from today's headlines, in a case that lands forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan in the middle of a gruesome international scheme.

Summoned to South Carolina to fill in for a negligent colleague, Tempe is stuck teaching at a lackluster archeology field school in the ruins of a Native American burial ground on the Charleston shore. But when Tempe stumbles upon a fresh skeleton among the ancient bones, her old friend Emma Rousseau, the local coroner, persuades Tempe to stay on and help with the investigation. When Emma reveals a disturbing secret, it becomes more important than ever for Tempe to help her friend close the case.

The body count begins to climb. Tempe follows the trail to a free street clinic with a belligerent staff, a suspicious doctor, and a donor who is a charismatic televangelist. Clues abound in the most unlikely places as Tempe uses her unique knowledge and skills to build her case, even as the local sheriff remains dubious and her own life is threatened.

Don't miss any of Tempe Brennan's investigations.

©2006 Temperance Brennan, L.P. All rights reserved (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"This novel confirms the series' place in the front rank of the ever-expanding forensic thriller subgenre." (Publishers Weekly)

Narrarator not suited for this genre

She came across as whiny and petty. Her voice was more suited to a romance novel. Her fake Southern accent was awful.
Loved the closing thought.

Break No Bones

This may be the inspiration for the TV Series "Bones" but other than names, sex & occupation, it bears no resemblance to the bland fare on the Tube. Kathy Reichs writes with knowledge & details which make the listener part of the investigation. The characters are real & the dialog believable. The Reader is able to bring the characters to life with credible accents & even hostility! I love this series & recommend it to anyone who loves Cornwall's Kay Scarpetta. Tempe Brennan is not as angry as Scarpetta but every bit as committed to her 'clients'. A good listen.

Quite dark but captivating

I have watched and liked the TV-series Bones but this was my first book behind that production. The book is quite different than the TV-show and at first it confused me a little. I must say the dark tones in this book made it little heavy to listen, but story was good. The love life of Dr. Brennan was quite prominent, perhaps too much for me. This book made me a little sad and it was depressing. Some medical terms were little difficult to follow in an audio book for me.

I think I need to find an other book of Kathy Reichs, perhaps a book where sun is shining.

Wouldn't listen to it again!

I thought this was slow and I don't think I would recommend it.

Great book, bad narrator

The story was great. Nothing more needed there.

However, this the ONLY reichs novel that I have listed to, and I have heard them all, that I STRONGLY dislike the narrator. They need to go back and find some of the others they used because this one was very poor and nearly ruined the book for me. They need somebody that sounds like TEMPE. She is a young, emotional and very powerful character, this reader represented these not at all. Particularly, the reader made tempe sound a little old, and that bothered me throughtout the whole book.

narrator accent

This book is the usual excellent story from Reichs but the narration distracts from full enjoyment, as Ms. Berryman has a slight French accent. The style of narration varies enough to have made me question whether there was one or two narrators. Sometimes Ms. Berryman was too breathy, almost whispering, sometimes lacking vocal warmth, while other sections flowed informally. However,the southern accents were very well done. Since this book was set in Carolina rather than Quebec, a narrator with French language skills wasn't as necessary. Other audio versions of Temperance Brennan have had narrators (3 different ladies)who could handle French, but had American accents in the US segments.

Break No Bone

Wonderful read! I highly recommend this book for intrigue and depth of plot!

Bones

Love following the story line of Temperance Brennan. I watch the tv show and read about her. Love the storylines on both. Great read

Not a fan of the narrator

While her performance was good, her voice was just not what I’ve come to expect of Tempe. It was too soft and too husky. Also, the pauses between chapters were too quick. Which was odd considering the last book I listened they were too long (the book in the series before this one)

No Bones About It...

...is this author wordy! Interesting characters, decent plot, but this book is evidence that manuscripts simply aren't edited any more. Advantage? You can lose your concentration on your ride home, take a phone call, and pick up with the narrative not having missed anything essential. Good, but v-e-r-y frustrating at times.