Grave Secrets

By: Kathy Reichs

Narrated by: Katherine Borowitz

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

It was a summer morning in 1982 when soldiers ravaged the village of Chupan Ya, raping and killing women and children. Twenty-three victims are said to lie in the well where Dr. Temperance Brennan and a team from the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation now dig. No records were kept. To their families, the dead are "the disappeared."

The team is packing up for the day when an urgent satellite call comes in. Two colleagues are under attack. Shots ring out, and Tempe listens in horror to a woman's screams. Then there is silence. Dead silence.

With this new violence, Tempe is asked by the Guatemalan police for her expertise on another case. Four privileged young women have vanished from Guatemala City in recent months. One is the Canadian ambassador's daughter. Some remains have turned up in a septic tank. Unfortunately, Tempe knows septic tanks.

Teaming with Special Crimes Investigator Bartolomé Galiano, and with Montreal detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe soon finds herself in a dangerous web that stretches far beyond Guatemala's borders. As power, money, greed, and science converge, Tempe must make life-altering choices.

From cutting-edge science in the lab, where Tempe studies fetal bones and cat hair DNA, to a chilling encounter in a lonely morgue, Grave Secrets is powerful entertainment from a crime fiction superstar who combines riveting authenticity with witty, elegant prose.

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

©2002 Temperance Brennan, L.P., All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved, AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"The author keeps the twists coming, and by the novel's climax, she has skillfully interwoven her many subplots and red herrings into a satisfying puddle of sex, sleaze, greed and gore." (Publishers Weekly)
"One of [crime fiction's] more complex and interesting protagonists." (Amazon.com)

Tempe Digs In

This my second Tempe Brennan book, and I like them. The female protagonist, complete with her tangled, complex love affairs works well. The use of both French and Spanish, along with the view of contemporary Canada adds a little international spice to the mix.

The author does a good job of mixing in historical and technical information about forensics and modern biology, which is welcome.

My one complaint is the anti-NRA diatribe which is stuffed into the early part of the book. I normally allow authors to use their work to promote their political views, but this one is so clumsily done and blatantly obvious that I must object. It feels as if a cut-and-paste from an anti-NRA website was stuffed into the novel, paradoxically right after a scene where the good guys might not have been harmed had they been armed. It just didn't work.

The book is well worth your time: history, travel, romance, and mystery, all in a generally well-written package.

Boring narrator

Would you be willing to try another book from Kathy Reichs? Why or why not?

Already have and they're good. :)

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Very boring tone of voice. Nearly monotone and hardly any expression or difference between characters. Can't believe they used this narrator for more than one book. Other narrators were way way better, save one. Definitely reading the other books with this narrator not listening. ICK. Wish I'd listened to the sample more carefully. :(

Not Bones...

If you're expecting the quirky, impersonal, naive Bones from the TV show...you may be disappointed. Tempie in the books has a kid, has been married for a long time, and doesn't work primarily from her lab with her crew of squints. Don't fight the differences and enjoy the books for what they are...good mystery novels. This was my first Kathy Reichs book, and since then I have started 206 Bones...maybe more similarities will become apparent the more I read. The books are worth a try, so...happy reading!

Yawn

When the book started, I didn't think I was going to make it through. The narration is some of the most monotonous I've heard in a long long time. Her accents were great, but the narrative was boooooring.
The story was disheveled and almost felt piecemeal. Not really cohesive.
I did love the science when it did rear its beautiful head.
This is NOT 'Bones', so do not come in expecting anything even close to those characters or that banter. I judge this book on its own, not on its dissimilarity to the TV show, although I can say that the witty dialogue from the show would have been a welcome addition, but perhaps I will find that in later books.
Worth the listen once you can get past the single tone narrative, and for the hope that the series (and narrator) warm up.

Superb

The greatest listen is always a partnership. Reichs tells a terrific tale that Katherine Borowitz brings to life. This is one of those books that kept me sitting in the car just to hear another sentence or two.

Well worth a listen

Tempe Brennan is a character with a sharp mind and a sharp tongue. Some of her wise cracks made me laugh out loud. The story was interesting but could have been "fuller" (sometimes it seems like things that list as unabridged have been condensed)

Excellent book.

I am disappointed only that the first few books in the series are not available in audio form.
The book is well written. I enjoyed the internal monolog that adds depth to tempi.
The reader is not perfect but IMO is not actually bad. I did not have problems following transitions between characters etc.

Another Great Temperance Brennan Adventure

Exactly what you'd expect from Reichs. I'm hooked. Go listen to the previous books first.

good book, terrible recording

The sound is terrible on this book. it ruined the experience. i love the temperance Brennan series and i hate to skip this

The story kept you engaged

I liked the idea of the story. This was a little darker. Liked the ending.