Review: Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs

***** 5 Stars

I am a huge Temperance Brennan fan having discovered Kathy Reichs ten years ago so I was really pleased when I received an ARC of her latest book via NetGalley. Bones Never Lie is Temperance Brennan's 17th outing and the last couple of books in the series have been slightly off the boil so knowing this book picked up on a case from an earlier book I was keen to see if Reich's was back to her best.

The Blurb 

Unexpectedly called in to the Charlotte PD’s Cold Case Unit, Dr. Temperance Brennan wonders why she’s been asked to meet with a homicide cop who’s a long way from his own jurisdiction. The shocking answer: Two child murders, separated by thousands of miles, have one thing in common—the killer. Years ago, Anique Pomerleau kidnapped and murdered a string of girls in Canada, then narrowly eluded capture. It was a devastating defeat for her pursuers, Brennan and police detective Andrew Ryan. Now, as if summoned from their nightmares, Pomerleau has resurfaced in the United States, linked to victims in Vermont and North Carolina. When another child is snatched, the reign of terror promises to continue—unless Brennan can rise to the challenge and make good on her second chance to stop a psychopath.

But Brennan will have to draw her bitter ex-partner out of exile, keep the local police and feds from one another’s throats, and face more than just her own demons as she stalks the deadliest of predators into the darkest depths of madness.

In Bones Never Lie, Kathy Reichs never fails to satisfy readers looking for psychological suspense that’s more than skin-deep.

My Thoughts

Tempe gets a call from Charlotte PDs Cold Case Unit a young girl has been murdered in North Carolina and DNA links the case to an old one of Tempe's, the murder of a young girl in Canada. Brennan is shocked when she learns that the DNA belongs to an old adversary of hers, Anique Pomerleau. Pomerleau is in fact the one who got away, almost killing Tempe in the process. She is the person who has haunted Tempe's dreams for years.

There is only one person that Tempe feels can her help with this case & that is ex-boyfriend, Detective Andrew Ryan. Unfortunately left reeling by the death of his daughter, Ryan has disappeared so before she can even immerse herself in the case, Tempe sets of the track Ryan down, discovering him in Costa Rica. All she has to do then is convince him to return to North Carolina with her to help with the investigation.

It would appear that several girls have been murdered and cold cases are being reopened. With a string of murders from Vermont to North Carolina and a new girl vanishing pretty much from Tempe's doorstep it seems that the serial killer is moving into Tempe's home territory and getting just a little too close for comfort. Is Pomerleau working on her own? Has she teamed up with a new partner? Why is Tempe so firmly in her sights? All the clues point strongly to the one who got away but is it all really as it seems.

I loved that in this book Reich's take us back to one of her earlier novels Monday Mourning. It is great to see Tempe facing the demons of not only what happened with Pomerleau but also those around her relationship with Ryan. Ryan hasn't really appeared in the last two books so it was good seeing playing such a big role in Bones Never Lie. I enjoyed seeing Ryan and Brennan together again even it it was only as friends. Tempe obviously still has feelings for Ryan but knows that he is beyond reach and decides it will be better having him in her life as a friend than not at all. Be warned there is a huge surprise at the end of the book that will just leave your jaw hanging open.

We see more of Tempe's mother in this book, she's ill and in a kind of care home with not an awful lot of time left but when she is lucid she is able to help Tempe with her case as she proves to be a bit of a whizz on the internet. The book has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing and overall is a fantastic psychological thriller that left me wondering right up until the very end.

As always with a Reichs book it is full of great forensic detail and the plot is tense and full of suspense. It is a book that can be read without having read anything else by Reichs or indeed Monday Mourning as Reichs gives enough insight that it can be read as a standalone. 

This book was truly Reichs back to her best and I am now desperate to read book number 18.