Bones Never Lie: Signed

Bones Never Lie is the seventeenth book in the popular Temperance Brennan series by American forensic anthropologist and author, Kathy Reichs. Tempe is summoned to the Cold Case Unit in Charlotte when victim characteristics (pre-pubescent teenaged girls), posed corpses, undetermined cause of death and DNA evidence point to coldblooded serial killer, Anique Pomerleau, a woman suspected of murders that Tempe and Detective Andrew Ryan investigated ten years earlier in Montreal. Ryan’s input is needed, but he has disappeared in reaction to his daughter’s untimely death. The condition of Tempe’s mother, Daisy is another distraction from the case, which itself becomes more urgent with the disappearance of another young teen. Added to this is the friction between Slidell of the CMPD and Agent Tinker of the SBI, involved for political reasons. With assistance from a surprising quarter, Tempe tracks down Ryan and somehow induces him to assist.

The investigation sees Tempe travelling to Montreal, Vermont and back to Charlotte as more previously missing teens are found to fit the description and a pattern emerges. While there is less about bones in this instalment, there are still several interesting items explored: the use of lip prints; preservation of bodies in syrup; carbon monoxide poisoning; and a rare genetic disorder that acts as a red herring in the investigation. Suspects keep turning up dead, leading to more than one anti-climax, and there is an unexpected shooting. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot before the breath-taking climax is reached.

Readers will welcome the return of Detective Ryan with his clever quips: the snappy banter between Ryan and Tempe has always been an enjoyable feature of these novels. The introduction of the smart and sassy Daisy Brennan is a (hopefully not-too-short-lived) delight. Reichs will also please many fans with a surprise in the final pages and once again proves she is at the top of her game with this excellent page-turner.