Break No Bones

Time to break out the shovels and dig into the latest Temperance Brennan suspense story. Tempe, as she is called, is the forensic pathologist creation of novelist Kathy Reichs, who writes her crime stories in a way that would do CSI proud.

In “Break No Bones,” Doctor Brennan is teaching an archeology class, and finds recent bones at the ancient site. The county coroner is deathly ill, so it’s up to Tempe to prescribe an ID for the victim.

Forensic pathologists will revel in the graphic detail given to the cutting, slicing, and dicing in the procedures – the rest of us can look up the medical terminology or skip over the passages. (It’s forgiven just like looking away when the CSI gets up-close and personal in TV autopsies.) In fact, if you’ve seen “Bones” on the Fox network, you’ve been watching Doctor B at work.

“Break No Bones” is the ninth book in her series, but Reichs manages to seamlessly present the backstory, allowing first-time readers to keep up with seasoned fans, and Tempe is a down-to-earth character with a real-life outside the morgue.

The story involves a free health clinic in South Carolina, a missing private eye, and bodies that begin turning up as regularly as Southern hospitality. It doesn’t take much detective work to figure out what is going on, but that may be a good thing, since Tempe is more of a Watson than a Holmes. She huffs and blusters, and in the end, the crime gets solved.

Fans of Patricia Cornwell will find an updated heroine. Especially if short sentences appeal. And clause fragments. Really.

Even for those who’d rather be outside while the autopsy is on, Reichs provides a solid story, a believable character, and an understanding of the science that brings it all together.