206 Bones is the latest in the Temperance Brennan series. The book opens with Tempe Brennan realizing, to her shock and horror, that she has been buried alive. Most of the book is devoted to her looking back trying to figure out who buried her. The book is set in Chicago and Montreal with most of the action taking place in Montreal. For those familiar with the series the only major recurrent character is Andrew Ryan, with whom she has had an on again off again romance, which is currently off.
There are two primary mysteries in the book. The first is to find out who is killing elderly women and the second is who and why Brennan has been buried alive. The problem with the book is there is not much of a mystery in either. The hunt for the killer of the women is mostly a police procedural, showcasing Reichs’ knowledge of forensic anthropology. Reichs makes no attempt to create tension or suspense in this plot line.
As for the second mystery, who buried Tempe, the answer will be apparent halfway through the book, as the perpetrators are also some of the most obvious suspects. While that is the sign of a poorly plotted mystery novel, the major flaw is that Tempe is blind to these suspects. Tempe’s blindness is so blatant that I actually found the book a source of irritation. I wanted to yell at her to get a clue.
While I have enjoyed Reichs’ earlier work this book is a mediocre try at best. Further, the inability of Brennan to see who is behind her abduction is so bad it makes reading the book painful at times. This is a 3 star book at best
