As always Kathy Reichs delivers yet another fabulous instalment in the Bones series. I love that she has continued to develop the characters and as they age different challenges face them and mortality becomes more real. 
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

This book was definitely worth the wait!

Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthrapologist who goes against her new boss to try and solve the case of the faceless corpse. With the help of Slidell and her career in Charlotte on the line, she is determined to solve the mystery, whilst also battling with her health. 

Once again Kathy Reichs delivers a great story. I was hooked from start to finish trying to piece everything together. Hopefully we'll get another Tempe book soon.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been following the series, reading it on and off, yet Kathy Reichs always manages to capture my interest; she definitely doesn't miss a step, "A Conspiracy of Bones" is as good a crime novel as any and could certainly stand on its own.

Tempe Brennan, forensic anthropologist is back in the much awaited 19th book in the series.  However, felt let down by this one, with no work set in Quebec, the book is primarily set in Charlotte.  However, following an upset with the new Chief Medical Examiner, Tempe is now off on her own investigations with the help of old acquaintance, Slidell.  Found myself skim reading this book as the adventures got a bit far fetched and off focus.   Plus only a brief encounter with beau, Ryan.

Firstly Thanks to Netgalley for early access to this book. 

So I never finished this book I had to DNF it, when I originally requested this I didn’t realise this was the 19th book in w series and it couldn’t be read as a stand alone so I literally had no idea what was going on but I tried to keep going.  

I got 29% of the way through before I realised I had to give up on this book! I loved the tv show Bones and as the show was based off these books I thought Temperance would be like she is in the show but boy was I wrong. 

Temperance isn’t as dense as she is in the show and her language, using words like selfie, I just didn’t think is something she would do. The plot was hard to keep track off as it was a lot of back and fourth and as others have said there was a lot of thick info dumping based off research Temperance was doing to find links. 

As I said though I DNF this book as it wasn’t for me.

In a similar vein to all the others in the series. Good enough in parts however it is quite formulaic as you might expect so far down the Temp Brennan route 

I personally feel the need for a long break as I have done in the past with a Patricia Cornwall

A most welcome return of Tempe Brennan and with an even more convoluted tale for her to get involved in. Could not quite manage to finish the book in one sitting as my days are just not long enough. In retrospect, taking a little longer to read the book gave me the opportunity to better digest some of the twists and turns; of which there are a lot. If you really enjoy reading well-crafted crime books, I highly commend this one to you.

A Conspiracy of Bones, the latest of Reichs’ novels featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, is set against a backdrop of conspiracy theories and the deep web.
The goodies and baddies are clearly identified from the outset and Brennan doesn’t spend too much time on forensic anthropology, but lots of time haring off after villains.
After having been swept up in the chase, the ending feels like lying on a slowly deflating airbed – not just an anti-climax but quite depressing when the case comes too close to real-life.
A shame, because I’d enjoyed it till then.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

Temperance Brennan receives photographs of a corpse via text on her phone.  She does not recognise the number that sent them.  The corpse had been mutilated by feral hogs but the new medical examiner, Dr Heavner, someone Brennan has no respect for, does not call her in for a consult and the corpse remains unidentified.  Brennan starts her own investigation but is hampered by the symptoms of her medical condition.  Her investigation, with the help of Detective Siddell leads to a controversial radio host and has links with missing children cases. 

Thanks to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster and Kathy Reichs for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review

I just love Kathy reichs / temperance Brennan. Always a rollercoaster of a read and never disappoints. She sifts  through the bones of it literally. Highly recommend and still eagerly await the next in the series 20 books on.

This was not Reichs' best work. The writing was not the usual quality and the story just a bit far fetched and ridiculous. It seems that a longer a series goes on the worse the books become.

Not the best Kathy Reichs I have read. There was no way near enough medical/forensic content which is the main reason for reading this genre. I hope the next offering returns to the format Kathy Reichs is well known for and her readers expext. Sorry but not the best.

Back after a hiatus; and she is back with a bang - the 19th Temperance Brennan novel is a worthy addition to one of my favourite long running series, even if I can't get David Boreanaz out of my head as Booth/Ryan.

The storyline was, as always, gritty and I really got sucked into the deep dark with Tempe.  I felt her frustrations regarding her job and being frozen out by her new boss, and her health issues, and the shock death of a long standing side character which happened in the previous novella, First Bones.  I really enjoyed hearing this newer, and at times, more rash Tempe.

Some of my favourite components of Reich's novels were present, and seeing more of Skinny Slidell is always amusing.  I really enjoyed A Conspiracy of Bones, and can't wait for the next instalment.

I am afraid I stopped reading this book at 30%.?I found it very boring and long winded. A shame as I usually enjoy Kathy Reichs books but not this one.

I do like Kathy Reichs - she is one of my favourite writers.  Her first books had a bone-squelching noir that no other books had, making her unique as a writer (and a pretty twisted mind to come up with some of the plots.  

However, whilst I did enjoy this book, I felt that it had become a bit of a parody of what Kathy Reichs is as a writer.  It was nice, for a change, to have the main character in trouble at work, but it all works out perfectly in the end, with her nemesis getting whats deserved - would possibly have been better if there was more ambiguity in the end, rather than wrapping everything up as a perfect example.  

And also starting to get annoyed of the "Tempe works out exactly whats going on, so she dashes off to solve the world and leaves the reader hanging..." - too many times.  Its a formula that Kathy over-relies on now.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for an advance copy of A Conspiracy of Bones, the nineteenth novel to feature forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan.

A conspiracy of Bones is the 19th outing for Temperance Brennan and the outing is just as good as the rest of the Temperance Brennan adventures.

It’s sweltering in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Temperance Brennan, still recovering from neurosurgery following an aneurysm, is battling nightmares, migraines, and what she thinks might be hallucinations when she receives a series of mysterious text messages, each containing a new picture of a corpse that is missing its face and hands. Immediately, she’s anxious to know who the dead man is, and why the images were sent to her.

A Conspiracy of Bones is a fast paced book that keeps you guessing and has lots of twits and turns. It was good to catch up with Temperance, Ryan and of course Birdie (whom I always worry about in every book)

A Conspiracy of Bones contains some difficult subject matter that can make for some tough reading.

Overall another excellent book by the queen of crime, Kathy Reichs.

Kathy Reich writes a great addition to her forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan series, set in Charlotte, North Carolina, that has her facing a challenging set of circumstances whilst grieving the loss of her boss, Dr Larabee, the Chief Medical Examiner. The appointment of the self aggrandising Margo 'Dr Morgue' Heavner is a disaster for Tempe, they have clashed before and Heavner's hatred ensures that Tempe is no longer wanted in the department. Tempe has good reasons to be unhappy, Heavner seeks fame and the media spotlight, is unethical and lacking integrity, with no qualms about endangering justice in the interviews she gives. Additionally, Tempe is all over the place, thanks to the consequences of her aneurysm, which has her questioning her abilities and experiencing migraine induced hallucinations, unable to know what is real, leaving her struggling to sleep, frustrated and paranoid.

Tempe receives mystery texts that show photographs of a faceless corpse that rouses her curiosity but she has to go rogue to investigate, relying on leaks, illicitly taken photographs and smuggling out evidence. The victim has been eaten by feral hogs, leaving him faceless and difficult to identify, missing hands, clothes with no labels, making it difficult to discern whether he was murdered or had committed suicide. Tempe is aided by retired detective, Erskine 'Skinny' Slidell, now working cold cases at the Charlotte-Mecklenberg PD that has the two of them identifying the man eventually but faced with little information on him. Who is he? Is he a spy, a child abductor, or a paedophile or worse? Tempe finds herself coming across and delving into the rabbit hole that is the elusive Nick Body, a provocateur spewing countless conspiracy theories with millions of followers, having to reconstruct case notes after the loss of her laptop and mobile phone, as she pulls at numerous threads where so little makes sense.

One of the reasons that this is such a good series is that Kathy Reich herself is an accomplished forensic anthropologist herself, so invests Tempe with an authenticity and professional knowledge that draws on cutting edge developments in the field and real life cases. Here, Reich strips Tempe of all that she normally relies on, her professional abilities, her memories, shut out of her job and normal resources, along with the loss of all her records, photographs and evidence. Tempe is in a place where she is unable to discern reality from illusion, mirroring the territory of the conspiracy theorists peddling their fake news and bombarding their suspect views on a people unable to separate fact from fiction. This is a fabulous addition to a wonderful series. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for an ARC.

A Conspiracy of Bones – Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs is back with another Temperance Brennan novel. I’ve read quite a few of these books (though not all of them) and I’m pretty certain I’ve read them out of sequence, which has never harmed my enjoyment:  Kathy Reichs fills in the necessary back story, so each can be enjoyed in isolation from its library-mates. I was delighted to have been forwarded a copy in advance of publication, because I’ve enjoyed Dr Brennan’s company every time we’ve met. 

'A Conspiracy of Bones' did not disappoint. I was pretty sure I knew what to expect; Temperance Brennan using her skills, experiences, and expertise – and pulling in favours across departments and disciplines – to solve a grisly murder or two. I got what I expected, and then some. I thought I knew the ‘formula’ when I settled down to read the book. I was pleasantly surprised, however. Yes, there was a body. Yes there were grisly details, and Dr Brennan used all she had – including her relationships with law enforcement, and other professionals – to bring us answers about who the body was, and how, and why, it ended up where it did. There were, however, quite a few surprises that I felt were brave choices for the writer. 

I enjoyed how Reichs gives us information about the technicalities of law enforcement, forensic anthropology, and the Dark Web without being patronising. The details are woven into the narrative naturally, and fairly seamlessly. That said, I found the presentation of the back-story a bit clunky and confusing. I’ve read authors do similar with a lighter touch – Patricia Cornwell’s 'Scarpetta' books, for example. 

The 'Bones' series treads the thin line between being suitably detailed, and gratuitously gruesome, which I appreciate: I like to read books written by people who assume that their readers have some basic knowledge (and know how to look up what we’re unsure of). Kathy Reichs is a wonderful writer, with many gems such as ‘Unger was built along the lines of dental floss – tall and skeletal, with skin the color of a toilet bowl…’ littered thoughout the text. I will admit, however, that her penchant for eschewing full sentences during the narrative – as opposed to in direct speech – irks me. 

What annoyed me even more, however, was the blatant product placement. At first, I thought it might be essential to the plot - that there was something germane to the story that could only be accounted for by a particular type of phone, or laptop. I was wrong. There was no good reason why a certain type of tech was referred to so many times. And - 'a Starbucks'? Really? Anyone I know who drinks the stuff just refers to it as 'coffee'. 

Finally, when the loose ends have been tied up and we have a resolution, and we think the book is finished, there is more. In a poignant afterward, Kathy Reichs shares some of her own recent, personal history that has informed and shaped some of the challenges faced by Dr Brennan in ‘A Conspiracy of Bones’.  There is a delicate intimacy to this sharing which made this reader feel oddly privileged. The final brave choice by the writer in this novel.

The last Temp Brennan story I read was No 12 "206 Bones" so I'm a few years behind and Temp has certainly had some changes thrust upon her. She has an aneurism which may be the cause of her severe headaches/migraines and occasional blackouts, she's based back in Carolina with a new and unpleasant boss and Ryan remains in Canada but retired and now working as a private investigator. She's sent some photos of a body with most of the face missing and goes full-out to try to determine who he was and the rest of his sorry story. The story is as complex as I would expect but there is far too little of forensic work and far too much police procedural stuff for me. This does not feel right for Temp especially as she goes rogue at times with little thought about lines of evidence and all that. Ryan pops up  now and then but mainly for a bit of 'nooky' and contributes little to the story. The main problem I had was with the stilted, staccato narrative which felt more like '30s gangster-speke than Temp. I tried hard to believe that this written to emphasise her illness and frame of mind but, I'm sorry, it just didn't seem 'right', besides the too many colloquialisms of  the Deep South and which were totally baffling to me (I really can't be bothered to go and web search for their meanings!). I shall certainly read my missing volumes in Temp's stories but do not believe that that will improve my thoughts about "A Conspiracy of Bones". Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

5* It's in the details, details, details, and Tempe's doggedness. Excellent.    

I've not read a TB tale for some years now, stopping where Ryan and Tempe seemed more on than off and when the tales had started to seem more angsty than mystery-thriller. Picking this up was like walking back in time, but to a happier time where Ryan and Tempe are a firm couple on a compromise of their needs/wants, etc. I liked that. I didn't need to pick up any other books to be able to jump back into the series, and there were sufficient tidbits that I clocked that Tempe had been ill and Ryan had retired and both were getting used to a new life together. I loved seeing Birdie still alive and well and on his high horse, lol!

As to the tale: EXCELLENT in every way. I loved the detail, the dovetailing, the eureka moments that Tempe's frankly brilliant brain has and her interactions with the various friends and colleagues that make all the pieces of the story come together. There were times when I thought Tempe should slow down, take a timeout and think about where she was about to tread where no doubt angels would fear, but that would have been out of character for her.

I can't fault this tale in any way. Well, at the end it sounded like Tempe was back in favour job-wise (will have to check out what happened there) and was back in Quebec, but what of Birdie? No doubt he was being looked after by the trusty neighbour, but didn't he use to get bundled up into the cat carrier and taken travelling? And, what about Boyd? Maybe there we're meant to read between the lines. Sob.

ARC courtesy of Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.