Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones (UK 2011)

From the Publisher:
It's the second-to-last day of archaeological field school. Dr Temperance Brennan's students are working on a site of prehistoric graves on Dewees, a barrier island north of Charleston, South Carolina, when a decomposing body is uncovered in a shallow grave off a lonely beach.

The skeleton is articulated, the bone fresh and the vertebrae still connected by soft-tissue; the remains are encased in rotted fabric and topped by wisps of pale, blond hair - a recent burial, and a case Tempe must take.

Dental remains and skeletal gender and race indicators suggest that the deceased is a middle-aged white male - but who was he? Why was he buried in a clandestine grave? And what does the unusual vertical hairline fracture of the sixth cervical vertebrae signify?

While Tempe is trying to piece together the evidence, her personal life is thrown into turmoil. When a bullet - intended, perhaps, for her - puts Tempe's estranged husband Pete in hospital, her unexpectedly emotional response complicates her on-off relationship with Detective Andrew Ryan.

But before long, another body is discovered - and Tempe finds herself drawn deeper into a shocking and chilling investigation, set to challenge her entire view of humanity...

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones. A shallow grave. A sadistic killer. A chilling investigation for Dr Tempe Brennan. Arrow, ISBN: 9780099556589 (September, 2011), 496 p., £7.99.

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones (USA 2007)

From the Publisher:
Among the ancient remains in a Native American burial ground, Tempe discovers a fresh skeleton -- and what began as an ordinary teaching stint at an archeology field school in Charleston, South Carolina, fast becomes a heated investigation into an alarming pattern of homicides. The clues hidden in the bones lead to a street clinic where a monstrous discovery awaits, and Tempe -- whose personal life is in upheaval, with two men competing for her -- can't afford any distractions as she pieces together a shattering and terrifying puzzle.

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones. A Novel. Pocket Books, ISBN: 0743453034 (August, 2007), 445 p., $9.99.

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones (UK 2007)

From the Publisher:
A decomposing body is uncovered in a shallow grave off a lonely beach...
The skeleton is articulated, the bone fresh and the vertebrae still connected by soft-tissue - it¹s a recent burial, and a case Tempe must take.

Dental remains and skeletal gender and race indicators suggest that the deceased is a middle-aged white male - but who was he? Why was he buried in a clandestine grave? And what does the unusual fracture of the sixth cervical vertebra signify?

But just as Brennan is trying to piece together the evidence, another body is discovered - and before long Tempe finds herself drawn deeper into a shocking and chilling investigation, set to challenge her entire view of humanity...

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones. The New Tempe Brennan Bestseller. Arrow, ISBN: 0099441519 (March, 2007), 468 p., £6.99.

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones (UK 2006)

From the Publisher:
It's the second-to-last day of archaeological field school - the students are working on a site of prehistoric graves on Dewees, a barrier island north of Charleston, South Carolina, when a much more recent burial is uncovered...

The skeleton is articulated, the bone fresh and the vertebrae still connected by soft-tissue - it's a case forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan has to take.

But her investigations soon have her in too deep, her entire view of humanity challenged, and the further she probes, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger...

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones. The New Tempe Brennan Bestseller. Heinemann, ISBN: 043401544X (November, 2006), 339 p., £11.99.

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones (USA 2006)

From the Publisher:
Following the tremendous success of Cross Bones, Kathy Reichs explores another high-profile topic in Break No Bones -- a case that lands forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan in the middle of a gruesome international scheme.

Summoned to South Carolina to fill in for a negligent colleague, Tempe is stuck teaching a lackluster archaeology field school in the ruins of a Native American burial ground on the Charleston shore. But when Tempe stumbles upon a fresh skeleton among the ancient bones, her old friend Emma Rousseau, the local coroner, persuades her to stay on and help with the investigation. When Emma reveals a disturbing secret, it becomes more important than ever for Tempe to help her friend close the case.

The body count begins to climb. An unidentified man is found hanging from a tree deep in the woods. Another corpse shows up in a barrel. There are mysterious nicks on bones in several bodies, and signs of strangulation. Tempe follows the trail to a free street clinic with a belligerent staff, a suspicious doctor, and a donor who is a charismatic televangelist. Clues abound in the most unlikely places as Tempe uses her unique knowledge and skills to build her case, even as the local sheriff remains dubious and her own life is threatened.

Tempe's love life is also complicated. Ryan, her current flame, has come down to visit her from Montreal, and Pete, her former husband, is investigating the disappearance of a local woman -- and he and Tempe are staying in the same borrowed beach house. Ryan and Pete compete for her attentions, and Tempe finds herself more distracted by her feelings for both men than she expected.

Break No Bones is a smart, taut thriller featuring the kind of high-stakes crime that makes the headlines every week. Reichs, the inspiration for the hit FOX TV show Bones, is writing at the top of her form, and Tempe has never been more compelling.

Kathy Reichs: Break No Bones. A Novel. Scribner, ISBN: 0743233492 (July, 2006), 339 p., $25.95.