Simon&Schuster, London 2020

Kathy Reichs has written an impressively long list of “bones” novels by now, this being her latest “global” bestseller with her alter ego forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. And like her creator Brennan has aged quite a bit, still suffering from headaches after surgery for an aneurysma in her brain.

Nevertheless she throws herself into the investigation of another child disappearance, reluctantly aided by police investigator Slidell. Brennan is acting close to a nervous breakdown, wildly slashing out at any suspicious occurence instead of logical deduction and patient follow-ups. This character reminds me of the late V.I. Warshawski by Sara Paretsky.

Reichs`strength lies in her pleasantly eloborate style, although she also perfectly depicts police slang with all the abbreviations and acronyms. “Thanks to trigger-friendly gun laws, my fellow citizens shoot one another with glorious enthusiasm.” (p. 12)