I think Kathy Reichs needs to find a new direction for her novels. Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan has become stale.
I enjoyed Bare Bones, but there was nothing new or different in the tone and style.
Brennan this time solves a mystery involving the trade in exotic animals and the murder of two wildlife officers.
She predictably survives threats and a murder attempt, rescued again by a policeman she doesn’t like and sort of protected by dashing hero Andrew Ryan. At least her romance with Ryan has progressed.
The dog, Boyd (Hooch), is an interesting character in its own right, funnily enough, but I think there needs to be another dimension if Reichs is going to persist with Brennan.
There are only so many adventures a forensic anthropologist can have.
If you come to this book as your first experience of Reichs you’ll find it interesting, but for a veteran reader it’s plain repetitive.
I’d like to see Sheriff Lucy Crowe from Fatal Voyage developed as a lead character in her own right. That would enable Reichs to use her talented writing skills as a crime writer, skipping some of the scientific jargon that necessarily accompanies Tempe Brennan.
