''Spider Bones'' is the thirteenth novel by

Kathy Reichs Kathleen Joan Reichs (née Toelle, born 1950) is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic. She is an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Early life and education Kathleen J ...

starring

forensic anthropologist Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification o ...

Temperance Brennan Temperance Daessee Brennan is a fictional character created by author Kathy Reichs, and is the hero of her crime novel series (which are usually referred to as the Temperance Brennan novels). She was introduced in Reichs' first novel, '' Déjà D ...

Alternate Title

It was released under the title ''Mortal Remains'' in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Plot

Brennan is called to examine a newly-dead body in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, which turns out to be that of John "Spider" Lowery, an American ex-soldier apparently killed in Vietnam in 1968. After exhuming the remains buried under Lowery's name, she travels to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

to check the US military records, along with her grieving daughter Katy (whose friend has been killed in Afghanistan), where they are joined by sometime lover Detective Andrew Ryan and his recovering addict daughter Lily. As Brennan begins to uncover the truth, the two girls are put in danger.

Critical reception

Writing in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', David Evans said that Reichs' expertise means that her "descriptions of grisly autopsies ring true" but that "Sadly the same cannot be said of her dialogue, and the banter between Brennan and her love interest falls flat." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' also commented on how Reichs' scientific expertise contributes positively to the book, and that she delivers "a whopper of a final twist".

External links

Kathy Reichs' site
on ''Spider Bones''

References

Novels by Kathy Reichs 2010 American novels American crime novels Charles Scribner's Sons books Heinemann (publisher) books {{2010s-crime-novel-stub