206 BONES
Kathy Reichs
Scribner
Thriller
ISBN: 9780743294393
Like her lead character, Dr. Temperance Brennan, bestselling author Kathy Reichs is a well-known forensic anthropologist. Those not familiar with this ongoing mystery/thriller series may know of the successful FOX television show, “Bones,” which enters its fifth season this year and also stars Dr. Brennan. It is here where the comparison ends.
Unlike the program, the Dr. Temperance Brennan of Kathy Reichs’s successful series of novels works primarily in Montreal while retaining dual residence in North Carolina. There is no Agent Booth (the David Boreanaz character on “Bones”) in these books. Instead, we have to contend with Montreal Lt. Detective Andrew Ryan, who shares a similar friend/love interest relationship with his professional work partner. While the characters on the TV show all seem to work well together, with minor quirks, those working with Tempe in the novels are not all warm and fuzzy, and she pretty much leads a solitary existence keeping the workplace relationships mostly professional at all times.
The book’s title takes its name from the total number of bones found in the typical human body. Believe me, both Reichs and her fictional character know each and every one of these bones by heart. If you think the TV series tends to get technical in the forensic descriptions, you better brace yourselves for the well-written novels, which go into forensic and anthropological detail that is unmatched by any other author writing in this genre today. 206 BONES opens with a strange, almost dreamlike sequence in which Tempe finds herself trapped in a dark and enclosed space with no idea how or why she got there.
The novel continues to flashback (or, in this case, flash forward) to these images of premature burial throughout. At its onset, Tempe and Ryan find themselves in Chicago where they are personally accompanying a set of human remains discovered in Montreal. The remains are that of a deceased older woman named Rose Jurmain, who was from a storied Chicago family with deep connections and litigious tendencies. Tempe and Ryan find themselves under the scrutiny of both the Jurmain family and Chicago law enforcement. Tempe is accused, by an anonymous tipster, of botching Jurmain’s autopsy and even intentionally covering up a murder.
Upon their return to Montreal, Tempe finds the mood within her lab quite cool, and no one, with the exception of Ryan, is coming to her defense. Ryan and other members of his investigation unit have been working a series of cases where senior-aged women have been murdered around Canada, and they start seeing a pattern. As they begin their normal working relationship with Tempe’s forensics lab, a number of glitches occur whereby bones are lost following autopsies and dental remains are mislabeled. All of this land again in Tempe’s lap, and her acting supervisor Hubert feels she is guilty of negligence and puts her on warning. This coupled with the anonymous tip sent to Chicago now jeopardizes her career, and she begins to doubt herself and her usually keen abilities.
Additionally, a new member of the team, Marie-Andrea Briel, has taken the opportunity to make a name for herself by working late hours and apparently cleaning up Tempe’s mistakes. Tempe and Ryan find out that Briel and her husband, Sebastian Raines, have started a for-profit forensic organization, and the chance for positive publicity in the wake of Tempe’s mishaps may be just what they need to make a name for themselves. Could Briel and her husband be sabotaging Tempe, or is a more intricate deception involved? Tempe finds it difficult to forget her own career troubles as she continues to aid Ryan and his team in their efforts to connect the series of murders and link them to one serial killer. Little do Tempe and Ryan know that these killings may have a more direct connection to both the Chicago Jurmain family and the conspiracy taking place within the Montreal Forensic Laboratory. Their continued pursuit of the truth may have dire consequences for Tempe far beyond the smearing of her professional reputation.
In the afterword to 206 BONES, Reichs poses the question --- “How many guilty have gone free and how many innocent have been convicted?” --- stated in connection with botched diagnoses made from faulty or insufficient forensic evidence. Tempe speaks of the Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to finding justice for those wrongfully imprisoned. Reichs does a masterful job of connecting these real-world legal issues involving forensic science to this novel by suggesting that some individuals in this field may be guilty of stepping outside the bounds of their own specialties and muddying the waters by extending themselves into areas they are not certified in. 206 BONES not only tells a compelling mystery/thriller tale, but also speaks directly to actual incidents that challenge the field of forensic science world-wide.
--- Reviewed by Ray Palen
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