Rating: 
Summary: A tedious, rambling and unfocused novel.
Review: "Bare Bones" is the new novel by Kathy Reichs and it is number six in the Temperance Brennan series. Dr. Tempe Brennan is a forensic anthropologist and part-time sleuth whose knowledge of human and animal remains helps her solve difficult cases. This time around, Tempe becomes embroiled in a complicated investigation that includes a possible infanticide, illegal trafficking in endangered species and drug running. As a sidebar, Tempe's romance with Andrew Ryan, the hunky Canadian detective whom she has coveted in the past, is finally heating up. Tempe is as nervous as a schoolgirl about the future of this relationship. On every level, "Bare Bones" is unsuccessful. The cast of characters is lengthy and confusing, and the plot meanders along pointlessly throughout much of the book. It took perseverance for me to wade through this tedious novel, and by the time I got to the end, I was well beyond caring who did what to whom. To make matters worse, Reichs's dialogue is too often preachy or cutesy. She also has an unfortunate habit of overusing italics and exclamation points to indicate that Tempe is stressed out or in danger. I recommend that you skip "Bare Bones," since it is far less entertaining than the previous five novels in this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Bare Bones
Review: I anxiously waited in line, my heart racing, at my local book store. Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs was finally being put on the shelves and I was there to get my copy! Escounced in my favorite chair, I shut the world out and opened that first page. By the time I had read the last page and slowly closed the book, I thought to myself, "This can't be a Kathy Reichs' book; this is awful!" I felt like I had been cheated.
Rating:
Summary: Losing Her Touch
Review: I can't remember if Tempe Brennan was always this annoying, but somehow it doesn't seem like she was. Throughout the book, the plot seems secondary to Brennan's snide comments about the people she works with. Everyone is "straight out of central casting," wearing a tie "got from a Kmart bargain table after the good ones had already been picked," "has the IQ of parsley." No single character in the book seems to escape Brennan's ire, with the exception of Andrew Ryan. Their romance finally heats up, but with her attitude, the only thing you wonder about is why he bothers with her.
Rating: 
Summary: More entertaining adventures for Tempe, more of the same¿
Review: "Bare Bones" is the sixth novel in the Tempe Brennan series, and as such builds upon previous characters, past events, and past plots, but hey...if the formula works, don't mess with it. Brennan, like author Kathy Reichs, is a forensic anthropologist who works between North Carolina and the province of Québec identifying causes of death and IDs remains too badly mangled or maimed for local experts (including the occasional animal). In "Bare Bones" we find Tempe back from her expedition in Guatemala (the setting of her last novel "Grave Secrets") about to go on a much-needed and long-anticipated beach vacation with detective Andrew Ryan, a colleague from Montréal. However, a series of ominous events derails her leisure time: a newborn's charred remains found in a crack house, a downed drug plane, a cache of bear (and human) bones on a farm, and missing federal agents draw Tempe into another sinister web of deception, danger and death. A mysterious stalker, the Grim Reaper, threatens all that Tempe loves by leaving chilling snapshots as seen through the scope of a high-powered rifle. What has Tempe stumbled onto? This time around (and much to my consternation), Tempe spends no time in my beloved Québec. That was one of the draws that I loved so much in "Déjà Dead:" the vivid descriptions of "La Belle Province," the descriptions of local Montréal hangouts and restaurants, the charming québécois touches, all set Kathy Reichs apart. In "Bare Bones," however, Reichs grounds Tempe in the South. I loved the research about Melungeons (a subject of great interest to me). Melungeons (meaning "cursed" or "lost soul") live in the Appalachians and are believed to be descendants of Portuguese sailors, Roanoke survivors, First Nations, and possibly Turkish slaves among others), but overall the book seemed to cover less new ground than past outings. Similarly, the three plots are much less loosely connected than in previous novels. The budding romance between Tempe and Ryan was very deftly and gently carried out, although Ryan is not actually present for most of the novel. Tempe's Green Party rants at the end of the book seemed incongruous, more a political statement than in character for Tempe, but overall "Bare Bones" is another enjoyable read from Reichs. I only hope the next novel is set in Québec once more.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfactory, but not as good as some others in the series
Review: The remains of a new-born baby are discovered in a wood stove. Bones are discovered in two plastic bags in a wood, and further investigation finds more bones in a farmhouse nearby. A small plane crashes on a North Carolina hillside and bursts into flames. A mysterious black substance is found on the bodies of the pilot and passenger and the burnt-out interior. These events bring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan into a whirlpool of mystery that will eventually end with her taking a life. It's good. It's not great. It's certainly not Fatal Voyage or Death du Jour, but is more like the quality of Deadly Decisions. Tempe remains the wonderfully human character that she always has been, and there are some magical moments between her and daughter Katie that are guaranteed to please readers, as well as a very welcome return from Andrew Ryan, who, even though fictional, simply sizzles on the page. However, aside from that, there isn't a great deal in the way of further character development, even though it is interesting to see a novel with Tempe firmly entrenched in the city of Charlotte for the first time in the series. And it's a series that, what with all the possible locations and directions it can take, certainly remains fresh and promises to do so for quite a while yet. Reichs' dialogue, as always, is brilliantly snappy, acute, and amusing, even if there is a little much of it, and there's plenty of great detail to make this an incredibly good and authentic thriller on the forensics front. Reichs' writing style is quirky and somewhat eccentric, but only because she's such a wonderful first-person writer, really getting into the head of her main character (maybe because, I suspect, there is a great deal of the writer herself supplanted into the protagonist) and making the writing seem curiously human. However, Bare Bones (as well as being a little too short to be fully developed) ultimately suffers from something that a couple of her books have done: She gets bogged down in bones. Or, rather, the reader does. There are rather too many sets of bones and crimes and villains, and as a result it's very easy for the reader to get them all muddled in their mind. There are too many criminals mixed up in the goings on, and to be honest by the end it's a job to keep up with who killed which person where and how and why they did it. But, with a little careful checking of your facts, this can still remain a mostly satisfying and hugely suspenseful pageturner of a thriller. To be honest, the quality of Reichs' novels seems to be entirely subjective...every year, each new book runs the entire gamut of reader opinion, with some thinking it her best, others her worst, and everything else in between. This book will probably get a very similar reaction, so the most sensible thing to do is to try it out for yourself and see.
Rating:
Summary: Grim, Read Mad Light by Maddox
Review: The one and most annoying characteristic of this are the details and excess personalities that do get confusing mixture. I think Kathy became unintentionally grounded in gruesome detail. The storyline however is super and direction is intelligent. I believe she simply over wrote this one. refer to Maddox's Book, Mad Light.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as her first.
Review: Deja Dead was her first and best so far. Bare Bones has too many characters and subplots and ends too quickly, and the book is rather short. But it is entertaining, and has good "page turning" quality. I wish it could be worked to allow Tempe Brennan and Special Agent Pendergast (of Cabinets of Curiosity, etc fame) to combine forces in an investigation.
Rating: 
Summary: Forensic pathology lite.
Review: This is an OK entry in the series of books by Reichs. But, in comparison to her previous books, I just felt this one was sort of, well, .... lite. Nothing wrong with it, but at only 304 pages, there just wasn't that much to it. And the very preachy last few pages were WAY out of place. I happen to agree with opinions expressed in these last few pages, but a novel is not the place to preach.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as her first
Review: Bare bones gets bogged down with too many characters and subplots. After a while, it was difficult to focus on who was doing what and why. Deja Dead, her first novel, was so intense and focused, that it is difficult to comprehend how the author has come to "lose the scent." She is a good and craftful writer,who just needs to reel her story in.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant storytelling
Review: Tempe Brennan shuttles between Charlotte, North Caroline and Quebec serving as a forensic anthropologist as needed. Currently she is in Charlotte, informing someone she knows that his granddaughter was burned to death in a wood stove and the police want to question his daughter. After she performs that grim duty, she, her daughter and their dog attend a barbecue party. When the canine behaves like he did once before when he found a body, Tempe looks and finds bones. Her initial determination is that they are bear remains, which leaves her happy that no one was murdered and she and her Canadian boyfriend can go on a vacation. Just hours before she is to pick him up, she is called to the site of a plane crash where the bodies of two men were burned beyond recognition. While examining the bones for clues to the identity, Tempe relooks the bear remains and finds a human bone. This discovery leads to a series of events that force Tempe to either take a life or forfeit her own. Kathy Reichs gets better with each book she writes. Considering the stratospheric level she started at that is quite an accomplishment. Her protagonist has made life-altering decisions and acts upon them so that the character stays fresh. BARE BONES is a thriller that fans of Patricia Cornwell and Linda Fairstein will enjoy. The novel contains just enough forensic data to make the story line understandable but not enough to overwhelm the reader. It is easy to predict that this book will be a New York Times best seller. Harriet Klausner
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