Tag / Kathy Reichs

by admin

Book 18 (of 52) – Evil Bones

Evil Bones – Kathy Reichs

Mutilated animals, displayed in an odd manner, have been appearing throughout Charlotte’s parks, but Dr. Temperence Brennan fears that the person responsible is escalating and will soon work his way to humans.  Working with semi-retired homicide detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, Brennan works to find the offender before that happens, but they are too late.  When the case starts becoming more personal for Brennan, she needs to start putting together all the clues before someone close to her, her daughter or her niece, become the next victims.

Evil Bones is the 24th and latest entry in Kathy Reichs’ Temperence Brennan series and is now the eighth book in the series that I’ve read.  This one seemed a little rushed, coming in under 300 pages, with an underage niece that continually goes missing that everyone is concerned, but not too concerned, about and a conclusion that certainly could have used more show and less tell.  This was easily my least enjoyable outing with the series, at lease since I rediscovered it following the conclusion of the television show, Bones, that it inspired.

by admin

2025: The Year In Books

As 2025 comes to a close, my fifth full year of remote working, I managed to once again surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 66 books, five books more than my previous high set last year and my fifth consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I completed the challenge in mid-October and surpassed last year’s total in early-December.  I read 25,279 pages, by far my highest total of all time and just the third time I’ve managed to surpass 20.000 pages.

Of those books, only two were non-fiction and, of the remaining 64 novels, only six were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with two hard covers, three paperbacks, 61 e-books and no audiobooks.  I was forced to switch my library card from the Chicago Public Library to my local library, which slowed me down a little but still led to 55 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

Over 71% of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 21 authors that I read for the first time this year were:

Coco Mellors Aisling Rawle Stephen Graham Jones
Liz Moore Natalie Sue Kaliane Bradley
Max Brooks Mary Shelley Paul Tremblay
Nathaniel Hawthorne Kelly Bishop Tanya Pearson
Liane Moriarty Benjamin Stevenson Ashley Winstead
Ashley Elston Alison Espach Alice Feeney
Ali Land Lindsay Jamieson Jeneva Rose

Karin Slaughter, Laura Lippman, Kathy Reichs, Lee Goldberg, Stephen King, Emily Henry, Elin Hilderbrand, and Rebecca Forster were the authors that I read multiple titles from during 2025, accounting for nearly 35% of my total.

22 of the books I read were released this year, while none were released during the 20th century.  Two came from the 19th century, with the oldest first published in 1818.

Finally, the breakdown by month, which was fairly consistent across the entire year. Continue reading →

by admin

Prolific Authors Wrap Up

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. This year, I’ve far surpassed my previous record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into all of those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  Today, we wrap things up with a look back at the 109 authors I’ve read more than once.

Largest Increase (since 2023)

Pieces of Her – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter – 7
Stephen King – 6
Laura Lippman – 6
Jeffery Deaver – 4
Lee Goldberg – 4
Elin Hilderbrand – 4
Kathy Reichs – 4

Largest Increase (since 2011)

Solitude Creek – Jefferu Deaver

Karin Slaughter – 19
Jeffery Deaver – 18
Erle Stanley Gardner – 14
Richard Castle – 13
Stephen King – 12

by admin

Book 56 (of 52) – Speaking In Bones

Speaking In Bones – Kathy Reichs

When a web sleuth visits Temperance Brennan with theories and new evidence in a cold case, she starts Brennan off on an investigation that eventually solves two missing persons cases, a decades-old murder, and a present-day homicide.  In her personal life, Brennan finally gives Ryan an answer to his proposal.

Speaking in Bones is the 18th entry in Kathy Reichs’ Temperence Brennan series and is now the seventh book in the series that I’ve read.  My enjoyment of the series only grows the further away we get from the ending of the television show, Bones, that it inspired.

by admin

Prolific Authors – Six Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We continue today with the four authors I’ve read six times, two more than two years ago.

Swan Song – Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand

The best-selling author of novels set on her home island of Nantucket added four new novels to my read shelf these past two years.

David Mack

All six of his entries come from Star Trek: The Next Generation works I’ve read on my Kindle.

Sarah Pekkanen

She has teamed up with Greer Hendricks for four novels but has branched out on her own again in recent years.

Break No Bones – Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs

The creator of the books that were the inspiration for Bones, she has been rising steadily as I’ve gained a newfound appreciation for the novel series.

by admin

Book 36 (of 52) – Bones Never Lie

Bones Never Lie – Kathy Reichs

Whan a cold case in Vermont matches the MO of a murdered child in Charlotte, they both seem to tie back to the same killer: a Canadian woman who escaped from Temperance Brennan in Montreal years earlier.  After a quick trip to Costa Rica to pull in her former lover, Brennan follows the clues and discovers who the actual killer is.

Bones Never Lie, the 17th entry in Kathy Reichs’ Temperence Brennan series, follows up on Monday Mourning, which I read back in 2023.  This is now the sixth book in the series that I’ve read and the fourth since the end of Bones, the television series based on the books.  My enjoyment only grows the further away from the show’s ending we get.

 

by admin

Book 5 (of 52) – The Bone Hacker

The Bone Hacker – Kathy Reichs

While working on identifying the bones of a Turks and Caicos native dug out of the water of a Montral harbor, Dr. Temperence Brennan is invited down to the Caribbean nation to investigate a series of similar murders and the bodies that were recently discovered.  When she arrives, the mysteries keep piling on, including a boat full of dead bodies that travelled 600 miles and the suspicious death of the investigator that invited her to the island, Brennan works with a local detective to try and tie all of the pieces together.

Published in 2023, The Bone Hacker is the 22nd Temperance Brennan novel from Kathy Reichs.  As I’ve said previously, my enjoyment of these novels has increased tremendously the more removed I am from the television adaptation Bones, now that I am able to enjoy them for what they are and not be so concerned with how they are different from the show.  With 23 total novels in the series, I have plenty of catching up to do,

by admin

Book 43 (of 52) – Break No Bones

Break No Bones – Kathy Reichs

While working on a dig of prehistoric graves with a group of students, Dr. Temperence Brennan finds a much more recent corpse.  She calls in an old friend, the local coroner, who asks Brennan for help in identifying the remains.  When more bodies show up, she teams with the local sheriff, her ex-husband, and her Canadian boyfriend to identify the bodies and break the case.

Break No Bones, the ninth novel from Kathy Reichs to feature Temperence Brennan, was released in 2006.  After a long absence, I returned to the series last year and found that, years removed from the television adaptation Bones, I was able to enjoy the books for what they were and not worry about the differences between the show and its source material.  With 23 books in the series, I have plenty of catching up to do,

by admin

Book 53 (of 52) – Monday Mourning

Monday Mourning – Kathy Reichs

When three sets of bones are found buried in the basement of a pizza place, Montreal police call in forensic anthropologist Temperence Brennan to determine if there is a crime worth investigating or if they have been there for a hundred years or so.  When she narrows down the victims to the 80s and 90s, the hunt is on to find the perpetrator.  Taking the investigation into her own hands, Brennan tracks down the building’s previous tenants and digs into their pasts.  Can she find the truth before she becomes the next victim?

After a thirteen-year absence, I found myself returning to the works of Kathy Reichs with Monday Mourning, her seventh entry, and my third, in the Temperence Brennan series.  That long break, along with the six years since the adaptation Bones left the air, helped alleviate the issues I had previously had with the series.  I was able to enjoy the book for what it was, rather than compare it to the show that I watched for twelve seasons.  I might even try to revisit the rest of the series sooner rather than later.

by admin

Prolific Authors – 2 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we start things off with the now 41 authors I’ve read twice, an increase of six over two years ago.

Max Barry

An Australian author, I’ve enjoyed the two novels of his I’ve read, Jennifer Government and Company.

Laura Caldwell

I have no idea how I came across the work of this local author, but I must have enjoyed it enough to go back for seconds.  Unfortunately, she passed away in 2020.

Michael Chabon

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the most recent of the two works of his I’ve read.  I have another, Wonder Boys, waiting in the to read pile, so he rise up some day.

Fate Of The Union – Max Allan Collins with Matthew V. Clemens

Matthew V. Clemens

The co-author, with Max Allan Collins, of the final two chapters of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Ernest Cline

The man responsible for both Ready Player One and Ready Player Two.

Bill Clinton

The former president has co-written two novels with James Patterson.

Felicia Day

The first author here that I’ve happened to meet in person.

Cameron Dokey

She makes the list based on two entries in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.

Diane Duane

Living in Ireland, she is responsible for a Star Trek: The Next Generation book and a Spider-Man novel, of all things.

Warren Ellis

The comic writer, currently in exile after being called out for abusing women, makes the list thanks to two prose novels.

David Fisher Continue reading →