FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE TEMPERANCE BRENNAN SERIES

IT’S NEVER EASY WORKING FIRE SCENES.

Book blurb

Called to Washington, DC to analyse the victims of a mysterious arson attack, Tempe quickly finds her misgivings justified. The fire site is in Foggy Bottom, a neighbourhood with a colourful history, and as the pieces start falling into place, the property’s ownership becomes more and more suspicious.

Sensing a good story, Tempe teams up with a new ally, telejournalistIvy Doyle. Delving into the past, the duo learns that back in the Thirties and Forties the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant – until the son of one of the gang members is shot dead at his farm in Virginia.

When another Foggy Bottom Gang-linked property burns to the ground, claiming one more victim, what might have been coincidence starts to look more like targeted attacks. As she and Ivy dig deeper, Tempe’s instincts point towards the obvious: somehow, her every move since coming to Washington has been anticipated in advance. And every path forward brings with it a lethal threat.

My thoughts

There’s a desperate call taken by 911 from a young woman caught in a fire. Trapped in her room there are no windows and the fire is raging beyond the room’s door.

Kate, Tempe’s daughter, asks her mother to do an interview with Ivy Doyle, a friend, she agrees not really wanting to.

Tempe is all set for a week away with Andrew Ryan when she gets a call. There’s been a fire in Washington bodies badly burnt, can she help? She’s reluctant, obviously, but is persuaded to help. Ryan is not impressed, they row and end on bad terms.

The call to Tempe came from Washington’s ME, Jada Thacker. When she gets to Washington there’s issues with accommodation. The capital is heaving with tourists coming to Pride. Anyway, she is told that the Fire Officer in charge is Burgos, the lead on the police investigation is Deery.

When she gets to the scene Tempe finds that Burgos’ boss, Captain Hickey, is at the scene. There are two guys from the ME’s office waiting for her. They go in and recover the bodies. In all five bodies are found, one found in a sub basement not recorded on any plans.

When Tempe finds that she’s got nowhere to stay she accepts an invitation from Ivy to stay at her home. Ivy has done quite a bit of research on the property that burned.

Tempe is struck with the fifth body. She does the autopsy and finds that the body is that of a woman and she was dead before the fire, murdered! She wants to dig further into this mystery and after a bit of negotiation with Thacker, Tempe agrees to do some further work so Thacker agrees that she can pursue the case that would otherwise be left as unsolved – too old, too expensive!

Tempe digs into the past. Ivy is interested in what happened and tells Tempe what she has found. She also meets Ivy’s boyfriend. Ivy agrees to look after a friends chinchilla.

Then there’s another fire! Tempe is never going to get away! Yes, she helps with this one too.

Ivy is sent away for work. Ivy’s boyfriend has gone out of town so Tempe is left to care for the chinchilla!

Tempe is sharing her finds with both Burgos and Deery. As things move along Tempe joins Deery as he looks into some of the leads she has found such as noticing a yellow Camry at both scenes.

Whilst doing all of this Tempe has tried to contact Ryan but is only able to leave a message. What will happen between Tempe and Ryan?

Can Tempe and Deery find answers and catch the arsonist/murderer? Who is sending Tempe threatening message? As they follow the trail they find themselves in a very dangerous situation.

They have someone in custody! Just as Tempe thinks they’re resolving things she sees something that will put her in grave danger.

Then there’s another fire!

A young woman dies. Thacker does the autopsy. What’s going on? There seem to be links to the others but how can that be?

With one final twist all becomes clear to Tempe but when she’s confronted by a very dangerous person will she be able to save herself? Can she let Deery know? Will he get there in time?

Kathy Reichs brings us another fabulous story in the Temperance Brennan series. With Fire and Bones we’re fully immersed in the world of Tempe’s work and it’s fascinating as always. We get a wonderful storyline which brings us a deeply sad and lethal tale. It’s never easy for Tempe to let things go and she is determined to find out what is happening both in the arson deaths and in the cold case body. Even when she finds herself in difficult and dangerous situations she has a fascinating mind and thought process with an unerring ability to work out the truth of the matter.

Kathy Reichs never fails to deliver and with Fire and Bones she has brought us a terrific book, engrossing, entertaining it delivers on all fronts – characters, setting and absolutely on storyline – it’s a compelling and thoroughly engaging read.

Thanks

Many thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to join the BlogTour for Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs and to Simon & Schuster for kindly providing an eBook copy in order to read and share my thoughts.

BlogTour

Like to read more? Why not take a spin around these lovely blogs and then head below for links to obtain your own copy of Fire and Bones?

Information

Published: Simon & Schuster  6th August 2024|Hardback £20.00|ISBN 9781398531178|288 pp

Buy: Simon & Schuster | AmazonSmileUK | Waterstones | Hive UK | your local bookshop | your local library

Author: Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead, published in 1997, won the Ellis Award for Best First Novel and was an international bestseller. Kathy was also a producer of Fox Television’s longest running scripted drama Bones, which is based on her work and her novels. Kathy uses her own dramatic experiences as a forensic anthropologist to bring her mesmerizing thrillers to life. One of very few forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, Kathy divides her time between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Montreal, Québec.

Kathy Reichs – website | Kathy Reichs – Books | @KathyReichs – X