Spider Bones is the thirteenth novel by Kathy Reichs starring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.
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, 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 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, 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."
also commented on how Reichs' scientific expertise contributes positively to the book, and that she delivers "a whopper of a final twist".
External links
