Really enjoyed this book. I’m a big fan of this series and this book didn’t disappoint. The storyline was great and flowed really well. It kept me interested and engaged the whole way through. I will definitely buy this book as a gift, I’m sure it would be really gratefully received. A great read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Australia for the advanced electronic copy of this book. I’m a long time fan of Kathy Reichs and her main character Tempe Brennan so I was pleased to get this! This was a new story, as are most of her books, but with character cross over; reflections on existing relationships and reference to prior events in previous books.
An interesting story starting with an eye ball, and culminating in the typical scenario where Tempe solves the mystery and simultaneously gets herself into a difficult situation.
An easy read, full of the usual one liners, sarcasm and wit that is expected of Tempe.

The latest dose of Tempe Brennan features some quirky (but harmless?) characters who take meals at a men’s shelter, a parks ranger with an inflated opinion of his anthropological expertise, and some “preppers”, survivalists, one of whom displays an unhealthy interest in serial killers. Reichs does manage to seamlessly pack in lots of interesting tidbits but she also has Tempe annoying the reader a few times, going in by herself when she should know better.

I will always love the Temperance Brennan books! This one was based solely in the US, and primarily features Tempe with a significant side of ex-detective Slidell, so it was a bit of a departure from the norm. However, I think the whole set up worked really well, and although I like Ryan, it was nice to have a story that didn’t involve him helping out. I also felt we saw more of a human side to Slidell, who often comes across as quite an unlikeable character. Having Katy come back and seeing how her story dovetailed with Tempe’s investigation was also a nice touch too.

The opening line hooked my interest straight away, and I was intrigued to see how the case was going to be solved. I did guess the baddie about half way through (I managed to put the clues together!) but it didn’t detract from what was an interesting and solid mystery.

If you’re new to the series, each book can be read as a standalone, but there’s a lot of background that you miss, given the series spans quite a few years. But this has definitely been one of my favourite reads this year, and I don’t feel that Kathy Reichs has lost any steam, given this is book 21!

I love Kathy Reich's books, but this one seemed to be missing something, I found it just a little to predicable this does not mean I will not be reading her next one.

Another outstanding book by Kathy Reich's, this one started out great and continued to the end, that's where I lost it because it felt a bit rushed. Great character development. Thank you Simon and Schuster Australia and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
#netgalley #coldcoldbones

Another winner! Since the early books in 1997 this long standing series keeps packing the punches and keeping you guessing without losing any momentum. Can hardly believe that this is number 21!
Although Temperance has changed a lot during the series, she is so well written that it never gets boring. You'll love this if you have a stomach for grisly details and a love of the genre. Big thanks to the author and to Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for a review.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Kathy Reichs can always be relied upon for an entertaining, edge of your seat read...and this was no exception. Number 21 in the Temperance Brennan series and still going strong. Side characters come and go but Tempe continues on and hopefully will for many more.

Any book series of great length is going to have its highs and lows. On the back of Temperance Brennan’s notably strong 20th outing The Bone Code, I had been eager to see what fresh criminal depravity Reich would have her iconic forensic anthropologist investigate in this 21st novel. But as it turns out, Cold Cold Bones it is quite literally a case of ‘what is old is new again’.

Cold Cold Bones could glibly be described as a mixed tape of Brennan’s best hits, akin to those photo boards or slideshows parents typically rollout at 21st birthday celebrations. This 21st novel certainly features several of Tempe’s most grisly past cases and pulls together many of her past colleagues and acquaintances, but does so in a way that I think enhances, and perhaps reinvigorates the anthropologist’s characterisation. Continue reading: https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/2022/07/kathy-reichs-cold-cold-bones-review.html

Temperance Brennan, forensic psychologist, was helping her daughter Katy move into her new home. She was finally home from her two stints in the army, and Tempe was more than happy to see her. Ryan, Tempe's significant other, was a PI and working in Montreal at that time, so contact was sporadic. The night Katy arrived to have dinner at her mother's annex, she picked up the box which was on the doorstep - and Tempe's troubles began.

Slowly, Tempe and retired detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell (but still working in the CCU - cold case unit) found evidence that someone was killing and mimicking cases that Tempe had been involved in years prior. As the investigation ramped up, the killings came closer together, and each one had something personal for Tempe. When Katy became uncontactable to Tempe, her anxiety heightened - then a good friend whom Tempe was due to meet, committed suicide. What was going on? And where was Katy? Ryan arrived back from his job, to join Skinny and Tempe in their search. Would they identify the killer before more people disappeared?

Cold Cold Bones is the 21st in the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs and once again, the author has nailed it! A brilliant episode, with gritty, chilling events, the usual nit picking from Skinny to Tempe, her talking to herself (and Birdie - the cat), and Ryan with his dry humour. The twists and turns, of which there were plenty, saw me pick the killer (I was right) but the getting there was filled with suspense and intrigue! Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

It will come as no surprise that Kathy Reichs is one of my all-time favourite authors, so a happy dance was done when I was provided and early reading copy of Cold Cold Bones.

The story starts with a rogue eyeball which instantly piques your interest and compels you to follow the clues and see where they will lead. In true Kathy Reichs fashion, there was lots of murder and mayhem, with twist after twist being thrown at you. The storyline was gripping and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it, one that was hard to put down and kept me invested until the very last page. This is number 21 in the Temperance Brennan series but could easily be read as a stand alone novel.

The writing is engaging and so easy to read in one sitting that it took restraint to put it down. After reading every book in the series it always feels like I am part of the family, knowing all the characters so well, and the additional development into Katy, Tempe’s daughter who has recently returned from active service was a welcome addition. The deep dive into her state of mind was very interesting and also relevant for the current state of play in the world.

A top-notch thrill ride and one I highly recommend.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia and Netgalley for this early reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5★s
Cold, Cold Bones is the twenty-first book in the Temperance Brennan series by American forensic anthropologist and author, Kathy Reichs. Back home after a long day of moving her daughter into a new home, Tempe Brennan is more concerned with Katy’s possible PTSD, courtesy two tours serving in Afghanistan, than her cranky neighbour’s objection to her garden ornament. But parcel on the doorstep, containing a human eye, certainly grabs their attention.

The eye offers up, in a novel way, the location of its source, and something about the decomposing skull in a disused privy immediately twitches in Tempe’s subconscious. Over the next few days and weeks, more unusual corpses, or parts thereof, present on her examination table at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s office, all notable for that same subconscious twitch, and sometimes also ringing bells in Erskine “Skinny” Slidell’s recall, all mimicking earlier cases Tempe has handled.

The retired MCP cop investigates cold cases between PI work with partner Andrew Ryan, and he eventually agrees with Tempe that they have a grisly chain of copycat murders, which seems to have begun several years earlier. Things get even more serious when a friend of Tempe’s becomes a victim of this bizarre serial killer; even moreso when Tempe witnesses a murder as it happens.

At the same time, Tempe is trying to balance motherly concern for her returned veteran with allowing the sometimes-moody young woman the space she may need. But her anxiety crescendos when contact lapses for several days and the eventual text message received is, for Katy, uncharacteristically short and lacking in detail.

The latest dose of Tempe Brennan features some quirky (but harmless?) characters who take meals at a men’s shelter, a parks ranger with an inflated opinion of his anthropological expertise, and some “preppers”, survivalists, one of whom displays an unhealthy interest in serial killers. Reichs does manage to seamlessly pack in lots of interesting tidbits but she also has Tempe annoying the reader a few times, going in by herself when she should know better.

Readers who pick up on the subtle clues will settle on the correct perpetrator well before the reveal, but the how and why of it keeps the pages turning through to the dramatic climax and resolution. The banter between Tempe, Skinny and Ryan is, as always entertaining, and more instalments are eagerly awaited.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia.

Having never read any of Kathy Reichs books I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to read a book that keep me enthralled and never lost my interest.

A story that starts with an eyeball in a box and continues with many a twist and turn, lots of good characters and more grisly finds. My biggest problem with reading this book was that I hadn't read any of the others so was a bit lost working out the characters but eventually got my head around most of their stories.

May have to go back and start from the beginning if I can find the time.

Another great read from Kathy Reichs. As always, the plot is exciting and unpredictable and the characters well-developed, interesting and sometimes quite despicable. I was kept guessing from beginning to end. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley, Kathy Reichs and Scribner for the ARC.

I have enjoyed the previous 20 books Kathy has written about Tempe, I truly feel like I am visiting old friends when I pick up a new one.
Kathy Reichs is a master of suspense, twists and turns, and Cold, Cold Bones is no exception. Nothing good can come from someone leaving an eyeball on your doorstep, and that’s how this story of revenge begins. Someone is taunting Tempe, replicating old cases, and they are getting closer and closer to home. It’s a book that makes me want to go back and re read all that have come before…if only time allowed for such things! Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster

Temperance is back and this time the killer is leaving her clues to some of her old cases. But they seem to be one step ahead of her & Slidell. Will they be able to find the killer before even more bodies are found?
Tempe is worried about her daughter Kathy as she seems lost after leaving the service. And she has disappeared and that makes Tempe worry even more. How can she reach out when Katy is so angry all the time?
Ryan has come back and everything seems rosy until him & Slidell decide that she needs to be kept out of the loop that makes her very angry. She knows why they are doing it especially now that a young girl has been kidnapped. But she knows that she can help. Will they let her in?
The killer has been right in front of them this whole time. Tempe always had a weird feeling about this person and now it all makes sense. But how will she get out of this tricky situation?
Another great read in the series. Who doesn't enjoy Kathy Reichs books. All the usual characters are back love that Birdie is still around keeping Tempe company when Ryan is away.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the ARC Copy. This is my voluntary review.

‘It began with an eyeball.’

It is winter in North Carolina, resulting in a drop in forensic anthropologist Temperance (Tempe) Brennan’s workload. Tempe is happy to spend some of that free time helping her daughter Katy settle into civilian life after her service in the army. But at Tempe’s place one evening, they find a box on the back porch. The box contains a human eyeball. An examination of the eyeball reveals GPS coordinates etched on it. And those GPS coordinates take Tempe and the police to another gruesome discovery.

One discovery leads to another, and Tempe becomes concerned. While there does not seem to be a clear pattern between the killings discovered, each case seems to imitate (in some respect) an earlier case that Tempe Brennan had consulted on. And each discovery seems more threatening.

Who is targeting Tempe Brennan, and why? Tempe has help from Erskine ‘Skinny’ Slidell, now retired but working with the Cold Case Unit and from Andrew Ryan, her Montreal-based boyfriend, now working as a private detective.

But Tempe is also concerned about Katy who, displaying some symptoms of post-traumatic stress from her army service, disappears. At first Tempe thinks that Katy has sought some time out, but as time passes, she starts to wonder whether Katy’s disappearance might be related to these other mysterious events.

While I have enjoyed several the novels in this series, I have not read them all. Still, I felt like I was reacquainting myself with old friends while trying to work out the who and the why. It was not immediately clear to me who was targeting Tempe Brennan: there seemed to be a couple of possibilities. And even after it does become clear who is behind these grisly re-enactments, the tension continues to build before the perpetrator is stopped.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Cold Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs is the 21st in a series of stories about forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.

A gripping story that becomes very personal for Tempe and we are drawn into this compelling story that at first moves slowly but soon gathers pace to the point it is actually difficult to stop reading. The complexity of the plot makes it even more intriguing as do the twists and turns that are thrown at you.

Well written and developed with characters that keep you interested. Loved the casual language and use of colloquialisms to make it snappy and current.

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher Simon & Schuster Australia via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Fun and familiar in a murdery kind of way. I love Temperance Brennan.

I couldn't remember why I stopped reading the series when I started watching the show but I think it's because they're all a bit same same. No need to read the ones you've missed, you get caught right up with the who what where straightaway.

Figured out the Bad Guy straight off the bat though, so I'll probably have a break of another 7 or 8 novels.

Even after many books, the characters and storylines in this series are still able to hold my interest. That’s no mean feat for Cold, Cold Bones, the 21st story about forensic anthropologist, Temperance Brennan.

Tempe’s daughter Katy has left the army for civilian life but that doesn’t prevent Tempe from worrying about her (as mothers do!). When they meet for dinner together one night, they find a box containing a human eyeball on the back porch and that’s yet another reason to worry.

Soon after, other equally disturbing cases follow. Although there seems to be no pattern to the random killings, Tempe soon realises they mimic killings from her past work. With the assistance of detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, she determines to find who is targeting her and why. To add to her worries, Katy disappears.

I always assume Tempe will sort out the mysteries she encounters in her working life. It’s the personal mysteries that are often more challenging.

The story kept me interested until the end. Set in a bitter winter in North Carolina, the severe weather and snow added to the difficulties of the investigations. I look forward to seeing what adventures Tempe encounters in the next instalment.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.