Kathy Reichs always delivers a story you can’t put down. This one takes place in our nation’s capital with several fires being set and victims Temperance must identify. The descriptions make you feel as if you’re right there trying to solve the mystery. The personal relationships add depth to the character that makes me coming back for more. I wish I didn’t have to wait another year for the next story.

This is a continuation of Temperance Brenan’s life and her work. She and her boyfriend, Ryan, are supposed to get together, but she gets called to Washington D.C. for a new case. This involves working with new people in Washington and some of her regular colleagues in Charlotte. This book has lots of twists and turns and I highly recommend reading it!

Tempe Brennan is back to it; does she ever get a rest? Perhaps not my favorite of Kathy Reichs books, but it is still a page turner! Fans will not be disappointed. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc, in exchange for an honest review.

Another great mystery. Tempe is pretty much on her own in this one, little of the periferal characters but good news side characters and an interesting set of mysteries to solve. I enjoyed this quick read.

So fun to get to review the new Kathy Reichs book! While not my favorite of her books I really enjoyed the story. Her books are always quick reads for me. The case was interesting and the location different. And she managed to not get as injured as some of the other books! Being called in to help with an arson investigation and staying to try to find out a victims identity was very much Temperance. The new characters were compelling. My one question is how is Birdie still going strong, shouldn’t he be like 30 by now? lol.

Fans of the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs ( and who isn’t) will welcome the 23rd installment of the series, Fire and Bones. Tempe is called to Washington, DC to help with the bodies of four who were burned in a devastating fire. When Tempe arrives and inspects the scene, she also discovers a body that has been in the basement for almost 80 years that is in a burlap sack. Anyone who knows Tempe, knows that she can’t leave until she solves the mystery of the old corpse. During her stay, she stays with Ivy Doyle, a friend of her daughter, Katy. who is a journalist, and they pair up to investigate both the burned bodies and the dead woman from the basement.
As expected, Reichs does an excellent job of developing not only main characters, but she also makes the sub characters seem real. These include Ivy, her boyfriend, a narcissistic fireman who is in charge of the investigation, and a police detective who is very difficult to work with. The story is easy to follow, although it doesn’t seem to have the pizzazz in some of Reichs’ previous novels. However, it is still worth reading, as most of us want to know what is going on in Tempe’s life. Tempe and Ryan’s (her longtime boyfriend) relationship isn’t the best, and Tempe puts herself in danger while sleuthing.
All told, this isn’t Reichs’ best, but it is still better than many written by popular authors out there. This novel is a quick read, as it’s shorter than Reichs’ usual.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I love a Kathy Reichs book, and am always on pins and needles for her next Tempe title. The book kept me guessing and the story tied together well.

The latest book featuring Dr Tempe Brennan does not disappoint. I have read the entire series. As usual we have some Tempe and Ryan and a great mystery to solve. This one taking us to our nations capital. Definitely recommend

This is my first Tempe Brennan novel but now that I am a fan of this character I will start at the beginning of this series so I can discover the character’s growth and murder cases. I enjoyed Tempe’s quick wit and inner thoughts. She is a brilliant and strong female lead. It can be very descriptive in the details of the autopsies. Overall, this was a great read. I will recommend this book.

A solid entry in this long-running series. If you expect Tempe to put herself in questionable situations, as usual, you won't be disappointed.

Have long enjoyed Temperance Brennan in Kathy Reichs’ ‘Bones’ books and the latest, Fire and Bones, is no exception. In this thriller set largely in Washington, DC, Temperance consults on a series of arson cases. The past intermingles with the present, leading to a surprising ending with multiple plot lines exploding at once. A great read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is Temperance Brennan’s 23rd outing, and even though I have been a fan from the very beginning, I was somewhat disappointed in this particular one.

Temperance is called to Washington D. C. to aid in the investigation of multiple fire victims, stumbles on an additional body by accident and using her expertise in identifying burn remains does so with the thought of getting it done and over with. But she finds herself mired in the mystery of the surprise victim and like a dog with a bone she is off to the races.

I was bothered by her cynicism and sarcastic thoughts, plus she seemed more a detective than a forensic anthropologist. I came alive near the end when her exploits bring the case to a revealing conclusion.

I still think a combination Dr. Kay Scarpetta/Dr. Temperance Brennan book would be awesome!

This book will be published in August, 2024.

This plot really didn’t capture my interest as much as previous novels in the series. It seemed like a lot of waiting around without too much happening.

4 stars out of 5.

I really love this series and Kathy Reichs is an amazing author. While this book really drew me in at the beginning, I started to lose interest towards the middle. The last 25% of the book really picked up though and the ending was satisfying. Since this book does not take place in Charlotte or Montreal, the side characters of the series aren't really apart of this mystery. Tempe is amazing as always and I really enjoyed the new characters of the book. This book was just missing something and I can't put my finger on it. It was still a great read but I enjoyed the other most recent books in the series a lot better. Overall, I would still recommend it because of Kathy's writing style and her ability to tell a great story.

In Fire and Bones, Tempe is called to Washington DC to help with a building that was set ablaze. There were 4 fire victims recovered. Tempe is drawn to this building and the area so she goes into a deeper dive with new friend and reporter Ivy Doyle. They find out the building has had some sketchy owners over the years. Then, another building close by is set on fire plus a man associated with the building is gunned down. Tempe and Ivy set out to discover what is really going on and who would do this. It's definitely shocking when you get to the end!

Thank you Netgalley and Scribner for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. I have been a fan of Kathy reichs books about Tempe Brennan stories since the first one. While I enjoyed Fire and Bones I didn’t feel that it lived up to her past offerings. There was somewhat of a surprise ending which is always nice and some unfinished business that hopefully will lead to another book.

This mystery thriller is Book 23 of Kathy Reichs’ series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. If you have read any of the books in the series, you know she is single, has a boyfriend {who plays a minimal role in this book, acting mostly as a soundboard], and investigates human remains at crime scenes when the flesh of the victim is too degraded for evidence to be uncovered by a coroner. Fire and Bones involves an arson investigation in Washington D.C. There is a history of a neighborhood that goes back to the thirties and forties and a building that was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and criminals. New characters include a telejournalist and her boyfriend and a police detective. Tempe learns about the building’s ownership which leads her to the investigation of the murder of the son of one of the gang members as well as the investigation of the burning of a second building also linked to the gang.
I found the mystery and twists and turns to be passable. There was only one scene when Brennen actually does an autopsy. Other colleagues do much of the forensic investigative work. Brennan takes on the role of researcher and detective. This series is interesting to me because of her part in the forensic fiction. And it was sorely missed. The outcome was fairy predictable, the motives of the murderers somewhat murky. Another case that Brennan is involve in is referred to but I did not find it well explained and just seemed an unnecessary diversion. I was perplexed by certain events: a character at the fire scene who is well introduced but then just disappears, the telejournist who is key to the story but leaves town, a gun aimed at Brennan’s head but no action to follow. Did the man with the gun just leave? Did Brennen call the police? The story just segues to new events.
I also found some of the dialogue disconcerting. “Moi hoping,”“chocolate skin,” “old coot,” “sweet Christ on a pickle.”
The book seems to have a strong attraction to product placement.I don’t believe that I have ever read a book with more specific brands or services mentioned rather than just using a generic product name. Just some in the text include Walmart,, Petco, Sunoco, Kit-Kat bars, Hokas, Febreze, Safeway, TJ Maxx, Louis Vuitton, Herman Miler, Montblanc, Eames Lounge Chairs and Camel cigarettes.
The use of precursors “within hours that view would be prove correct” at the end of passages were distracting and unnecessary. A character who was watching Bones on TV seemed contrived and a reference to Spy vs Spy was just corny.
All in all, the story had good dialogue, good descriptive phrases and strong background information. It was an interesting mystery but the characters were weakly drawn and there was a lack of cohesion. The conclusion was well rounded and satisfying,

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Kathy Reichs. I loved Bones when I watched it throughout my younger years and I will absolutely still get wrapped up in it if it’s on. She’s fantastic at hooking you in and keeping your interest. One more chapter isn’t a thing with her, it’s more like read until you fall asleep because the chapters end with little hooks. I don’t love it stylistically, once I realized what was happening it was mildly repetitive in a way. The plot was great, I was constantly trying to guess who did what and how (I never got any of it right except knowing the sleezeball was in fact a sleezeball), and the historical aspect was really interesting. I wished the historical aspect had tied in a bit more to the main story, but it was still a nice touch. The characters are interesting and very well fleshed out (to be expected in a series) and we can easily see motives and why people are how they are in this book.

All in all I give it a 3.75⭐️ because while it hooked me quickly, the stylistic repetitiveness of the mini cliffhangers grated on my nerves for some reason. And also the historical aspect not fully tying in like I was hoping. It was a great book, but I expected more than what it was and was MILDLY disappointed.

Just about to leave on a weekend trip with her boyfriend Ryan, Temperance finds herself heading to Washington, DC to help a reporter friend of her daughter who is investigating a fatal fire. It is in Foggy Bottom in an old building that was housing an illegal Airbnb. Thinking her help will be short lived, she promised Ryan that the trip is still on. But, as is her normal practice, she becomes totally caught up in the victim identification and investigation. Ryan gets angry and quits returning her calls. Temperance tenaciously pursues the truth and once again places herself in peril. Well written with enough twists and turns to keep the reader on edge, Kathy Reich’s 23rd entry in the series is a tense ride. I was gifted with an advanced copy from NetGalley but the opinion is totally mine.

Tempe is planning a weekend away with her love Ryan when she is awakened in the night by her daughter with a request. Would she give an interview to her friend Ivy on a building fire, an old building in Foggy Bottom DC, where people had been trapped inside and died. Tempe reluctantly agrees and does a Zoom interview the next morning. While she is packing, her phone rings yet again, and her stomach falls. She reluctantly answers and its the ME in DC needing Tempe to come and help with the recovery of the bodies and the identification of them since visual ID is not possible.Tempe tries, really tries, to get out of it so she and Ryan can spend time together, but it just doesn't work and so the ME says she will arrange for a plane ticket. However, its a holiday weekend and there's a huge event also going on and so no flights available, so Tempe not only has to tell Ryan their time together has been derailed, bit she now has to drive. Which she does, only to get there and learn she has no promised hotel room! What more could possibly go wrong?!? Don't ask! If there is ever a Murphy's Law case book, its this one! She helps recover the number of !issing, presumed dead, and then finds another! But this last one is much older and sets Tempe and Ivy on quite the squirrel chase, down so many twisty, curvy lanes, one can really get lost! Eventually, Tempe finds herself at the end of a gun held by a mad woman with a decades old grudge and all the ties come together! With a chinchilla too! Wow! What a read!

What a way to return a favor! Bilingual forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is planning a romantic getaway to Savannah with long time partner Andrew Ryan when the call comes. It’s her daughter Kate. She wants her mother to help Washington journalist Ivy Doyle with a case. Before Tempe can refuse, Kate says “She saved my life” and Savannah is cancelled.

There has been a deadly fire in Washington’s historic Foggy Bottom district. Four renters are dead and Tempe’s skills are needed to identify them. This may have been arson related to one of the victims. As Tempe tries to pinpoint the location of the bodies before the building partially collapsed, she fins a hidden basement and another body, murdered decades earlier. Tempe and Ivy learn that the building was once owned by gang members and bootleggers. How does a crime spree in the 1930s relate to arson today?

Fire and Bones is another surefire bestseller for Kathy Reichs. The 23rd in this series, it’s as fresh and captivating as the first. Who else can combine mystery, romance and rotting bodies? 5 stars, bien sûr.

Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner and Kathy Reichs for this ARC.