Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs

Sometimes one is just in the mood for a predictable read. (When work gets completely out of hand and one needs a good time out from anything heavy.) These books are great for that. You know what to expect before you even pick it up. Of course, this helps if crime novels are your guilty pleasure - which they are for me.

In this book, Tempe is approached by an online amateur sleuth, who not only claims to have identified remains that were found a year ago, but who has a very disturbing recording of the young woman in question being tortured. (That wasn't a spoiler, you find that all out by page 7-ish.) As we all know Tempe, she can't leave this alone, and has to investigate further.

Speaking in Bones was a light, enjoyable read. As I said above, crime novels are my guilty pleasure, and I must admit that I do enjoy these as a rule. I don't know if I was just in a weird mood, but I found this one rather funny. Although, I have to add that a lot of the puns were a bit - well - predictable and obviously placed.

What I do enjoy about these books, generally, is that one is guaranteed to learn something. Although I can't say that this was the book that cleared up my understanding of mitochondrial DNA (that was another of her books - can't remember which), but it did fill in some other areas in my general knowledge with regards to preservation of remains and identifiers (You know, just in case I decide to pack in teaching and work in a morgue - which might be a bit of a problem, considering I don't like touching things that are excessively manky - or slightly manky, if I am being honest.)

One thing that did irritate me though was the interaction between Tempe and Ryan. Seriously, if I could climb into a book and give a character a firm shake or a snot klap (South African terminology for a good slap), I would have gladly done so for this one. But, it has left it again, in a place with regards to the two, where I am now curious to pick up the next one. (Which I am sure was the plan.)

Oh, and I was not too sure about the ending. At one point in time - no two - I wanted to climb in the book and scream some sense into Tempe. I mean, come on, how many books does it take to learn that you should not do that! But I suppose that is where the suspense comes in. One day, I would like to read a book where she does not stupidly walk into danger - just once. It isn't asking for too much is it? (Oh, that isn't a spoiler either. She does it in every book.)

I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads. It was entertaining, and I suppose if I was judging it just as a crime thriller, it would probably get 4 stars, but, I suppose I am becoming a lot more judgmental now that I am reading a lot more literary fiction.

Not much else to say about this. If you like crime thrillers, programmes like CSI or Bones,  then give it a go. If not, skip it.