Bones in Her Pocket by Kathy Reichs

Do I need to reiterate that I enjoy crime novels? When I am overworked or just in need of a mental break, this is the genre I turn to. I did not need any persuading to read a novella by Kathy Reichs. I enjoy her Tempe Brennan series (the inspiration for the TV series, Bones, but you already know that), so when I stumbled upon this, I grabbed it. It made a pleasant break between reading all the classics.

Bones are found washed up in a remote area of North Carolina. Tempe is called out. It does not take long before foul play is suspected.

This book disturbed me more than Dexter did. I don't know what it says about me as a person. Yes. Mutilate, murder, chop up people. But leave the animals out of it! I guess I am also extremely sensitive on this topic, as I had to have my awesome, wonderful dog put down too recently because of cancer. He was 12, and the best dog I had ever known. This book made me cry.

But getting past the animal side, this novella had everything else I would have wanted from a Kathy Reich's novel. Loads of questions, lots of witty comebacks, and all those characters that I have known for so long now, they feel like a part of the family. This 64 paged book had me guessing for longer than Dexter did! That has to be appreciated.

Tortuga. He saved members of my family
more than once. Best friend.
Missed so much.

I gave this three stars. But don't let that, or the animal statement, put you off. The message in this book is important, and has given me a lot to think about in my quest to find my new 'best friend' (which I will be starting in September or October). In fact, now that I am informed, I will not be able to ignore that information, so it will definitely effect my search. So while I have only rated this 3 stars, I think that some parts of this are worth 10. Anything that stops the abuse of animals is invaluable. Just because some things are upsetting, it does not mean we should ignore them either. I am sure no one would like to ignorantly encourage the horrors found in this novella. Read the book. Get informed. Don't accidentally keep puppy mills going. (Sorry. Spoiler. But I just had to say something. Just in case you do not read the novella.)