An Alternate Cover Edition for this ISBN can be found here. The meticulously dismembered body of a woman is discovered in the grounds of an abandoned monastery. 'Too decomposed for standard autopsy. Request anthropologic expertise.' Enter Dr Temperance Brennan, Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec, who has been researching recent disappearances in the city. Despite the cynicism of Detective Claudel who heads the investigation, Brennan is convinced that a serial killer is at work. Her forensic expertise finally convinces Claudel, but only after the body count has risen... Tempe takes matters into her own hands, but her determined probing places those closest to her in mortal danger. Can Tempe make her crucial breakthrough before the killer strikes again?
Temperance Brennan Series
This series follows forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan as she helps solve crimes through the analysis of skeletal remains. Her work is tied to complex cases and personal challenges that she navigates throughout the books.






Recommended Reading Order
'Another day. Another death. Death du Jour. My God, how many such days would there be?' On a bitterly cold march night in Montreal, forensic anthropologiest Dr Temperance Brennan is exhuming the remains of a nun proposed for sainthood in the grounds of an old church. Just hours later, Tempe is called to the scene of an horrific arson. A young family has perished, and there seems to be no witness, no motive, no explanation. From the charred remains of the inferno, to a trail of sinister cult activity and a terrifying showdown during an ice storm, Tempe faces a nerve-shattering test of both her forensic expertise and her instinct for survival.
Deadly décisions
- 333 pages
- 12 hours of reading
"Fans of TV's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation should be in heaven" (People) stepping into the world of forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan, star of Kathy Reichs' electrifyingly authentic bestsellers. When innocent blood is spilled, she deciphers the shattering truth it holds. Nine-year-old Emily Anne Toussaint is fatally shot on a Montreal street. A North Carolina teenager disappears from her home, and parts of her skeleton are found hundreds of miles away. The shocking deaths propel Tempe Brennan from north to south, and deep into a shattering investigation inside the bizarre culture of outlaw motorcycle gangs -- where one misstep could bring disaster for herself or someone she loves.
Fatal Voyage
- 420 pages
- 15 hours of reading
A commercial Jetliner disaster has brought Tempe Brennan to the North Carolina mountains as a member of the investigative agency DMORT. As bomb theories abound, Tempe soon discovers a jarring piece of evidence that raises dangerous questions - and gets her thrown from the DMORT team. Relentless in her pursuit of its significance, Tempe uncovers a shocking, multilayered tale of deceit and depravity as she probes her way into frightening territory - where someone wants her stopped in her tracks.
Grave Secrets
- 400 pages
- 14 hours of reading
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan assists in the excavation of 20-year-old mass grave of massacre victims in a Guatemalan village. Now as she pieces together the past, Tempe becomes entangled in the cases of four privileged young women who suddenly vanish from Guatemala City.
Bare Bones
- 400 pages
- 14 hours of reading
It's a summer of record-breaking heat in Charlotte and Dr Temperance Brennan is looking forward to her first vacation in years. She's almost out the door when the bones start appearing. First there's the newborn skeleton found in a wood stove. Next, a small plane flies into a rock face. Both the pilot and passenger are burned beyond recognition.
Monday Mourning
- 303 pages
- 11 hours of reading
Tempe Brennan arrives in Montreal from Charlotte in early December to testify as an expert witness. As a Forensic Anthropologist for Quebec, she should be reviewing her notes, but instead, she’s in a freezing pizza parlour basement, surrounded by rats and the skeletal remains of three young women. Homicide detective Luc Claudel, who has never been fond of Tempe, believes the bones are historic and not his concern, especially after the pizza parlour owner finds 19th-century buttons with the remains. However, Tempe suspects otherwise. She plans to conduct Carbon 14 testing to determine the bones' age and analyze the tooth enamel to trace the women's origins. If her suspicions are correct, Claudel could be facing three recent murders. Meanwhile, Detective Andrew Ryan's mysterious behavior raises questions. His private phone calls and sudden disappearances come just as Tempe begins to trust him, leaving her with her cat, Birdie, and more nights alone. As she delves into both her personal and professional challenges, Tempe becomes entangled in a sinister web, where women have vanished without a trace. With her own safety at risk, she realizes she may be the next target.
Cross bones
- 497 pages
- 18 hours of reading
'Death by self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head' is the on-scene assessment, but the victim's relatives are adamant in their rejection of suicide as an explanation. Discovered in a closet, a week after death, the body is barely recognisable. Extreme heat has accelerated decomposition, and Dr Temperance Brennan's forensic expertise is required.|PB
Break No Bones
- 339 pages
- 12 hours of reading
It's the second-to-last day of archaeological field school - the students are working on a site of prehistoric graves on Dewees, a barrier island north of Charleston, South Carolina, when a much more recent burial is uncovered.
Discovering the skeleton of a young girl in the neighborhood of a childhood best friend who had gone missing thirty years earlier, Tempe Brennan investigates suspicions that the victim and her friend are one and the same and that the case is related to two other unsolved deaths. Reprint.
Devil Bones
- 369 pages
- 13 hours of reading
An underground chamber is exposed in a seedy, dilapidated house with sagging trim and peeling paint&In the dark cellar, a ritualistic display is revealed. A human skull rests on a cauldron, surrounded by slain chickens and bizarre figurines. Bead
When Dr Temperance Brennan is called to Chicago to answer questions on an old case involving the death of a lonely but wealthy woman, the last thing she expects is to have her professional assesment questioned by a lawyer who barely knows his X from X [arse from elbow].
Spider Bones
- 306 pages
- 11 hours of reading
John Lowery was declared dead in 1968--the victim of a Huey crash in Vietnam. Four decades later, Temperance Brennan is called to the scene of a drowning in Quebec. The victim appears to have died while in the midst of a bizarre sexual practice. The corpse is later identified as John Lowery. But how could Lowery have died twice? Taking the remains to JPAC in Hawaii for reanalysis, Tempe is joined by her colleague and ex-lover Detective Andrew Ryan (how "ex" is he?) and by her daughter, recovering from her own tragic loss. Soon another set of remains is located, with Lowery's dog tags tangled among them. Three bodies--all identified as Lowery.--From publisher description
Flash and Bones
- 320 pages
- 12 hours of reading
FLASH! Illuminated by lightning, a lifeless human hand seems to reach from a barrel of asphalt beside the Charlotte racetrack. Forensic anthropologist Dr Tempe Brennan must find answers before thousands arrive for the year's big race. But before she can carry out a proper examination, the FBI mysteriously confiscate and destroy the body. It's a dead end. Until a young engineer alerts Tempe to the disappearance of a couple twelve years earlier - and a deadly conspiracy unravels.
Bones are Forever. Knochenjagd, englische Ausgabe
- 448 pages
- 16 hours of reading
Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan examines the bodies of three babies while Detective Ryan investigates their mother in a case with ties to the high-stakes world of diamond mining.
While investigating the connections between a long-dead business man, the smuggling of mummified dogs from Peru, and the death of a teenage girl killed in a hit and run, Temperance Brennan discovers a human trafficking enterprise at the center of it all. The scope of the case extends from South America to Afghanistan, and Tempe's soon-to-be ex might have connections that run to the very heart of the trafficking ring.
The gripping new Temperance Brennan novel from the world-class forensic anthropologist and Number 1 bestselling author Kathy Reichs. Tempe is faced with the horrifying possibility that the killer who got away in Monday Mourning is back... For a decade, Temperance Brennan has been haunted by the one who got away. The killer of young women. The monster. And the one who has now come back. Feeding on fear, grief and rage. Killing again. Killing girls. Getting closer. Coming for Tempe.
The compelling new Dr Temperance Brennan novel from the world-class forensic anthropologist and Number 1 bestselling author Kathy Reichs. When forensic anthropologist Dr Tempe Brennan is approached by amateur detective Hazel âe~Luckyâe(tm) Strike, at first she is inclined to dismiss the womanâe(tm)s claims that sheâe(tm)s matched a previously unidentified set of remains with a name. But as the words of a terrified young woman echo round her office from an audio recorder found near where the bones were discovered, something about the story wonâe(tm)t let Tempe go. As Tempe investigates further she finds herself involved in a case more complicated and horrifying than she could ever have imagined.
A Conspiracy of Bones
- 352 pages
- 13 hours of reading
EVERY BODY HAS SECRETS It all starts with a series of text messages. Each message contains a new picture of a corpse, missing its face and hands. Dr Temperance Brennan needs to find out who the dead man is, and why the images were sent to her. The only problem is, she has been kicked off the team. So she goes rogue, knowing that she is the only one who can solve this case. As she starts her investigation she discovers a connection to a decade-old missing child case. The more she uncovers, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes ...
NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author KATHY REICHS returns with her next edge-of-your seat thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.
NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author KATHY REICHS returns with her next edge-of-your seat thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.














