Grave Secrets

This Tempe Brennan novel takes place partially in Guatemala, where soldiers murdered 23 people in the summer of '82. Tempe is now investigating the possible burial place of these people, but corruption runs deep in the Guatemalan government and two of her associates are injured in a car accident. Later, Tempe is asked to investigate the connection between the disappearances of four privileged women in Guatemala City. The mystery is solid and the plot involves stem cell research of an unsavory sort. Andrew Ryan shows up to provide a semi-romantic subplot, but this time he's got competition in the form of Galiano, a Guatemalan detective that Tempe is assisting. A fast, fun read.

This book is really well written and well crafted. The story takes place in the context of real historical events that are only now being explored, and it lends such credibility to her work. Her detailed knowledge of forensics shines through, but without overpowering the prose or the underlying stories.The characters are well rounded, and it is easy to picture each of them as she writes. I don't read much fiction due to the lack of quality writing out there, but I think this one's a winner.

With numerous film, television and stage appearances to her credit veteran actress Katherine Borowitz knows how to deliver - and deliver she does in her reading of Kathy Reichs's fifth novel featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. This time out we find Tempe in Guatemala where she is assisting in exhuming a mass grave, the final resting place of women and children who were raped and slain by soldiers during a 1982 attack on their village. No one knows for certain who is in the grave; no records were kept. To the families of those missing their loved ones have simply disappeared. Meanwhile, in Guatemala City, where four young women have been reported missing recently, remains are found in a septic tank. Could those remains be the Canadian Ambassador's daughter? Tempe is asked for help by the Guatemalan police. But as she investigates further she finds herself almost trapped in a web of crime and coverup. As always, Reichs, who is a forensic anthropologist herself, laces her suspenseful tale with authentic medical description. The author's expertise simply makes her stories more shudderingly real. Reichs tops the list in her genre. - Gail Cooke

Kathy Reichs is turning out to be the master of forensic thrillers. Her newest, Grave Secrets, is a compelling and heart-felt mystery alternating between Montreal and Guatamala. The plot speeds along at a breakneck pace. The book is loaded with interesting forensic details which, rather than bog down the plot, only serve to enhance it. Included is a chapter on septic tanks, that, despite how it sounds, is actually quite riveting. The character of Dr. Brennan is one of the best fleshed out characters in modern mysteries. In Grave Secrets, we see many more character elements added to her, that she never becomes stale, unlike that doctor up in Virginia.Patricia Cornwall should be afraid, very afraid.

Grave Secrets , the fifth Temperance Brennan novel, is another excellent addition to the series which has blasted Kathy Reichs to fame. This time, Tempe is sent to Guatemala to recover the bodies of the dead (known as "the Disappeareds") massacred during that country's vile civil war. It is in the village of Chupan Ya that she uncovers 28 dead bodies, and on the way to the site, two other forensic scientists are attacked on the road, shot, and left for dead. It is the beginning of an investigation which will haunt Tempe in the coming weeks. Shortly after, her help is sought by the local police. Four teenage girls have gone missing in Guatemala City, and one of them is the daughter of the Canadian Ambassador. Is there a serial killer at work? Soon after, a decomposing body is found in a septic tank of a local hotel, and the investigating begins in earnest. Reichs' writing is sharp; the plotting tight and complex. Her characters are interesting, often drawn with only a few choice words, and her descriptions of the dead are brilliant. Reichs' books ring with authenticity, as she has been and done the same sorts of things as her main character. This fuels the writing with realism and a relentless compassion for the dead, which really comes out in the story. She never lets you forget that these people walked, breathed, laughed, talked...that they used to be us. Her use of forensic detail is interesting, and the way she writes about science doesn't make you feel as if you're reading a textbook. (In this area, she is almost on a par with Cornwell.) However, with this book there is one too many plot lines, leading them to become confused in the mind of the reader. However, careful reading does tend to remedy this. Guatemala is described well, the horrors of the war still brood over the landscape. Tempe's relationship with Ryan develops and complicates with this book when she also finds herself attracted to a Guatemalan police officer, who once knew Ryan. Tempe's conflict is done well and serves to bolster the roundness of her character. Being a devout Cornwell fan (I even liked Isle of Dogs ) it is hard for me to say, but Tempe is a more realistic, well drawn, and likeable character than Kay Scarpetta. The... conclusion... is chilling, and brings the book to a satisfying close. While Grave Secrets is not quite as good as last year's offering (Fatal Voyage), it is still first class.