An epidemic linked to genetic engineering. Assassinations disguised as unexplained deaths. Kathy Reichs’ last novel was written during the pandemic, and it shows.
One constant remains: the sense of observation of the American forensic anthropologist, to whom Quebec pays special attention because she has worked here for a long time. Through the quirks of the characters who are sometimes not very presentable, and the small details which show that the novelist knows Quebec culture like very few Americans, it is a real pleasure to feel the insight of a stripping observer of human relations.
This time, Temperance Brennan is placed in front with an abandoned corpse in a biomedical waste container, which reminds her of a similar unresolved case in Montreal 15 years ago. In the background, a hurricane, the continuation of his romance with retired SQ inspector Andrew Ryan, and a mysterious outbreak of a rare disease linked to pets.
We find with pleasure the friend of Temperance, Anne Turnip, who always seems to be at her fifth glass of wine of the evening (or any time of the day), distinguished but able to swear like a carter. Reichs spices up the seemingly innocuous dialogues with winks and other banter. For example, Anne absent-mindedly watches an episode of Bones, the TV series inspired by the adventures of Temperance Brennan. We also learn that Anne’s ex-husband, Tom Turnip, when he was a young lawyer, was mistakenly called Ted by a seasoned lawyer in his office, which earned him the nickname TT.
Kathy Reichs is worthy of the great authors of detective novels, not those who have marked readers with their cerebral rantings, but rather those who live in the present moment, write with great elegance and wit, and allow a good experience. evening by the fireside without having the impression of having sold his soul to the devil of guilty readings.
Bones of the past
Kathy reichs
Robert Laffond
370 pages