A-Z Challenge: Flash and Bones

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs--#1 "New York Times "bestselling author and producer of the FOX television hit "Bones"--returns with a riveting new novel set in Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring America's favorite forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan. Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan's office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble's sister, Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi's? Or Cale's?

At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, only to terminate it weeks later. Was there a cover-up? As Tempe juggles multiple theories, the discovery of a strange, deadly substance in the barrel alongside the body throws everything into question. Then an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes missing during Race Week. Tempe can't overlook the coincidence. Was this man using his lab chemicals for murder? Or is the explanation even more sinister? What other secrets lurk behind the festive veneer of Race Week?

I am always lying in wait for the next Kathy Reichs novel to come out. I thoroughly enjoy her books about the adventures of Tempe Brennan. While this is just one in a long line of Tempe Brennan novels, they never fail to entertain me. Although it does get old that Tempe always manages to get herself in so far in over her head into trouble, but some people (or characters) are just that way, and besides, it would probably be boring if she actually did what she was told. I'm pretty sure Tempe's middle name is Trouble. I was a bit disappointed that Detective Ryan wasn't really in this book as I enjoy his character and that her annoying ex-husband and even more annoying Summer (the ex's fiancee) were around as much as they were. But I suppose it's because she was in Charlotte, NC this time and not in French Canada. But it's full of plot twists and the mystery seems real, and everything comes together. Plus she adds history of NASCAR and stuff for those (like me) who don't understand watching the eternal left turn. Kathy Reichs knows how to keep you hooked.