Devil Bones
Encyclopedia
Devil Bones, published in 2008, is the eleventh novel by Kathy Reichs
featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan
.
An underground chamber is exposed in a seedy, dilapidated house with sagging trim and peeling paint...
Called to the scene is forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. Fighting her claustrophobia, and the unmistakable sweet, fetid odour of rotting flesh, Tempe descends the precariously steep, makeshift wooden steps.
What awaits her below is a ritualistic display: slain chickens and a goat - and a skull, ghostly pale, rests on a pedestal, the lower jaw missing, the empty orbits staring back at her. Two cauldrons stand nearby, beads and antlers suspended overhead.
Age, race and sex indicators confirm the skill as that of a young, black female - but how did she die, and when? Then, just as Tempe is working to determine the post-mortem interval, another body is uncovered. The corpse is headless, the torso carved with satanic symbols. Led by a preacher-turned-politician, citizen vigilantes blame Devil-worshipers and begin a witch-hunt, intent on revenge.
As Tempe struggles to keep her emotions and imagination from running away with her, she makes another chilling discovery. Even she couldn't have predicted where this cause would lead, or the shocking secrets it would eventually uncover. And the more Tempe learns, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger...
Kathy Reichs
Kathleen Joan Toelle "Kathy" Reichs is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic . She is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but is currently on indefinite leave...
featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan
Temperance Brennan
Temperance Daesee Brennan is a fictional character created by author Kathy Reichs, and is the hero of her crime novel series . She was introduced in Reichs' first novel, Déjà Dead, which was published in 1997...
.
Plot
Charlotte, North Carolina. One of the town's oldest neighbourhoods.An underground chamber is exposed in a seedy, dilapidated house with sagging trim and peeling paint...
Called to the scene is forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. Fighting her claustrophobia, and the unmistakable sweet, fetid odour of rotting flesh, Tempe descends the precariously steep, makeshift wooden steps.
What awaits her below is a ritualistic display: slain chickens and a goat - and a skull, ghostly pale, rests on a pedestal, the lower jaw missing, the empty orbits staring back at her. Two cauldrons stand nearby, beads and antlers suspended overhead.
Age, race and sex indicators confirm the skill as that of a young, black female - but how did she die, and when? Then, just as Tempe is working to determine the post-mortem interval, another body is uncovered. The corpse is headless, the torso carved with satanic symbols. Led by a preacher-turned-politician, citizen vigilantes blame Devil-worshipers and begin a witch-hunt, intent on revenge.
As Tempe struggles to keep her emotions and imagination from running away with her, she makes another chilling discovery. Even she couldn't have predicted where this cause would lead, or the shocking secrets it would eventually uncover. And the more Tempe learns, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger...